HANDBOUND
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS
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p
THE JOURNAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
VOL. XXX.
(NEW SERIES, III.)
PUBLISHED BY THE
$nt0roj>ofogkaf 3neftfufe of (great Q$rtfatn M& 3*efan&,
3, HANOVEE SQUARE, LONDON, W.
All Rights Reserved.
1900.
NOTICE.
To facilitate reference to the contents of this Journal, and to make it a more
convenient record of the work of the Institute, the Council has authorised the
following amendment of its form : —
Each volume of the Journal will henceforth contain the papers presented to
the Institute between January and December of the calendar year; and the
President's Address, delivered at the Annual Meeting in January, will form the
introduction to each volume.
Consequently the latter part of Vol. XXIX (= Vol. II of the new royal
octavo series) contained only those papers which were presented before the end of
1899 ; while Vol. XXX (= Vol. Ill of the new series) contains those which are
presented between January and December, 1900 ; and opens with the President's
Address delivered in January, 1900.
For convenience of reference, also, greater prominence is given to the number
of a volume in continuation of the old series, than to its number in the new
(royal octavo) series. Thus the current volume is described as Vol. XXX
(= New Series, Vol. III).
GIN
2
Y.30-31
CONTENTS.
PAG K
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Institute, with the Repqvts
of Treasurer and Council ... ... ... ... ... ... 1
I. Presidential Address. By C. H. READ, F.S.A. -x'" 6
II, The Oak and the Thunder-God. By H. MUNRO^ CHADWJCK, M.A.,
Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge 22
III. Notes on some Caves in the T'Zitzikama or Outeniqua District,
near Knysna, South Africa, and the objects found therein. By
HENRY D. R. KINGSTON, M.D. (With Plate I) 45
IV. Notes on the Galla of Walega and the Bertat. By REGINALD
KOETTLITZ, M.D. ... 50
V, The Stone Circles of Scotland. By A. L. LEWIS, F.C.A., Treasurer
of the Anthropological Institute ... ... ... ... ... 56
VI. A Genealogical Method of Collecting Social and Vital Statistics.
By W. H. R. RIVERS, M.A., M.D. (With Plates II, III) ... 74
VII. Stone Implements from Pitcairn Island. By JOHN ALLEN BROWN,
F.G.S., F.R.G.S. (With Plate IV) 83
VIII. On the Earliest Communications between Italy and Scandinavia.
By Professor OSCAR MONTELIDS. (With Plates V-VIII) 89
IX. Recent Anthropometrical Work in Egypt. By DAVID MAC!VER, M.A.
(With Plates IX, X) " 95
X. The Physical Characteristics of Adults and School Children in East
Aberdeenshire. By JOHN GRAY, B.Sc., and JAMBS F. TOCHER, F.I.C.
(With Plates XI-XVI) ... 104
XL A Contribution to Eskimo Craniology. By W. L. H. DUCKWORTH,
M.A., and B. H. PAIN, B.A. (With Plates XVII, XVIII) ... 125
XII. On a Collection of Crania, with Two Skeletons, of the Mori-ori, or
Aborigines of the Chatham Islands. With a Note on some
Crania from the same Islands now in the Museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons. By W. L. H. DUCKWORTH, M.A., Jesus
College, Lecturer on Physical Anthropology in the University of
Cambridge ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 141
XIII. The System of Writing in Ancient Egypt. By F. LL. GRIFFITH ... 153
XIV. The Metric System of Identification of Criminals, as used in Great
Britain and Ireland. By J. G. GARSON, M.D. ... ... ... 161
XV. Myceneean Cyprus us illustrated in the British Museum Excavations.
By ARTHUR J. EVANS ... 199
XVI. A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea. By
ALFRED C, HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S., University Lecturer of Ethnology,
Cambridge. (With Plates XI X-XXIII) 221
r
IV
XVII.
XVIII.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
A Primitive Figurine from Adalia. By JOHN L. MYBES, M. A., F.S.A.
(With Plate XXIV) ... ... 251
On Stone Implements from Tasmania. Extracts from a Letter by
J. PAXTON MOIR. Communicated by Professor E. B. TYLOR,
F.R.S. (With Plate XXVI) ..." 257
On the Paganism of the Civilised Iroquois of Ontario. By DAVID
BOYLE, Curator of the Archaeological Museum of Ontario... ... 263
Notes on the . History of Vumba, East Africa. By A. C. HOLLIS.
(With Plates XXVI f-XXIX) 275
Unclassified Worked Flints. By H. STOPES. (With Plates XXX-
XXXV) 299
Survivals Among the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Bektash). By
J. W. CROWFOOT. (With Plates XXXVI, XXXVII) 305
ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEWS AND MISCELLANEA.
N.B. — These should be quoted, as here, by marginal number, and not by the page.
Man, a Monthly Record of Anthropological Science
^ A Summary of the Proceedings of the Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland : January-June, 1900 (continued, No. 120) ...
Regulations for the Use of the Loan Collection of Lantern Slides, organised,
jointly, by the Anthropological Institute of 'Great Britain and Ireland
and by the Folklore Society ...
Anthropometry : General. Communication from Dr. W. H. R. RIYERS,
St. John's College, Cambridge
Miss Mary H. Kingsley, 13th October, 1862-3rd June, 1900. Communicated
by Miss L. TOULMIN SMITH
The Proposed National Memorial to Mary Kingsley
Oscar Baumann, Ph.D. 25th June, 18G4-12th October, 1899. Contributed
4 by R. W. FELKIX, M.D., F.R.G.S
Exhibition of Algerian and Kabyle Objects. By DAVID JiANDALL-MAcIVER,
B.A., Laycock Student of Egyptology at Worcester College, Oxford, and
ANTHONY WILKIN, B. A., of King's College, Cambridge ...
Ginn and Fairies. Communicated by ANDREW LANG ...
The System of Writing in Ancient Egypt. Communicated by F. LL.
GRIFFITH, M.A., to the Anthropological Section of the British Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science
Die Flexion des aegyptischen Verbums. Von ADOLF ERMAN ...
Perforate Humeri in Ancient Egyptian Skeletons. Communicated by
Professor A. MACALISTER, M.D., F.R.S. , to the Anthropological Section
of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
A Collection of Stone Implements in the Mayer Museum, made by Mr. H.
W. Seton-Karr. By H. O. FORBES, LL.D. (With Plate A)
The Carved Slates from Hierakoupolis and elsewhere. By F. LEGGE. (With
Plates B, C, D)
Note on a Carved Slate. By Professor W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE
" The life of Rekhniara," By PEKCY E. NEWBERKY
2 to 10
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
CONTENTS. V
No.
The Redemption of Egypt. By W. BASIL WORSFOLD, M.A 25
Grundriss einer Lautlelire der Bantu Sprachen. By CARL MEINHOF ... 26
Northern Nyasaland. By the Rev. JAMES HENDERSON... 27
In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country. By A. B. LLOYD ... ... ... 28
The Boer States : Land and People. By A. H. KEANE, F.R.G.S 29
The Imperfection of our Knowledge of the Black Races of the Transvaal
and Orange River Colony. Communicated by E. SIDNEY HARTLAND, to
the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30
Notes on the Jukos and other Tribes of the Middle Benue. Contributed by
Lieutenant H. POPE-HENNESSY ... ... 31
In Afric's Forest and Jungle. By Rev. R. H. STONE 32
The Story of the Alphabet. By EDWARD CLODD ... ... 33
Flame, Electricity, and the Camera. By GEORGE ILES ... ... ... 34
Note on a Wommera from North Queensland. Communicated bv J. EDGE-
PARTINGTON 35
The Stone Implements of the Natives of Tasmania. Communicated by J.
PAXTON Mom to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... 36
The Stone Age in Tasmania. Communicated by Professor E. B. TYLOR,
F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 37
Tasmania. By Sir PHIUP FYSH, K.C.M.G., Agent-General for Tasmania ... 38
Schnitzereien der Maori aus dem Stadtischen Museum in Bremen. Von
H. SCHDRTZ ... 39
Note on a Pataka in the Auckland Museum, New Zealand, together with a
further Not/ on a Carved Canoe-Head in the British Museum. Com-
mpHt£ated by J. EDGE-PARTINGTON. (With Plate E) 40
•The Genesis of the Maori Scroll-Pattern. Communicated by J. EDGE-
PARTINGTON ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41
New Zealand : Errata ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 42
Verslag eener reis in de Timor-groep en Polynesie. Door Dr. HEIIMANN
F. C. TEN KATE 43
Beschreibender Catalog der Ethnographischen Sammlung Ludwig Bird-s
aus Deutsch-New-Guinea (Berlinhafen) ... ... ... ... ... 44
Note on an Object of Unknown Use from the Solomon Islands. Communi-
cated by J. EDGE-PARTINGTON. (With Plate E) 45
Crania collected by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner in his Expedition to Rotuma.
Communicated by W. L. H. DUCKWORTH, M.A., Lecturer on Anthro-
pology in the University of Cambridge, to the Anthropological Section
of the British Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... 46
Note on some Feather-Mats in the British Museum. Communicated by
J. EDGE-PARTINGTON. (With Plates F, G) 47
Mangareva Dictionary, Gambier Islands. By EDWARD TREGEAR ... ... 48
Note on a Shell Adze from Ambrym Island, New Hebrides. Communicated
by J. EDGE-PARTINGTON. (With Plate H) 49
The Inter-relation of Melanesian, Papuan and Polynesian Languages. Von
P. W. SCHMIDT, S.V.D 50
Amerind — a Designation for the Aboriginal Tribes of the American Hemi-
a 2
VI CONTENTS.
No,
sphere. Communicated by Professor W. J. McGEE, President of the
Anthropological Society of Washington ... ... ... ... 51
Aboriginal American Zootechny. By OTIS T. MASON ... ... ... 52
The Paganism of the Civilised Iroquois of Ontario. Communicated by
DAVID BOYLE, Curator of the Museum of Toronto, to the Anthro-
pological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 53
Note on a Copper Shield from the N.W. Coast of America. Communicated
by O. M. DALTON ... 54
Report of the Ethnographic Survey Committee. Presented to the British
Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... 55
Property Marks of Alaskan Eskimo. By F. BOAS 56
Floats for Alluring Salmon. Communicated by J. EDGE-PARTINGTON ... 57
Extracts from the Diary of Mr. James Strange, H.E.I.C.S. Communicated
by COUTTS TROTTER, Esq., F.A.T 58
Ein Besuch bei den Chirropd- und Talamanca-Indianern von Costarica.
Von K. SAPPER 59
The Cordillera of Mexico and its InhabitantsN, By O. H. HOWARTH, C.E.,
F.R.G.S., F.G.S ./\ 60
Note ou a Stone Figure from Colombia, S. America. Communicated by
0. M. DALTON. (With Plate I, J) N 61
An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus. By CLAUDE^ELAVAL COBHAM,
B.C.L., M.A., M.E.A.S ' 62
The Western Bajputana States. By Lieut. -Colonel ARCHIBALD ADAMS,
I.M.S., M.D 63
Note on a Hkoung beht set. Communicated by H. LING ROTH .. ... 64
Aswakranta, near Gauhati. By Captain P. R. GURDON, I.S.C. .. ... 65
Note on some Tribal and Family Names in Assam. By Major JOHN
SHAKESPEAR, C.I.E., D.S.O., I.S.C 66s
Mizo ler vai thon thou (Lushai folk tales). Mizozir tir bu (grammar,
etc.). Presented respectively by Major J. SHAKKSPEAR, C.I.E , D.S.O.,
I.S.C., and by the Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam ... 67
Rijk's Ethnographisch Museum. Tentoonstellung van Japansche Kunst.
Door Dr. J. D. E. SCHMELTZ, Directeur ... ... ... ... ... 68
The Japanese Gohei and the Ainu Inao. Communicated by W. G. ASTON
to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancemeut of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 69
Some Peculiar Features of the Animal-cults of the Natives of Sarawak.
Communicated by CHARLES HOSE, D.Sc., Resident of the Baram
District, and W. McDouaALL\M.A., to the Anthropological Section of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... 70
Relics of the Stone Age of Borneo. Communicated by A. C. HADDON, Sc.D.,
F.R.S., Lecturer on Ethnography in the University of Cambridge, to
the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... 71
Houses and Family Life in Sarawak. Abstract of a paper communicated by
A. C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S.,; to the Anthropological Section of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... 72
The Textile Patterns of the Sea-Dyaks. Communicated by A. C. HADDON,
viii CONTENTS.
No.
Some Vagaines of the Kephalic Index. Communicated by JOHN BEDDOE,
M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... 93
Certain Markings on the Frontal Part of the Human Cranium. Communi-
cated by Professor A. FRANCIS DIXON, M.A., to the Anthropological
Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science ... 94
The Sacral Index. Communicated by Professor D. J. CUNNINGHAM, M.D.,
F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95
A Text-Book of Physiology. By Professor Sir MICHAEL FOSTER, M.D., F.R.S. 96
Man and his Ancestor: A study in Evolution. By CHARLES MORRIS ... 97
The Races of Man. By J. DENIKER, Sc.D 98
Mental and Physical Deviations from the Normal among Children in Public
Elementary and other Schools. Report of the Committee of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... 99
R\, The Microcephalic Brain. Communicated by Professor D. J. CUNNINGHAM,
Moderi M.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
An Essa"or ^ie Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... 100
QUNJ3tem of Classification of Finger-Prints. By J. G. GARSON, M.D., Expert
Neue Br Aclviser on Identification of Criminals ... ... ... ... ... 101
ote on a Mould showing the Finger- Prints of a Roman Sculptor, probably
of the Third Century A.D. Communicated by Professor Sir WILLIAM
TURNER, M.D., F.R.S. , to the Anthropological Section of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... 102
Physical Anthropology. Cross-References ... ... ... ... ... 103
Interpolation in Memory. Communicated by Professor MARCUS HARTOG,
M.A., D.Sc., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science ... ... ... ... ... ... 104
The Perception of Force. By Professor G. J. STOKES, M.A., Queen's College,
Cork 105
The Psychology of Reasoning. By ALFRED BINET ... ... ... ... 106
The Nervous System of the Child. By FRANCIS WARNER, M.D 107
The Experimental Study of Children. By ARTHUR MACDONALD 108
Horns of Honour, and other Studies in the By-ways of Archaeology. By
FREDERICK THOMAS ELWORTHY 109
Animal Superstitions and Totemism. Communicated by N. W. THOMAS to
the Folklore Society 110
Die Finsternisse in der Mythologie und im religiosen Brauch der Volker.
Von Dr. RICHARD LASCH Ill
Die Behandlung der Leiche des Selbstmorders. By Dr. RICHARD LASCH ... 112
The Amusements of Old London. By WILLIAM B. BOCJLTON 113
Questions on Animal Superstitions. By N. W. THOMAS ... 114
Folklore: Cross-References ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 115
Life beyond Death. By MINOT JUDSON SAVAGE, D.D. (Harvard) 116
Permanent Artificial Skin Marks. Communicated by H. LING ROTH to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science 117
Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology
and Natural History. Hawaiian Featherwork. By WILLIAM T. BHIGITAM 118
CONTENTS.
Sc.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science
Report on Cambridge Exploring Expedition to the Malay Provinces of
Lower Siam. Drawn up by W. W. SKEAT, and presented to the British
Association Committee on the National History and Ethnography of
the Malay Peninsula ...
Notes on the Anthropological Observations made by Mr. F. Laidlaw.
Communicated by W. H. L. DUCKWORTH, M.A., Lecturer on Anthro-
pology in the University of Cambridge, to the Anthropological Section
of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
Malay Magic. By W. W. SKEAT, with a Preface by C. 0. BLAGDEN
The " Kingfisher " Type of Kris. Communicated by Professor H. Louis,
M.A., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science. (With Plate I, J)
Notes on Malay Metal-work. Communicated by WALTER ROSENHAIN, B.A.,
to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science
A Theory of Universal Grammar. By Colonel R. C. TEMPLE, C.T.E....
The Occurrence of Flint Implements of Palaeolithic Type on an old Land-
surface in Oxfordshire. Communicated by A. M. BELL, M.A., to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science
The Tenth Report of the Silchester Excavation Fund ...
Some Yorkshire Earthworks. Communicated by Mrs. ARMITAGE to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science
The Anthropology of West Yorkshire. Communicated by JOHN BEDDOE,
M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science
The Physical Characteristics of the Population of West Aberdeenshire.
Communicated by J. GRAY, B.Sc., and J. F. TOCHER, F.I.C., to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science ...
Der deutsche Volksaberglaube der Gegenwart. Yon Dr. ADOLF WUTTKE ...
Die Tiere in der deutschen Volksmedizin alter und neuer Zeit. Von
JOHANNES JUHLING, mit einem Geleitworte von Hofrath Dr. med. Hofler
Bornholm. By Dr. G. BUSCHAN ...
Corfou et le Corfiotes. Par ARTHUR DE CLAPAREDE, Docteur en droit,
President de la Societe de Geographic de Suisse, etc.
The Cave of Psychrd in Crete. Communicated by D. G. HOGARTH, M.A., to
the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science ... ... ...
Writing in Prehistoric Greece. Communicated by ARTHUR J. EVANS, M.A.,
F.S.A., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science...
Portugalia, Materiaes para o estudio de povo portuguez
Developmental Changes m the Human Skeleton. Communicated by DAVID
WATERSTON, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., to the Anthropological Section of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science
vn
No.
73
74
75
76
77
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
CONTENTS. IX
No.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. By Professor
BRIGHAM 119
A Summaiy of the Proceedings of the Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland. (November-December, 1900) 120 to 123
Etude de diverses series de cranes anciens de la vallee du Rhone (Valais).
EUGENE PITTARD ... ... ... ... 124
A Memoiial to Dr. Livingstone ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 125
The Aborigines of Tasmania. By H. LING ROTH ... 126
Die Schonheit des weiblichen Korpers. By Dr. C. H. STRATZ 127
Publicationen aus dem k. Ethnographischeii Museum zu Dresden ... ... 128
Abhandlungen und Beriehte des k. Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-
Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden ... ... ... ... ... 129
Canada under British Rule, 1760-1900. By Sir JOHN G. BOUKINOT,
K.C.M.G., LL.D., Litt.D 130
Rijks Ethnographisch Museum te Leiden ... ... ... ... ... 131
Modern Abyssinia. By AUGUSTUS B. WYLDE ... 132
An Essay on Western Civilisation in its Economic Aspects. By W.
CUNNINGHAM, D,D. ... ... 133
Neue Beitrage zur Anthropotogie der Sehweiz. Dr. PHIL. OTTO SCHURCH ... 134
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES. to face page
rStone Implements of Flaked Quartzite, from the Knysna caves,*.
South Africa
I ^ > 4 v
I Stone Implements from the neighbourhood of Knysna, South j
L Africa ... ... ... ... ... ... ... — '
II. Genealogical Tables from Murray Island ... 82
HI. ,, „ „ Mabniag ... ... ... 82
IV. Implements from Pitcairn Islands ... ... ... ... 88
V to VIII. Bronze Vessels from Scandinavia and other parts 94
IX. Chart of Cephalic Indices (Egypt) ... ... ... ... 102
X. Coiupaiuson of Egyptian Indices ... ... ... ... ... 102
XI. Distribution of Pigmentation (Aberdeen) ... 124
XII. „ „ „ „ 124
XIII. Cephalic Chart. Scotland, Aberdeenshire, E. Table I. 169
persons ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 124
XIV. Cephalic Chart. Scotland, Aberdeenshire, E. Table II. 195
persons ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 124
XV. Cephalic Chart. Scotland, Aberdeenshiru, E. 38 fishermen.
Table III 124
XVI. Cephalic Chart. Scotland. 57 Highlanders. Table IV ... 124
XVII. Heads of Eskimos 140
XVIII. Views in Norma Facialis (Nos. 1-4) and Norma Lateralis
(Nos. 5-8) of four skulls from the University Museum of
Human Anatomy at Kiel ... 140
XIX. Stone Clubs of British New Guinea 250
CONTENTS.
page
XX. Stone Clubs of British New Guinea ... 250
XXL „ „ „ •„ ... ' ... 250
XXIT. „ „ „ „ 250
XXIII. Sketch Map of British New Guinea 250
XXIV. A Primitive Figurine of Black Clay from Adalia 256
XXV. Stone Implements from Tasmania ... ... ... ... 262
XXVI. „ „ „ „ 262
' XXVII. Vumba and Vumba Kuu, E. Africa ..." 297
XXVIIT. Neighbourhood of Vumba ... ... 297
XXIX. Pedigree of the Diwans of Vumba ... ... 297
XXX. Six Views each of Three Implements ... ... ... ... 304
XXXI. Six Views each of 9 Thick Bough Implements from the
Thames Valley Terrace Gravels ... ... ... ... 304
XXXII. Two Views each of 10 Implements from the Thames Valley
Terrace Gravels ... ... ... ... ... ... 304
XXXIII. Two Views each of 1.1 Graving Tools ... 304
XXXIV. Two Views each of 18 Graving Tools ... 304
XXXV. Two Views' each' of 21 Tools, various ... 304
XXXVI. Map of Part of Asia Minor to illustrate the distribution of
the Bektashis 320
XXXVII. Bektashi Portraits. Mehmed (1). Abbas (9). Full Face and
Profile 320
XXXVIII. Bektashi Portraits. Veli Effendi (10). Djaffir (12). Full
Face and Profile 320
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
1-J.
Bracelets of Flint from Egypt.
The Carved Slates from Hierakonpolis and elsewhere.
f Maori Carvings from a Pataka or Store-House.
I Object of Unknown Use from the Solomon Islands.
Feather Mats in the British Museum.
Featherwork Coronet and Wooden Box from Tahiti,
f Head of Shell Adze.
I Shell Adze from Ambrym Island, New Hebrides.
f Stone Figure from Colombia, S. America.
<^ Handle of " Kingfisher " Kris.
lHandle of " Kingfisher" Kris, Old Pattern.
BLOCKS.
Sacred Pine Tree in a Japanese Village (from a Japanese print)
Sketch Map of part of -South Afr-iea, between Mossel Bay and Port
Elizabeth (Fig. 1). ... ,.
Bone Implement from the Knysna Caves (Fig. 2)
Shell Ornament from the Knysna Caves (Fig. o) ... ... ...
Berta Spears (Fig. 1)
„ Kulbedah (Fig. 2) ...
45
47
47
52
CONTENTS. XI
PAGE
Berta Tokul (Pig. 3) 53
,, Granary (Fig. 4) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 53
Ground-plan (Fig. 1) and Section (Fig. 2) of South-west Cairn and Circle,
Clava ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 64
Ground-plan (Fig. 3) and Section (Fig. 4) of Leys Circle, near Inverness ... C.t;
Sketches and Plans of "Altar Stones" in Scotch Circles ... ... 68
Ground-plan of Daviot Circle ... ... ..'. ... ... ... ... 71
Egyptian Femur Maxima (Fig. 1) ... 97
Libyan Chief (Fig. 2) 100
Prehistoric Egyptian Skull (Fig. 3) ... 100
Head of Libyan Chief (Fig. 4) ... 100
Head of Nenkheftka, Fifth Dynasty (Fig. 5) ... 101
Man of Punt (Fig. 6) 101
Eskimo Craniology (Fig. 1, a, 6, c, d ) ... ... ... ... 125
Head Measuring Instrument ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 175
Black Punctured Ware from Enkomi (Fig. 1) 202
Gold Pins from Enkomi (Fig. 2) 203
Bronze Fibulae from Enkomi (Fig. 3) ... ... 204
Objects from Enkomi (Fig. 4) 208
Warrior attacking Griffin (Fig. 5) 209
Chariot Scene on side of Ivory Draught- Box from Enkomi (Fig. 0) ... ... 210
Chariot of Barneses III (Fig. 7) ... 211
Hittite Chariot (Fig. 8) 211
Western Warrior with Cuirass and Plumed Casque (Fig. 9) ... ... 213
Bronze Greaves from Enkomi (Fig. 10) ... ... ... ... ... ... 214
Ornamental Ivory Bosses, Mycenae (Fig. 11, 1 and 2) ... ... ... 21o
Ornament on Bronze Greaves, Glasinae (Fig. 11, 3) ... ... ... ... 2l5
Copper Ingot : Enkomi (Fig. 12) ... 215
Engraved Ring : Enkomi (Fig. 13) ... 216
Inscriptions on Clay Balls from Enkomi (Fig. 14) ... ... ... ... 217
Iron Sword from Curium (Fig. 15) ... ... ... ... ... ... 218
Stone Clubs of British New Guinea ... ... ... ... 246
Sketch Map of the Mekeo District ... ... ... ... ... ... 249
Miscellanea No.
Map of Benne District ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31
Defences of Gatri ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31
Wommera from North Queensland ... ... ... ... ... ... 35
Tau-Shield from the N.W. Coast of America ... ... ... ... 54
Salmon Floats from Vancouver Island ... ... ... ... ... ... 57
" Hkoung beht set " from Burma ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 64
Diagrammatic Sections of the Outer Skin, to show the different results of
the four methods of skin- mar king ... ... ... ... ... ... 117
.Memorial to Dr. Livingstone ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 125
LIST OF THE FELLOWS
OP THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
It is particularly requested that Fellows will give, notice to the Secretary of the
Society, 3, Hanover Square, W., of any error in tJieir addresses or description*, in
order that it may be immediately corrected in the hooks.
The names with * attaclied to them are those of Fellows who liave compounded
for the Annual Subscriptions.
IT These Fellows have contributed Papers to the Institute.
§ These Fellows are Members of Council.
HONORARY FELLOWS.
Anuchin, Professor. Imperial Univer-
sity, Moscow.
Bastian, Professor Adolf. Director of
the Ethnological Museum, Berlin. (^[)
Benedikt, Prof. University, Vienna,
Austria.
Bertillon, MODS. Alphonse. Paris.
Bonaparte, H. H. Prince Roland. 10
Avenue d'lena, Paris.
Cartailhac, M. Emile. Toulouse, France.
Chantre, M. Ernest. Lyons, France.
Collignon, Dr. Rene. 6 Rue de la
Marine, Cherbourg, Manche, France.
Daroste, Prof. Camille. 37 Rue de
Fleurus, Paris.
Deniker, Dr. .T. 2 Rue de Buffon,
Paris.
Dubois, Prof. Eugene. 45 Zijlweg,
Haarlem, Holland.
Dupont, Dr. E. 31 Rue Vauiii-r,
Brussels.
Fison, Rev. Lorimer. Essenden, Mel-
bourne.
Gerland, Prof. University, Strasburg,
Alsace.
Giglioli, Professor E. H. Florence.
Hamy, Dr. E. T. Museum du Troca-
dero, Paris.
Heger, Dr. F. Vienna.
Holmes, Prof. W. H. Chicago.
Jones, Professor T. Rupert, F.R.S.
17 Parsons Green, Fulham, S.W.
Kollmann, Professor J. Basle.
Lacassagne, Professor. Lyons, France.
Livi, Cavaliere Dr. Ridolfo. Rome.
Lombroso, Prof. University, Turin,
Italy.
Manouvrier, Dr. L. Paris.
Mantegazza, Professor Paolo. Florence.
Martin, Prof. Rudolf. University of
Zurich.
Mason, Professor Otis T. Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, U.S.A.
Meyer, Dr. A. B. Dresden. (*[)
Montelius, Dr. Oscar. Stockholm. (r)
Moreno, Dr. F. P. Buenos Ayres.
a
List of the, Fellows
HONORARY "FELLOWS— continued.
Nadaillac, Marquis de. Paris.
Nicolucci, Prof. Giustiniano. Isola di
Sora, Italy.
Powell, The Hon. J. W. Bureau of
Ethnology, Washington, U.S.A.
Putnam, Professor F. W. Harvard
University.
Ranke, Professor J. Munich, Bavaria.
Schmeltz, Dr. J. D. E. 69 Rapenburg,
Leiden, Netherlands.
Sergi, Prof. G. Director of Royal Uni-
versity, Rome.
Spencer, Professor Baldwin. Uni-
versity, Melbourne.
Stirling, Dr. E. C., C.M.G., M.A,
F.R.S., F.R.C.S. Director of South
Australian Museum.
Stolpe, Dr. K. H. Royal Historical
Museum, Stockholm.
Topinard, Dr. Paul. 105 Rue de
Rennes, Paris. (^[)
Troncoso, Signer F. del Paso y. 61
Via Ricasoli, Florence, Italy.
Virchow, Professor Rudolph. Berlin.
CORRESPONDING FELLOWS.
Appleyard, Rev. W. Dewsbury.
Bonsdorff, Professor E. J. Finland.
Carr, Lucien, Esq. Cambridge, Mass.,
U.S.A.
Daa, Professor. Norway.
Duhousset, Colonel Emile. Paris.
His, Professor W. Leipzig.
Hoffman, Dr. W. J. Washington,
D.C., U.S.A.
Howitt, Alfred W., Esq. Melbourne,
Victoria.
Letourneau, .Prof. Paris.
Oliver, Captain S. P. Gosport.
Ricarde-Seaver, Major F. I. Athena?um
Club, S.W.
Ruge, Dr. Sophus. Dresden.
Saunders, Trelawney W., Esq. Newton
Abbot.
Scherzer, Dr. Charles Chevalier
Genoa.
Steinhauer, Dr. Karl. Stockholm.
Weisbach, Dr. Augustin. Vienna.
Wilson, T., Esq. Smithsonian
stitution, Washington. (^[)
de.
In-
N.B. — The name of any Honorary or Corresponding Fellow whose address, or
that of his agent, shall not be known for the space of two years shall be removed from
the List, but may be restored again by the Council.
LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS.
Bertholon, M. R. Tunis.
Boyle, D., Esq. Curator of the Archaeo-
logical Museum, Toronto. (^[)
Cheesman, A., Esq. Auckland,
NZ.
Fawcett, F., Esq. Calicut, India.
Gillen, F. J., Esq. S. Australia.
Hamilton, A., Esq. Dunedin, N.Z.
Hose, C., Esq. Sarawak.
Myers, C. S., Esq. 62 Holland Park, W.
Orsi, M. P. Syracuse, Sicily.
Roscoe, Rev. H. E. Uganda.
Sibree, Rev. J. Antananarivo, Mada-
gascar.
Temple, Col. R. C. Andaman Islands,
White, Franklin, Esq. Buluwayo.
Wray, C., Esq. Perak.
Wray, L., Esq. Perak.
SUBSCRIBERS TO THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE.
The Library Committee of the Corporation of the City of London,
of the, Anthropological /W/7///V. :!
OKDTNAKY FELLOWS.
Election.
ISM:! Aborcroruby, The Hon. Jolin, 62 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. (*)
IS58 Adams, Wm., Esq., F.R.C.S., 7 Loudoun Road, St. John's Wood, N.W. (*)
1862 Amherst, of Hackney, The Right Hon. Lord, F.S.A., 8 Grosvenor Square, W. ;
and Didlington Hall, Brandon.
1874 Atkinson, G. M., Esq., 28 St. Oswald Road, West Brompton, S.W. (f §)
18(j:! Avebury, The Eight Hon. Lord, F.R.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, 2 St. Jamci Square,
S. W. ; High Elms, Beckcnham, Kent, (f §*)
1895 Backhouse, W. A., Esq., St. John's, Wolsinghatn, Darlington. (*)
1888 Balfour, Henry, Esq., M.A., VICE-PRESIDENT, Anthropological Department,
Museum, Oxford; 11 Norham Gardens, Oxford. (1T§)
1901 Ballen, Mrs. Ada, 18 Somerset Street, Portman Square, W.
1894 Barclay, Edwyn, Esq., Urie Lodge, Eidyway, Wimbledon.
1865 Barrett, Thomas Squire, Esq., F.Z.S., F.S.S., F.R.B.S., F.R.Hist.S., Rose.
Cottage, Millficld Road, Applcton, Widnes. (*)
1876 Barren, E. J., Esq., F.S.A., 10 Endsleigh Street, Tavistock Square, W.G. (*)
1865 Bartrum, J. Stothart, Esq., F.R.C.S., 13 Gay Street, Bath.
1882 Baye, Baron de, 58 Avenue de la Grande Arme"e, Paris. (*)
1901 Beadnell, C. Marsh, Esq., Staff Surgeon, R.K
1884 Beaufort, W. Morris, Esq., F.R.G-.S., 18 Piccadilly, W. (*§)
1854 Beddoe, John, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., F R.C.P., VICE-PRESIDENT, Foreign Associate
of the Anthropological Society of Paris ; Corresponding Member of the
Anthropological Society of Berlin ; Hon. Member of the Anthropological
Societies of Brussels and Washington ; The Chantry, Bradford-on-Avon,
Wilts, (f §)
1899 Bennett, Albert L, Esq., M.D., F.E.S., 34 Denison Buildings, Uth Street,
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
1899 Bennett, Mrs. G. Nevitt, 15 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, N.W.
1899 Berry, R. J. A., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.S., Edinburgh School of Medicine
Royal College, Edinburgh ; 4 Howard Place, Edinburgh.
1896 Blackett, Spencer, Esq., Paternoster House, Cliaring Cross Road.
189(> Blundell, Herbert Weld, Esq., Brooks's Club, S. W.
1869 Bon wick, James, Esq., F.R.G.S., Yarra Yarra, South Vale, Upper Norwood,
S.E. (f )
1M72 Bowly, Christopher, Esq., Si<ldi.n>jton House, Cirencester.
18G4 Brabrook, E. W., Esq., C.B., F.S.A., F.R.S.N.A. Copenhagen, VICE-PRESIDENT,
Foreign Associate of the Anthropological Society of Paris ; 178 Be<lfnnl
Hill, Bnlhf,,,,, S. W. ; 28 Abingdon Street, S. W. (*f §)
l.Sijr. Bniby, F., Esq., F.G.S., Bushey Lodge, Tcddington.
1900 Breton, Miss A. C., c/o Col. H. Breton, R.E., St. ^/"/ov////v/'.s- ]£•»*<•. RocKeater.
1894 Brook, II. C., Esq.. W»Ii-?rh<tiiipt»n 7/i*//.sv, Si. lb'l<-n*
a 2
4 List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1889 Brown, J. Allen, Esq., F.G-.S., 7 Kent Gardens, Ealing. (f)
1864 Brown, James Roberts, Esq., F.R.G.S., F.RS.KA. Copenhagen, 44 Tregunter
Road, South Kensington, S. W. (*)
1895 Brown, William, Esq., J.P., President Fowler Phrenological Institute,
Hazclwood, Wellingborough.
1885 Browne, John, Esq., Chertsey House, Parkhill Rise, Croydon, Surrey.
1901 Bruce, J., Esq., M.B., Larriston, Town Hall Square, Grimsby.
1901 Bryce, Victor F., Esq., F.K.G-.S., By stock, near Exmouth, and 7 Little St. James'
Street, S. W.
1867 Bull, William, Esq., F.L.S., 536 King's Road, Chelsea, S. W.
1895 Burnard, Robert, Esq., 3 Hillsborough, Mutley, Plymouth.
1894 Bushe, Col. Charles Kendal, F.G.S., 19 Cromwell Road, S. Kensington.
1901 Bushell, Stephen Wootten, Esq., M.D., C.M.G-., Shirley, Harold Road, Upper
Norwood.
1807 Busteed, W. J., Esq., M.D., Brigade-Surgeon. (*)
1893 Caldecott, Percy, Esq., Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue, S. W.
1872 Cammiade, Gilbert Henry, Esq., Madras. (*)
1892 Campbell, C. W., Esq., H.B.M. Consular Service, Shanghai, China.
1865 Carey, Major-General W. D., E.A., 22 Archers Road, Southampton. (*)
1901 Chalmers, Albert J., M.D., F.R.C.S., Medical College, Colombo, Ceylon.
1899 Christian, F. W., Esq., 60 Clyde Road, Addiscombe, E. Croydon. (IF)
1874 Church, Sir W. Selby, Bart., M.D., President E.C.P., 130 Harley Street,
Cavendish Square, W.
1877 Clapham, Crochley, Esq., M.D., The Grange, Rotherliam, Yorks. (*f )
1885 Clarke, C. F., Esq., M.R.C.S., 24 Park Road, Plumstead.
1875 Claudet, Frederic, Esq., F.C.S., 10 Oak Hill, Frognal, Hampstead, N.W.
1864 Clerk, Major-General H., E.A., F.R.S., Mountjield, 5 Upper Maze Hill, St.
Leonards, Sussex.
1895 Clodd, Edward, Esq., 19 Carleton Road, Tufnell Park, N.
1898 Codrington, Robert, Esq., F.R.G.S., Government House, Fort Jameson, Rhodesia.
1884 Coffin, Walter H., Esq., F.L.S., F.C.S., 94 Cornwall Gardens, South Kensington,
S. W. ; and Villa Passaic, Kew, Surrey.
1863 Collingwood, J. Frederick, Esq., F.G.S., Foreign Associate of the Anthropo-
logical Society of Paris, 5 Irene Road, Parson's Green, S. W. (*f )
1888 Collyer, Henry C., Esq., Breakhurst, Beddington, near Croydon.
1896 Connolly, R. M., Esq., B.A., L.R.C.S. Edin., Taiping, State of Perak. (1)
1895 Corner, Frank, Esq., M.R.C.S., Manor House, Poplar, E. (f)
1861 Crawfurd, O. J., Esq., C.M.G., Oporto. (*)
1893 Crombie, James Edward, Esq., Invcrdon, Aberdeen.
1892 Crooke, William, Esq., B.A., Langton House, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. (1F§)
of the Anthropological ///*/•/'//'/,-. 5
Ycur of
Election.
1900 Crowfoot, J. W., Esq., M.A., Mason University Collcye, Birmingham.
1883 Cunningham, Professor D. J., M.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. L. and E., 43 FitzWilluun
Place, Dublin. (f §)
1896 Gust, Miss M. E. V., F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., 127 Victoria Street, Westminster.
1863 Cuthbert, J. R., Esq., Chapel Street, Liverpool. (*)
1875 Czarnikow, C., Esq., 29 Mincing Lane, E.G.
1892 Dallas, James, Esq., F.L.S., Cantralees, Lympstone, Devon. (IF)
1895 Dalton, Ormonde Maddock, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., Corresponding Member
Anthropological Society of Paris, British Museum., Bloomsbury, W.C. (IF)
1885 Darwin, W. Erasmus, Esq., F.G.S., Ridgemount, Basset, North Stoneham,
Southampton.
1893 Davies, Rev. T. Witton, B.A. (Loud.), Ph.D. (Leipzig), Baptist College, Bangor,
North Wales. (*)
1869 Dawkins, W. Boyd, Esq., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.S., Professor of
Geology and Palaeontology in Victoria University, Owens College,
Manchester, Woodhurst, Fallowfield, Manchester. (1F)
1899 Duckworth, W. L. H., Esq., M. A., University Lecturer in Anthropology, Jesus
College, Cambridge. (*1F§)
1870 Duncan, Dr. David, Athenoeum Club, Pall Mali
1885 Duncombe, Captain the Hon. Cecil, The Grange, Nawton, Yorks.
1901 Durnan, T., Esq., 35 Har court Road, Sheffield.
1862 Eastwood, J. W., Esq., M.D., Dinsdale Park, Darlington.
1SO:! Ebbels, Arthur, Esq., 6 Lavender Gardens, Clapham Common, S. W.
1890 Edwards, Stanley, Esq., F.Z.S., Kidbrooke Lodge, Blackheath, S.E.
1896 Elliott, R., Esq., 161 Camberwcll Road, S.E.
1888 Ellis, H. Havelock, Esq., Carbis Water, Lelant, Cornwall.
1891 Evans, Arthur J., Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., VICE-PRESIDENT, Keeper of the
Ashmolean Museum, Youlbury, Oxford. (1F§)
1863 Evans, Sir John, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., V.P.S.A., F.L.S., F.G.S.,
VICE-PRESIDENT ; President of the Numismatic Society of London ;
Nash Mills, Hemcl Hempstcad, Herts. (1F§)
1887 Evans, Sebastian, Esq., LL.D., 15 Waterloo Crescent, Dover.
Falconer, Thomas "NVentworth, Esq., Foxholes, Christchurch, Hants.
1900 Farnell, Lewis R., Esq., M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
1901 Farquharson of Haughton, Mrs., F.R.A.S., Netherton, Mcijle, N.B.
1880 Felkin, Robert William, Esq., M.D., F.R.G.S., 6 Crouch Hall Road, Crouch
End, London, A'.; and 23 Henrietta Street, W. (§)
1897 Ffennell, Miss M. C., 172 The Grove, Hammersmith, W.
1883 Finzi, John, Esq., 53 Hamilton Termer, R\W.
6 List of the fellows
Year of
Election.
1866 Fischer, Hubert, Esq., 13.L., Madura, Madras. (*)
1901 Fisher, Mrs., Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia; and Vedis Lodge, Bembi"idf/e,
LW.
1901 Mower, Stanley S., Captain 5th Fusiliers, G/iizch, Egypt.
1883 Forbes, H. 0., Esq., LL.D., Director of Museums, The Museum, William
Browne Street, Liverpool. (§f )
1875 Furlong, Major-General J. G. 11, F.R.G.S., F.R.S.E., 11 Douglas Crescent,
Edinburgh.
1889 Fraser, Professor A., M.B., 18 North/brook Road, Dublin.
1885 Frazer, James G., Esq., M.A., D.Sc,, Trinity College, Cambridge, (f )
1871 Fry, Danby P., Esq., 166 Haverstoclc Hill, N. W.
1862 Galton, Francis, Esq., M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S. ; VICE-
42 Rutland Gate, S. W. (f §)
1901 Gardiner, A. H., Esq., Queen's College, Oxford.
1881 Garsou, John George, Esq., M.D., Foreign Associate Anthropological Society
of Paris; Corresponding Member Society for Anthropology, Ethnology
and Primitive Hist, of Berlin ; Corresponding Member of Anthropological
Society of Moscow; Corresponding Member of Anthropological Society
of Home ; Adviser and Instructor on the Metric System of Identification
to the Home Office, 14 Stratford Place, W. (H§)
1901 George, E. C. S., Esq., C.I.E., Deputy Commissioner, Meiktila, Burmah.
1880 Gladstone, J. Hall, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., F.C.S., 17 Pembridge Square, W. (t;
1901 Gladstone, R, J., Esq., 1 Gloucester Gate, Regent's Park, N.W.
1896 Godden, Miss G. M., Ridgfield, Wimbledon, (f )
1879 Godnian, F. Du Cane, Esq., F.R.S., South Lodge, Hoi-sham. (*)
1895 Gomme, G. L., Esq., F.S.A., 24 Dorset Square, W. (§1f)
1901 Gordon, Thomas H., Esq., B.A., Ivy Bank, Tarporley.
1885 Gosselin, Hellier R. H., Esq., Bengeo Hall, Hertford.
1887 Gowland, W., Esq., F.S.A., F.C.S., VICE-PHESIDENT, 13 Russell Road,
Kensington, W. (§*1F)
1894 Gray, John, Esq., B.Sc., 351 ColdJiarbour Lane, Brixton, S. W. (1F)
1888 Greatheed, William, Esq., 67 Chaneery Lane, W.C.
1901 Green, F. W. Edridge, Esq., M.D., Hendon Grove, Hendon.
1892 Green, Upfield, Esq., F.G.S., Tenter Street, Moor fields, E.C.
1899 Greg, Thos. Tylston, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., 7 Campden Hill Square, Kciisimjlon. II '.
1899 Griffith, F. Llewellyn, Esq., Riversvale, Asliton-under-Ly m \
1889 Haddun, Alfred Curt, Esq., M.A., Sc.D., F.R.S., M.R.I.A., F.Z.S., PRESIDENT,
University Lecturer in Ethnology, Cambridge, Foreign Associate of the
Anthropological Society of Paris, Inisfail, Hills Road, Cambridge. (H§*)
1890 Hale, Charles George, Esq., Ivy Hatch, Sevcnoaks.
1901 Hall, H. R. H,, Esq., British Museum, Bloomsbury, W.C.
of the Anthropological Institu.tf.
Year of
Election.
1800 Hardy, Norman, Esq., 294 King's Road, Chelsea.
1884 Hargreaves, Miss II. M., Oakhurst, Waterloo Road, Birk
ISO? Hartland, E. S., Esq., F.S.A., Highgarth, Gloucester. (*§)
1866 Haserick, F. Augustus, Esq., 35 Johann Georgen AlUe, Dresden, Germany. (*)
1893 Haswell, George Handel, Esq., Cornwall Works, Birmingham.
1889 Haverfield, R, Esq., M.A., Christ Church, Oxford. (*)
1864 Healey, Edward C., Esq., Wyphurst, Cranleigh, GuildJ'or<l.
1885 Heape, C., Esq., Hartley, High Lane, near Slockport.
1886 Hervey, Hon. D. F. A., C.M.G., The Elms, Aldebunjh.
1901 Hewitt, Rev. Canon, c/o F. Philipson Stow, Esq., Blackdown House,
Fcnihurst, Sussex.
1863 Hewlett, Alfred, Esq., F.G.S., Haseley Manor, War-wick.
1895 Hickson, Prof. S. J., D.Sc., F.R.S., Owens College, Manchester. (*)
1899 Hobson, Mrs. M. A., 5 Beaidnont Crescent, West Kensington, W.
1900 Hodgson, T. V.,Esq., 147 Tachbrook Street, S.W.
1899 Holdich, Col. Sir T. Huugerford, R.E., K.C.I.E., C.B., 23 Lansdoime Crescent,
Netting Hill, W. (1F§)
1887 Hollander, Bernard, Esq., M.D., M.H.C.S., 62 Queen Anne Street, Cacciidi*h
Square, W.
1881 Holmes, T. V... Esq., F.G.S., 28 Croom's Hill, Greenwich, S.K (f §)
1876 Horniman, Frederick John, Esq., M.P., F.L.S., F.U.G.S., F.Z.S., F.S.A. Scot.,
20 Hyde Park Terrace, W. (*)
1894 Horsley, Victor, Esq., F.E.S., F.K.C.S., 25 Cavendish Square, W.
1893 Hose, Charles, Esq., Resident of the Baram, Sarawak, Borneo ; and c/'o Borneo
Co., 28 Fenchurch Street, E.G. (IF)
1891 Howarth, 0. H., Esq., 209 Gresham House, Old Broad Street, E.G. (IF)
1889 Howden, Robert, Esq., M.A., M.B., F.R.S.E., Prof, of Anatomy, Durham
University, 24 Burdon Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
1887 Howes, G. B., Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, Royal College of
Science, South Kensington, S. W. (§)
1896 Howorth, Sir Henry H., K.C.I.E., M.P., F.R.S., F.S.A., 30 Collingliam Place,
Earl's Court, (f §)
1879 Hiigel, Baron A. von, 53 Barton Road, Cambridge.
1885 Hurst, Walter, Esq., B.Sc., Kirkgate, Tadeastcr, Yorks ; and 17 Doughty St red,
W.C.
1898 Hutchinson, Rev. H. Neville, 39 Bedford Gardens, Campden Hill, Kensington, W.
1898 lies, George, Esq., 5 Brunswick Street, Montreal, Canada. (*)
1900 Japp, Alex H., Esq., LL.D., F.R.S.E., National Liberal Club, Whitehall PI«,,.
S.W.
1863 Jackson, Henry, Esq., Litt.D., M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge. (*)
t> List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1872 Jeaffreson, W. J., Esq., M.A., Savage Club, Adelphi. (*)
1869 Jeffery, F. J., Esq. (*)
1898 Jevons, Frank Byron, Esq., M.A., LL.D., Principal of Hatfield Hall, Durham.
1885 Johnston, Sir H. H., K.C.B., H.M. Special Commissioner, Uganda, c/o
Foreign Ojjice, S.W. (If)
1879 Keane, A. H., Esq., B.A., Corresponding Member of the Italian Society of
Anthropology, 79 Broadhurst Gardens, South Hampstcad, N.W. (IF)
1896 Keith, A., Esq., M.D., F.K.C.S., 40 Leigh Road, Highbury Park, N. (§f )
1891 Kennedy, George A., Esq., 76 Seedley Road, Pendlcton, Manchester.
1894 Kennedy, James, Esq., 14 Frognal Lane, Finchley Road, N.W.
1865 Kincaid, Major-General W., Messrs. Alexander Fletcher & Co., St. Helen's
Place, Bishopsgate Street, E.G.
1891 Kitts, Eustace John, Esq., Gorakhpur, N.W.P. (*)
1895 Klein, Eev. L. De Beaumont, D.Sc., Montford House, Alexandra Drive,
Liverpool.
1881 Knowles, "W. J., Esq., Floxton Place, Ballymena, Go. Antrim. (H)
1893 Ko, Taw Sein, Esq., 2 Latter Street, Rangoon, Burmah.
1894 Krauss, J. S., Esq., B.A., Smedley's Establishment, Mattock.
1863 La Barte, Eev. W. W., M.A., 9 Crefficld Road, Colchester.
1895 Lancaster, G. G., Esq., Marion Hall, Baschurch, Shrewsbury. (*)
1899 Lang, Andrew, Esq., 1 Marloes Road, Kensington, W.
1888 Law, Walter W., Esq., Scarborough, New York, U.S.A. (*)
1885 Lawrence, E., Esq., 56 Blenheim Road, Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow,
Essex. (*)
1899 Lawrence, George Fabeau, Esq., 7 West Hill, Wandsworth, S. W.
1899 Lee, Mrs. Kate, 8 Victoria Road, Kensington, W.
1901 Letts, C., Esq., 8 Bartlett's Buildings, Holborn Circus, E.
1866 Lewis, A. L, Esq., F.C.A., TREASURER, 54 Highbury Hill, N. (*f §)
1893 Longman, Charles James, Esq., M.A., 27 Norfolk Square, W. (*)
1891 Low, Sir Hugh, G.C.M.G., F.L.S., F.G.S., 23 DC Verc Gardens, Kensington, W.
1884 Macalister, Alexander, Esq., M.I)., F.K.S., Professor of Anatomy in the
University of Cambridge, VlCE-PiiESiDENT, Torrisdale, Cambridge. (1f§)
1900 McDougall, William, Esq., S(. John's College, Cambridge. (IT)
1901 Mace, Arthur C., Esq., All Saints' Lodge, Hawlcy, Hants.
1899 Maclagan, E, C., Esq., M.D., 5 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh.
1901 Macnamara, W. C., Esq., 13 Gfrosvenor Street, W.
1885 MacEitchie, David, Esq., F.S.A. Scot., 4 Archibald Place, Edinbu/yJt. (• )
1855 Malcolm, W. E., Esq., M.A., Burnfoot, Langholm, Dumfi-ics. (*)
1881 Man, E. H., Esq., C.I.E., 2 Palace Road, Kin gston-on- Thames. (H)
of the A/ilIn-<>[»ilt>iju'nl Intitule. 0
Year of
Bleotion.
1S!)L' March, H. Colley, KsM., M.D., Portesham, Dorchester. (*f)
1896 Marett, B. R, Esq., feter Cb%c, Oc/ord. (*)
1868 Martin, Bichard Biddulph, Esq., M.P., M.A., F.E.G.S., 10 Hill Street, W.
H§)
1894 Maudslay, A. P., Esq., F.RG-.S., 32 Montpelier Square, Knighlsbridge, S. W.
(1) '
1881 Meldola, Baphael, Esq., F.RS., F.RA.S., F.C.S., F.I.C., Professor of Chemistry
in the Finsbury Technical College, City and Guilds of London Institute,
6 Brunswick Square, W.C. (*1f)
1877 Messer, A. B., Esq., M.D., Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleet, Kinylunc,
Carlisle Road, Eastbourne, (*f )
1901 Mills, H. V., Rev., Riverside, Kendal.
1901 Mitchell, A., Esq., M.D., M.C., 87 Regent Street, W.
1885 Mocatta, F. D., Esq., 9 Connaught Place, W. (*)
1883 Moloney, H.E. Sir C. Alfred, K.C.M.G., F.RG.S., Governor of the Windward
Islands, Government House, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.
1870 Morrison, Walter, Esq., M.A., M.P., 77 Cromwell Road, S.W. (*)
1894 Mortimer, J. B., Esq., Driffield, Yorks.
1897 Mullen, Ben H., Esq., M.A. (Dub.), F.B.S.A.I., Royal Museum, Peel Park,
Sal/ord.
1885 Munro, B., Esq., M.A., M.D., F.B.S.E., 48 Manor Place, Edinburgh. (*f )
1871 Murray, Adam, Esq., F.G.S. (*)
1875 Muspratt, Edmund K., Esq., F.C.S., Seaforth Hall, Seaforth, near Liverpool.
1896 Myers, C. S., Esq., M.A., 62 Holland Park, W. (If)
1893 Myres, J. L., Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.E.G.S., SECRETARY, Corresponding Member
of the Anthropological Society of Paris, Christ Church, Oxford. (*1f§)
1898 Nazar, M. H., Esq., Representative of Indians in South Africa, P.O. Box 182,
Durban, Natal.
1898 Newton, Wm. M., Esq., 96 Wood Street, E.C.
1858 Nicholson, Sir Charles, Bart., D.C.L., LL.D., F.B.G.S., F.B.A.S., The Grange,
Tottcridge, Herts. (IF)
1869 Oppert, L>r. G., Professor of Sanscrit, Bidowstrasse 55, Berlin, (f )
1870 Parker, W. M., Esq. (*)
1898 Parkin, Wm., Esq., The Mount, S/uffielil.
1897 Parkinson, B., Esq., Ralum, Bismarck Archipelago.
1891 Partington, J. Edge, Esq., Park Halt, Great l^rdjnl.l. EW.,-. (If)
1891 Paterson, Professor A. M., Esq., M.I)., Anatomy Dcpirtut-'iit, University
1899 Paul, John Dennis, Esq., F.G.S., Town End Close, Rateli/c Road, Kitiyhtun,
Leicester.
10 List of- the Felloivs
Year of
Election.
1885 Peek, Sir Cuthbert E., Bart., M.A., F.S.A., 22 Belgrave Square, S. W. ; and
Eousdon> Lyme Ecgis. (f §)
1891 Peek, The Hon. Lady, 22 Belt/rave Square, S. W.
1894 Pengelly, Miss Hester, c/o Ptev. Prof. Harley, F.E.S., 15 Westlournc Howl,
Forest Hill, S.E.
1900 Petrie, W. M. Flinders, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., Professor of Egyptology, Univer-
sity College, Gower Street, W.C. (If)
1898 Plowden, Sir H. Meredyth, Leintwardine, Herefordshire.
1895 Portman, M. V., Esq., West Stratton House Micheldevcr Station, Hani*.
1890 Praetorius, C. J., Esq., Pomona House, New King's Eoad, Falham.
1901 Preen, Ernest A., Esq., Conellan, Malvern Link.
1868 Price, F. G. Hilton, Esq., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.E.G.S., 17 Collingham Gardens,
S.W.(T)
1863 Pusey, S. E. B. Bouverie, Esq., F.E.G.S., 18 Bryanston Street, Portman Square;
and Puscy House, Faringdon, Berks.
1891 Pye, Randall H., Esq., Selbournc, 15 Castle Bar Eoad, Ealing. (§)
1899 Quick, Arthur, Esq., 33 Brixton Hill, S. W.
1899 Eandall-Madver, David, Esq., M.A., Woherton House, Clifton, near Bristol.
(T)
1868 Eansom, Edwin, Esq., F.E.G.S., 24 Ashburnham Eoad, Bedford. (*)
1866 IJao, The Hon. llajah Sir Goday Naraen Gajapati, Vizayapatam, India.
1883 Eavenstein, Ernest G., Esq., F.E.G.S., 2 York Mansions, Battersea Park,
S.W.($
1890 Hay, Sidney H., Esq., 218 Balfour Eoad, I/ford, Essex. (1F)
1875 Eead, Charles H., Esq., F.S.A., VICE-PRESIDENT, Keeper of British and
Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography, British Museum, Foreign
Associate of the Anthropological Society of Paris, 22 Carlyle Square,
Chelsea. (§f )
1886 Eeid, Eobert "William, Esq., M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of
Aberdeen, 37 Albyn Place, Aberdeen.
1863 Eenshaw, Charles J., Esq., M.D., Ashton-on-Mersey, Manchester. (*)
1901 Eidgeway, W., Esq., Disney Professor of Archeology, Caius College, Cam-
bridge. (§)
1893 Eigg, Herbert, Esq., 13 Queen's Gate Place, S.W.; and Walhurst Manor,
Horsham.
1850 Eipon, The Most Hon. the Marquis of, K.G., G.C.S.I., C.I.E., D.C.L., F.E.S.,
9 Chelsea Embankment, S. W. ; and Studley Eoyal, Eipon.
1889 Eisley, H. H., Esq., C.I.E., M.A, Bengal Secretariat, Calcutta, (f )
1900 Elvers, W. H. E., Esq., M.D., St. John's College, Camlridy,: (1f§)
1892 Eobinson, Louis, Esq., M.D., 61 Killiescr Avenue, Streatham Hill, S. W.
1901 Eose, H. A., Census Superintendent, Simla, India.
of tin Anthropological ///.>v /////»•. \ \
Year of
Election.
1882 Both, Henry Lin-. Ks,,., :',2 Pretoott Street, //"//>.<•. (1)
1SS2 Knthsrhild, linn. Nat liaiiu-l ( .'., Tnwj Pork, 7V/////, /Av/.s. (*)
I Nil!) Ktickrr, Miss S. (J., 4 Vatibrugh Terrace, Blackhnith, S.E.
1871 lludler, F. W., Esq., K.O.S., Vic ic-PiiESi DENT, Corresponding MrmU-r ol the
Anthropological Society of Paris, 25 Morninffton Crescent, N.W. (1§)
1863 Salting, W. S., Esq., F.U.G.S., 40 l/er/^% fyuare, W. (*)
1864 Sanders, Alfred, Esq., F.L.S., F.Z.S., The Hawthorns, Cater/nun Valley, Sunn/.
(f)
1886 Sarawak, H.H. the Ranee of, Kuching, tiunu'o, rift, N/////,/y,,,/v.
1876 Sayce, Professor A. H., M.A., LL.D., Queen's College, Oxford. (II j
1899 Scanlan, William II., Esq., Crickfield, Hayward's Heath.
1900 Seligmanii, Charles G., Esq., 23 Vincent Square, S. W.
1885 Seton-Karr, H. W., Esq., 31 Lingfield Road, Wimbledon. (T)
1866 Shaw, Lieut.-Colonel F. G., Heathburn Hall, Carriyalinc, Co. Cork. (*)
1901 Shelford, 11., Esq., Saraivak Museum, Kuching ; Hill Home, Guildfon!.
1898 Shrubsall, Frank Charles, Esq., M.A., 34 Lime Grove, Uxbridye lioad. (*11§)
1901 Skeat, W. W., Esq., M.A., 2 Salisbury Villas, Cambridyc.
1866 Skues, F. M., Esq., M.D., Brigade Surgeon-Major, 51 Kingstcad lload, Calford.
(*)
1898 Small, James Willoughby, Esq., Principal Victoria College, Jaffna., Ceylon.
1865 Smith, Worthington G, Esq., F.L.S., 121 Hiyh Street, Ditnstable. (f )
1893 Souierville, Lieutenant Boyle T., UN., H.M.S. " Triton" Chatham, (f )
1867 Southby, Philip, Esq., F.Z.S., Barrister-at-Law, Hampton, Farinydon. (*)
1889 Southesk, Tlie liight Hon. the Earl of, K.T., Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, N.H.
1886 Stanley, W. F., Esq., F.G.S., Cuniberlow, South Norwood, S.E. (H)
1873 Stanmore, The liight Hon. Lord, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.C.L., Red House, Ascot.
1880 Stephens, Henry Charles, Esq., M.P., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.C.S., Avenue House,
Church End, Finchley, N. ; and 4 Carlton Gardens, S. W. (*)
1892 Stephenson, Miss Rose, The Hermitage, Duppas Hill, Croydon.
1881 Stopes, H., Esq., 11 Queen Victoria Street, E.G. (*f )
1887 Strakcr, Joseph, Es(|., Dipton House, Riding Mill, Northumberland.
1883 Streeter, E. W., Esq., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S., 2 Park Crescent, W. (*)
1865 Swinburne, Algernon Charles, Esq., The Pines, Puf/o// Hill, /S'. W.
1899 Swynnerton, Fred., Esq., Oalcivood Place, Simla, India.
1899 Tabor, Charles James, Esq., White House, JCnott's Green, L< i/tmi,
1892 Taylor, Frederick, Esq., 250 West 7Gtft Street, New York City, U.S.A. (*)
1879 Temple, Lieut.-Colonel 11. C., C.I.E., Chief Commissioner Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Government Jfot/.v, Port Ulair, Andatnau Island; e/'o
If. X A7,/// «y Co. (IT)
1881 Thane, George Dancer, Esq., l'rol'e«,sur of Anatomy in University College,
London, University College, Gowcr Street, W.C. (*f )
12 List of the Fellows of the Anthropological Institute.
Year of
Election.
1884 Thomas, Oldfield, Esq., F.R.S., F.Z.S., 9 St. Petersburg Place, Bayswater Hill,
W. (*f )
1873 Thompson, J. Barclay, Esq., M.A., Lee's Reader in Anatomy, 39 St. Margaret's
Road, Oxford. (*)
1890 Thomson, Arthur, Esq., M.A., M.B., Professor of Human Anatomy in the
University of Oxford, The Museum, Oxford. (IT)
1882 Thurn, Everard F. im, Esq., 1 East India Avenue, E.G. (f §)
1896 Tims, H. W. Marett, Esq., M.D., 19 Lyndewood Road, Cambridge.
1899 Tocher, James F., Esq., F.I.C., Chapel Street, Peterhead, N.B. (IF)
1895 Tolley, Richard Mentz, Esq., F.H.S., c/o Darlaston Steel and Iron Works, South
Staffordshire.
19Q1 Travers, Major John A., Field Place, Horsham, Surrey.
1885 Tregear, Edward, Esq., Secretary, Department of Labour, Tinakon Road,
Wellington, New Zealand, (f )
1879 Trotter, Coutts, Esq., F.G.S., 10 Randolf Crescent, Edinburgh.
1891 Tsuboi, S., Esq., Science College, Imperial Institute, Tokyo, Japan. (*)
1889 Turner, Sir William, M.B., LLD., D.C.L., F.R.S. Loud, and Edin., Professor
of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, 6 Eton Terrace, Edinburgh. (If)
1867 Tylor, Edward Burnett, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, Professor
of Anthropology, Keeper of the University Museum, Oxford, Tlie Museum
House, Oxford. (1F§)
1891 Tylor, Mrs. E. B., The Museum House, Oxford.
1891 Waddell, Lt.-Col. L. A., LL.D., 35 Dartmouth Park Road, Highgate Road,
N.W. (*f)
1901 Waddington, S., Esq., B.A., 47 Connaught Street, Hyde Park, W.
1863 Wake, C. S., Esq., Foreign Member of the Anthropological Institute of New
York, 411 East &Sth Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
1874 Walhouse, M. J., Esq., 28 Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood, N.W. (1)
1866 Wallace, A. R, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.E.G.S., F.Z.S., Corfe View,
Parkeston, Dorset, (f)
1891 Ward, Herbert, Esq., 53 Chester Square, S. W. (f )
1897 Webster, John Aplin, Esq., 21 Castle Street East, Oxford Street, W.
1901 Webster, W. D., Esq., Home Court, Palace Road, Streatham Hill.
1895 Wells, Samuel, Esq., F.B.G.S., Richmond, York*.
1901 White, Franklin, Esq., P.O. Box 669, Buluwwyo.
1897 White, Rashleigh Holt, Esq^M.A. Oxon, Warren Wood, Bexley Heath, Kent.
1901 Williams, J. W., Esq., M.E.C.S., L.R.C.P. Loncl, F.L.S., 128 Mansfield Road,
Gospel Oak, N. W.
1869 Winwood, Rev. H. H., M.A., F.G.S., \l Cavendish Crescent, Bath.
1901 Withers, A. Delisle, Esq., Ewhurst, 21 Xich/ield Road, Kew Gardens.
1881 Wolfe, Miss E. S., High Broom, Croitiorovgh, Sussex. (*)
( 13 )
SOCIETIES, ETC., EXCHANGING PUBLICATIONS
WITH THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
Dublin... Royal Dublin Society.
- Royal Irish Academy.
Edinburgh.. Royal College of Physicians.
— Royal Society of Edinburgh.
— Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Glasgow.. . Philosophical Society.
London... British Medical Association.
— Egypt Exploration Fund.
- Folklore Society.
— Geologists' Association.
- Hellenic Society.
- India Office, Whitehall.
— • Japan Society.
— Journal of Mental Science.
London.. . Nature.
— Palestine P^xploration Fund.
— Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076.
- Royal Archaeological Institute.
- Royal Asiatic Society.
- Royal Colonial Institute.
— Royal Geographical Society.
— Royal Society.
— Royal Society of Literature.
— Royal Statistical Society.
- Royal United Service Institution.
— Society of Antiquaries.
— Society of Biblical Arch neology.
Truro... Royal Institution of Cornwall.
EUROPE.
AUSTRO-HUNGARY.
Agram... Kroatische Archaologische Ge-
sellschaft.
Budapest... Magyar Tndomanyos Aka-
demia.
— Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum Neprajzi
Ostalya.
Cracow... Akademija Umiejetndsci.
Vienna... Anthropologische Gesellschaft.
- K. Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Sarajevo... Landesmuseum (Wissen-
schaftliche Mitteilungen aus Bosnien).
BELGIUM.
Brussels. . . Academic Royale des Sciences,
etc. de Belgique.
— Societe d'Anthropologie de Bruxelles.
— Societ^ d'Archeologie de Brnxelles.
DENMARK.
Copenhagen... Societe des Antiquaires du
Nord.
FRANCE.
Lyons... Societe d'Anthropologie de
Lyon.
Paris... L'Antbropologie.
— iScole d'Anthropologie.
— Revue de 1'Histoire des Religions.
— Societe d'Anthropologie.
— Annee Sociologique.
GERMANY.
Berlin... Bei-liner Gesellschaft fur An-
thropologie, Ethnologie, und Urges-
chichte.
— R. Museum fur Volkerkunde.
— Seminar fur Orientalische Sprachen.
Halle-a-d-Saale... Kaiserliche Leopol-
dina Carolina Akademie der Deutschen
Naturforscher.
— Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesell-
schaft.
Kiel... Anthropologischer Verein fiir
Schlesvvig-Holstein.
Leipzig... Verein fiir Erdknnde.
Munich... Deutsche Gesellschaft fur
Anthropologie, Ethnologie, und
Urgeschichto.
Stettin... Centralblatt fiir Anthro-
pologie, etc.
14
Societies, etc., Exchanging Publications
Stuttgart... Zeitschrift fur Morphologic
und Anthropologie.
GREECE.
Athens... Archaiologike Hetairia.
— British School of Archaeology.
ITALY.
Florence... Societa Italiana di Antropo-
logia, Etriologia, e Psicologia Com-
parata.
I?/ome... Bullettino di Paletnologia
Italiana.
— Societa Romana di Antropologin.
Rome... Accademia del Lincei.
Turin... Archivio di Psichiatria.
NETHEELANDS.
Amsterdam... Koninklijke Akademie van
Wetenschappen.
Leiden... Internationales Arcliiv fiir
Ethnographie.
The Hague... Koninklijk Institunt voor
de Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde van
Nederlandsch Indie.
RUSSIA.
Moscow... Imper. Obshchestvo Lubitelei
lestestvoznania, Antropologii, i Etno-
grafii.
St. Petersburg... Imper. Akademia Nauk.
SWEDEN.
Stockholm... Academy of Antiquities,
National Museum.
— Nordiska Museet.
— Ymer.
PORTUGAL.
Lisbon... Portugal em Africa.
Porto... Portugalia.
AFRICA.
Cape Town... S. African Philosophical Society.
AMERICA.
CANADA.
Montreal... Royal Society of Canada.
Toronto... Canadian Institute.
UNITED STATES.
Cambridge, Mass.... Peabody Museum,
Science.
Chicago... American Antiquarian.
— Field Columbian Museum.
New York... American Museum of
Natural History.
Philadelphia... Free Museum of Science
and Art (University of Philadelphia,
Department of Archaeology.) .
Washington.. . American Anthropologist.
— Bureau of Ethnology.
— Smithsonian Institution.
- United States Geological Survey.
— United States National Museum.
Worcester, Mass.... American Journal of
Psychology.
ASIA.
CHINA.
Shanghai... Royal Asiatic Society
(China branch).
INDIA.
Bombay... Anthropological Society.
- Indian Antiquary.
Calcutta... Bengal Asiatic Society.
Colombo... Royal Asiatic Society (Cey-
lon branch).
JAPAN.
ToJcio... Asiatic Society of Japan.
Tokio-Daigaku (Imperial Univer-
sity).
JAVA.
Batavia... Bataviaasche Genootschap van
Kunsten en Wetenschappen.
STRAITS. SETTLEMENTS.
Singapore... Royal Asiatic Society
(Straits Branch).
itli tlic Anthropological 7».s//Y,>/<
AUSTRALIA AND PACIFIC.
Honolulu... Bornice Panahi Bishop
BCasonm.
Melbourne... Royal Society of Victoria.
tft/<l>ie... Australian Museum.
Sydney... Australasian Association for
the Advancement of Science.
— Royal Society of New South Wales.
Wellington, N.Z... Polynesian Society.
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED
ENGLAND.
London... Church Missionary Intelli-
gencer.
— Journal of the East India Association.
- Lancet.
— South American Missionary Maga-
zine.
AUSTRIA.
Prag... Cesky Lid.
BELGIUM.
Ghent... Volkskunde.
FRANCE.
Paris... Revue des Traditions Populaires.
— Melusine.
GERMANY.
Brunsivick... Globus.
Dresden... Bericht des Vereins fur
Erdkunde.
Munich.. . Korrespondenzblatt.
— Jahresbericht der Geographischen
Gesellschaft.
Niirnberg... Bericht der Natur-historis-
chen Gesellschaft.
IN EXCHANGE FOR "MAN."
PORTUGAL.
Lisbon... Archeologo Portugnes.
Serpa... A Tradicao.
SERVIA.
Alexinatz... Karadjitch.
SWITZERLAND.
Zurich... Schweizerisches Archiv flir
Volkskunde.
UNITED STATES.
Boston... American Journal of Archre-
ology.
Chicago... Open Court.
Meriden... Biblia.
New York... Appleton's Popular Science
Monthly.
Philadelphia... Proceedings of American
Philosophical Society.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
Sydn-ey... Science of Man.
LONDON :
HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER LATE MAJESTY,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
JOURNAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
JANUAEY 30-ra, 1900.
C. H. BEAD, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Anniversary Meeting were read and signed.
The CHAIRMAN declared the ballot open, and appointed, as Scrutineers, Mr. H.
Stopes and Rev. H. K Hutchinson.
The TREASURER read his Beport for the year 1899 which was adopted.
The Eeport of the Council for 1899 was also read and adopted.
The Election of Miss A. C. BRETON as a Fellow of the Institute was
announced.
The PRESIDENT delivered his Anniversary Address.
It was moved by Dr. GARSON, seconded by the TREASURER, and unanimously
resolved : —
"That the thanks of the Meeting be given to the President for his
Address, and that it be printed in the Journal of the Institute."
The SCRUTINEERS gave in their Report, and the following gentlemen were
declared to be duly elected, to serve as Officers and Council for the year 1900.
President— C. H. Bead, Esq., F.S.A.
Vice- Presidents.
A. J. Evans, Esq., MA., F.S.A. | Wm. Gowland, Esq., F.S.A.
A. I1. Maudslay, Esq.
Secretary.— J. L. Myres, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.E.G.S.
Treasurer. — A. L. Lewis, Esq., F.C.S.
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). B
Hcnrm! J\I<'i//t/i/.
Council.
G. M. Atkinson, Esq.
H. Balfour, Esq., M.A.
Wm. Crooke, Esq., B.A.
0. M. Dalton, Esq., M.A., F.S.A.
R. W. Felkin, Esq., M.D., F.RG.S.
H. 0. Forbes, Esq., LL.D.
Prof. A. C. Haddon, M.A., Sc.D., F.R.S.
E. Sidney Hartland, Esq., F.S.A.
Col. Sir T. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., CM!.
T. V. Holmes, Esq., F.G.S.
Prof. G. B. Howes, LL.D., F.R.S
P»aron A. von Hiigel, M.A.
A. Keith, Esq., M.D.
Sir Hugh Low, G.C.M.G.
J. Eclge-Partington, Esq.
Sir C. E. Peek, Bart., M.A., F.S.A.
R. H. Page, Esq.
E. G. Ravenstein, Esq., F.RG.S.
F, C. Shrubsall, Esq., M.A.
Prof. A. Thomson, M.A., M.B.
Assistant Secretary. — J. A. Webster, Esq.
A vote of thanks to the Officers and Councillors, as well as to the Auditors
and Scrutineers, was moved, seconded, and carried by acclamation.
TREASURER'S REPORT FOR 1899.
The income of the Institute for the year 1899 was £524 8s. Id., being £60
less than the income for 1898. This difference is fully accounted for by the facts
that in 1898 we received three life compositions, amounting to £63, and that in
1899 we did not receive any. There is also a large diminution in the amount
received for subscriptions in arrear, but that is because most of what was to be
obtained from that source was got in in 1898. This latter diminution is counter-
balanced by an increase in the amount received from sales of publications, an
increase which however is not caused by popular appreciation of the improvements
in our Journal, but by the publication of double numbers bringing five quarters
into our publishers' account for the year as against three quarters in the preceding
year.
The expenditure during the year 1899 was £590 3s. lid., which, though
£32 5s. 9d. less than in 1898, is £65 15s. lOd. more than the income for the year.
The Journal has cost us about £50 less than in 1898, partly I think in consequence
of the cheaper but not less efficient processes of producing illustrations which are
now practicable, but there have been slight increases in our general expenses, due
in some measure to our having held three more meetings in the session 1898-9
than in that for 1897-8. The desire of the Council is to give our members as
much as possible for their subscriptions in the shape of meetings and publications,
but our printers have already picked the last bone of our Tasmanian skeleton,
and are now swallowing up our Tasmanian busts, and I hope therefore that our
members will do all they can before the end of the century to provide them with
fresh and more appetising sources of supply.
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For the year 1
Arrears ..
£
.LE OF PUBLICAT
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""^32 ^ ^ S r"^ "o *•* **
^O 2 . O U ^* £.£ o PQ !
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The liabilities at the end of 1899 (other than our moral liability to life
members) were : —
£ *. d.
Eent, etc., for one quarter ... ... 33 15 0
Double number of Journal, illustrations,
miscellaneous printing, and sundries
estimated at ... ... ... ... 145 18 0
Anthropological Notes and Queries ... 40 7 0
£220 0 0
The assets at the same date were : — £600 Metropolitan 3^ per cent. Con-
solidated Stock (worth about £672), cash in hand and at the Bankers, £151 12s. 5d.,
some unpaid subscriptions, and the library, furniture, and stock of publications.
A. L. LEWIS, Treasurer.
BEPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND FOR THE YEAR 1899.
During the year under report, eleven Ordinary Meetings were held, and one
Special Meeting in conjunction with the Folklore Society. At the latter a collection
of anthropological and folklore objects collected in Mexico and presented to
the Folklore Society, which are for the 'present deposited at the University
Museum, Cambridge, were exhibited and described by the donor, Professor F.
Starr, of Chicago.
It has been the object of the Council during the year to make the Evening
Meetings more instructive and popular. Numerous collections of specimens have
been exhibited, and the papers have been, as far as possible, illustrated by lime-
lio-ht views. The Council are indebted to Dr. J. G. Garson for his assistance in
o
working the lantern. This has led to improved attendance of Fellows and visitors,
and the Council hope that this improvement will be maintained during the coming
year.
Four parts of the new series of the Journal have been issued during the year,
two in May and two in November. The Council have received many expressions
of approval regarding the new Journal, which, in importance of communications,
number of illustrations and general artistic appearance, is a great improvement
on the previous issue.
The Council also call special attention to the issue of the revised edition of
Anthropological Notes and Queries, prepared by the President Mr. C. H. Read
and Dr. J. G. Garson. The book in its new form promises to be of special value for
the direction of inquiries by explorers in various parts of the world.
On the whole, the numbers of Fellows have been well maintained. The
membership of the Institute in the previous year consisted of 49 Honorary,
Annual General JA> //////. 5
26 Corresponding, 80 Compounding and 215 Ordinary Fellows. We have lost
1 Honorary and 2 Corresponding Fellows. The loss of 8 Ordinary Fellows has
been more than balanced by 22 new Elections. There has thus been a net increase
of lo in the number of our Fellows.
Among the losses which the Council regret to announce are, among the
Honorary Members, those of Dr. J. Brinton, the eminent American anthropologist ;
of Corresponding Members, Professor Ilygh, of Christiania, and Dr. Ludwig, of
Darmstadt ; of Ordinary Members, Sir W. H. Flower and Mr. Bernard Quaritch.
The Council again appeals to its Fellows to impress upon all British travellers
and explorers the urgent need of increased numbers of working Fellows if the
Institute is to carry on with success those studies so essential to the progress and
welfare of our Colonial Empire.
The Library Committee reports that the Library grows steadily both by
exchanges and by frequent donations by authors and publishers of books intended
for review in the Journal. During the current year, 76 volumes have been
presented, and 32 British, 11 Colonial and Indian, and 50 Foreign periodicals have
been acquired by exchange ; making a total number of 169 volumes or parts.
With the small grant at their disposal for binding (only £5) the Committee has
been able not only to keep abreast of current acquisitions in the series
which are already partly bound, but also to do something to diminish the great
mass of arrears. A beginning has also been made in cataloguing the unbound
pamphlets, many of which have hitherto been practically inaccessible, and a large
part of the library has been overhauled with the object of providing space for the
rapid growth of some of the principal periodicals. The Committee feel that it is
time that the Institute should know that before long the existing shelf room will be
exhausted ; and that within a very few years it will be necessary to consider the
question either of a thorough-going revision of the Library with a view to reducing
the bulk of what stands on the shelves or of considerable outlay in fresh accom-
modation for this valuable part of the Institute's property.
During the past year also the collection of photographs, prints, and drawings
has been arranged and catalogued by Mr. Myres, and an inventory and subject
index are now ready for use in the Library. It is hoped that the Fellows of the
Institute will make frequent use of the anthropological illustrations which are
thus made accessible, and will contribute copies of any suitable photographs which
they may possess, so as to make the collection worthy of the Institute.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE ANNIVERSARY
MEETING OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT
BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 30iH JANUARY, 1900.
BY C. H. READ, F.S.A.
THE first duty of the President of the Institute at the Annual Meeting is to give
so much of a review of the work of the past year as may at any rate help to
indicate what amount of progress our subject has made, more particularly as seen
in the proceedings and publications of the Institute itself. So far as anthropology
in general is concerned, I think that in this country we are approaching a period
of considerable activity, and that the seed sown thirty years ago by the great men
whose names appear on our records, has now sprung up and will speedily bear
good fruit. The persistent advocacy of our doctrines by men like Huxley, General
Pitt Rivers, Sir William Flower, Mr. Francis Galton, and Professor Tylor, whose
names are familiar to all the world, cannot fail in due course to leave a decided
impress on the progress of the subject. The establishment of the Chair of
Anthropology and the foundation of the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford also will
have in the future a more marked influence on the course of scientific study than
we have seen even now. It is but yesterday, so to speak, that we were admitted
among the sciences, and being thus the youngest of a large family, we must not
expect that amount of deference and recognition that is accorded to our elder
brothers, though in our hearts we know that Benjamin's portion should' be ours.
But in order to secure this, it is needful that we do not in any degree relax the
efforts that have hitherto been a necessity, and we must be prepared to welcome
and publish in an adequate manner the results of the work done by the rising
generation of anthropologists who have devoted a part of their time at the
University or elsewhere to this branch of science. To do this in a worthy manner
a large membership is absolutely necessary, and in urging you to use your
endeavours to enlarge the influence of the Institute in this way, I only repeat
what I have heard on many occasions from this chair.
I do not see, however, that we have any special cause for despondency at this
moment. The Treasurer's report shows, I think, that we have not spent more than
we can afford, and with the small income at our disposal it is not possible, even
for Mr. Lewis, to make a very brilliant financial statement. The losses by death and
resignation also have been more than filled by the election of new members. The
only other matter in this category that I need refer to is the number and quality
of the communications that have been brought before us, and so far as a part of
these is concerned, if not all, you can judge as well as I, for several of them
appear in the last number of the Journal.
Presidential
Prehistoric archaeology is represented during the year by one paper only, and
" eolithic " man has been allowed an interval of repose. Our (single contribution
is from Mr. George Clinch, and describes a number of dwelling-places of the
neolithic age that he had explored for some years past on the borders of Kent and
Surrey. Such remains are very subject to destruction from the ordinary operations
of agriculture, and it is fortunate when so interesting a group as that described
by Mr. Clinch finds a chronicler before it is too late. In British ethnology
Dr. Beddoe contributed an interesting note on the mediaeval population of Bristol,
in which he would account for certain cranial characters by an admixture of
French blood, for which there is historical support. He admits that the method
he adopts to distinguish English from French by surnames is a rough one ; but
there is one factor which would imply a liberal discount. It is that in Norman
times a great proportion of the well-to-do population would almost certainly
possess French titles referring to their calling, such as Dr. Beddoe quotes,
Bouleiiger, Clerk or Leclerc, Bailey and so forth. But I think it would be going
too far to assume that every person bearing such a gallici/ed title was of French
blood. Fashion in such matters counts for much, while human nature changes but
little in essentials, and I think it would be safer to take for granted that if
Mr. Baker found it would improve his business to be called Boulanger or
Bullinger, he would make the change, and be in the fashion.
The ethnology of Africa, as might be expected, has occupied a good deal of
attention, and we have had no less than six papers relating to various parts of
Africa. Two of them dealt with the inner life and superstitions of the West
African negro, Mr. Marriott's paper on " Secret Societies," and that of the Count
de Cardi on the " Ju-Ju laws of the Niger Delta." The former paper was
admittedly in the main a compilation, aided by a short residence in the country ;
but as I ventured to point out at the time, it is none the less a valuable record of
knowledge on that account. Many of us have had good reason to be grateful to
the laborious searcher who has gathered into the modest compass of a single paper
all the valuable facts on our special subject from the little used pages of hundreds
of bulky volumes. Whether or no Mr. Marriott is right in thinking that the
English governor should try to direct the secret societies of West Africa into
decent and useful channels is beyond my power to answer. But as the native's
slightest act is governed by the laws of these societies, it is clear that they are a
force that any government will have to reckon with, and if Mr. Marriott has
helped ever so little in this direction he will have done a useful work.
Colonel Macdonald's paper, or as he modestly called it, notes, on the ethnology
of the tribes met with on the Juba Expedition will be found of great importance
and interest by anyone studying the very complex relations of the inhabitants of
this portion of Africa. We have to regret that Colonel Macdonald was unable to
be present to read it himself. The name of Dr. Westermarck is of itself a
sufficient guarantee that his views on the nature of the Arab ftinn would be worth
hearing, and it is a matter for congratulation that one of the first-fruits of liiy
8 Presidential Addresd.
study of the ethnology of Morocco has been brought before us. The notes of
Dr. Kingston on the remains of human industry found in the Knysna caves in
South Africa seemed to me to be of special interest, though the writer made no
pretensions to giving an exhaustive review of his subject. From his statements it
appeared to be quite certain that the very rude stone implements found in these
caves were the productions of previous generations of existing natives. Had they
been found under other conditions there would have been great temptations to
make rudeness of form and a remote antiquity go together. I have a strong
impression that it will be found that the stone implement question in Africa
generally will have to be studied on its merits and independently of the familiar
classification of more northern lands, and I shall not be surprised if it should turn
out that the mass of so-called palaeolithic types found in various parts of the
African continent are in reality of comparatively recent origin.
I must not forget a tribute of praise to Dr. Bennett for his admirable, though
all too short, account of the cannibal Fang of Western Africa, a type of what such
field work should be. This interesting tribe of people, one of whose peculiarities
is that they use the crossbow, have been much written about before in a
picturesque fashion, but it remained for Dr. Bennett to give us the plain
unvarnished tale of their daily life, told as only he can tell it who has become
their trusted friend.
Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich gave us two very graphic papers on the " Tribes on
the North-West Frontier of India," whose good or ill humour makes so much
difference to the comfort of our government there. It is pleasant to think that
there seems to be no prospect of trouble in that quarter at the present moment,
thanks to the men of the stamp of Sir Thomas Holdicb. From our Secretary,
Mr. Crooke, we had an excellent resume of the survivals of primitive methods of
disposing of the dead in India, a subject on which he is well qualified to speak.
It is one of the most important in the study of racial affinities, for it is one of the
customs which all folk whether primitive or civilized change with the greatest
reluctance. Another Indian authority, Colonel Temple, has given us a most
interesting monograph on the " Origins of Currency," a very intricate and difficult
subject, but which by lucidity of style and clearness of demonstration Colonel
Temple was able to render instructive and easy of understanding.
One of our meetings was held in common with the members of the Folklore
Society, a sign of amicable relations which I trust will always be maintained.
The special occasion of this was to do honour to Professor Starr, of the University
of Chicago, a city in which anthropology seems to hold an ideal position. Professor
Starr had made, during sundry visits to Mexico, a collection of objects illustrating
Folklore ; these he had sent over to England as a gift to the Folklore Society, who
in turn have deposited them in the museum at Cambridge. Those members of the
Institute who were fortunate enough to be present when Professor Starr gave an
account of the collection will, I am sure, agree with me that an evening could
scarcely be passed in a more interesting and entertaining fashion
Presidential Address, 0
It is exactly a quarter of a century ago since I had the honour to be elected
a member of iliis Institute, and I recently had the curiosity to read again the
excellent address delivered by Dr. Busk, at that time the retiring President, and
I found in it some few facts to cheer us, though at the same time the progress of
the Institute has not been so marked in all directions as we might fairly have
hoped. Dr. Busk was compelled to allude to the state of civil war that at that
time divided English anthropologists into two or perhaps more camps. This state
of things has fortunately for us passed into the domain of history, and the
discussions at our meetings rarely travel beyond the subjects of the papers, to
which the members are now able to devote all their energies. The Institute had
at that moment just emerged from a period of great financial difficulty, by the
liberality of a number of the members, a considerable proportion of whom are
happily still among us, and one subject of regret to the President was the
inability of the Institute to publish adequately the papers that were presented,
such publication being obviously one of its main functions. In this respect \ve can
at the present time claim to have made a distinct advance. The Journal in its new
form, which has been on its trial since August, 1898, is, I think, a creditable
publication, of which we have no need to be ashamed, and the manifest advantages
of the larger size in the quality and appearance both of text and plates are
justification enough for the change. At the same time we are able to publish all
the papers brought before us that are considered worthy of a place in the Journal.
I can, however, quote one of Dr. Busk's remarks as entirely applicable to our
present situation. He said in 1875 that " to enable the Institute to take the
position it ought and deserves to occupy, a far more ample revenue than we at
present enjoy is indispensably necessary." Xo truer description of our present
condition could be given than this, and it is not pleasant to think that in spite of
the firm position that our branch of science now enjoys we should have no better
report than this on the condition of the exchequer. It does not seem likely that
anthropology will be among the most popular studies of the ordinary Englishman,
though many of its branches can claim results that have a very practical bearing
on the well-being both of the individual and the community. Popularity, however,
is not always a benefit to a serious study, and if it be not too paradoxical I should
like to say that while it would be doing good work to popularize anthropology, I
doubt whether it would benefit anthropology to be popular, as a science. It would
be a far greater service to popularize its results, and in this respect I think the
Institute could do good work even with its present limited resources. During the
past year I have thought of expedients in this direction, and others have been
suggested to me. One of these seems likely to come about in the near future, and
this is the delivery of lectures by well known authorities in the various branches
of our subject, in memory of one of our most distinguished Presidents, Professor
Huxley. Such returns will be independent of and in addition to the ordinary
business of the session, and will be of a character to be readily followed and
understood without any special acquaintance with the mysteries of anthropological
10 Presidential
science. That such lectures can and should be popular is shown by the attendance
at the analogous lectures at the Royal Institution and elsewhere, and I can well
conceive that to a vast number of people it will come as a surprise that more use
has not been made of curious and interesting facts that are now labelled with the
uninviting title, Anthropology. It is in this form that I trust popularity will come
to us, and not as an interference with our more specialized communications, which
must always remain the foundation of our knowledge, and the main reason for our
existence. It is clearly out of the question, at the same time, that we can
successfully court popularity by their means, and, as I said before, I scarcely think
it desirable to try. Many of my audience to-night must have felt more than once
the pain that comes to all of us, when a lecturer is sensible that his hearers,
sympathetic though they may be, cannot follow his arguments, or are manifestly
unfamiliar with the terms or names that he uses, and which the time limit forbids
him to explain or amplify. To make such an occurrence impossible in any society
is wortli an effort, and I believe the institution of the Huxley lectures will do
much towards this end here. At the same time, although the scheme indicates that
there will be two kinds of audiences, as there will lie two kinds of lectures, it must
not for a moment be thought that the members of the Institute will be
excluded from any of the discussions, or that any of their privileges will be
curtailed. On the other hand, these will be considerably increased, and, we trust,
to the advantage of everyone concerned.
While I am dealing with this branch of my subject, I wish to remind members
of the Institute that they have it in their power to add considerably to the interest
of the evening meetings by making small contributions either in the way of
exhibiting specimens, and providing a short note, or by sending to the Secretary
notes either of recent discoveries or of other matters within our scope.' Such
unpretending communications not only render the proceedings more interesting, but
they might frequently serve the purpose of keeping us more up to date, and add to
the permanent value of our Journal. Almost every member, moreover, can help in
this way, and swell the bulk of useful " Miscellanea."
Library. — We have heard in the Council's report that several valuable
additions have been lately made to the Library, and this opens up a prospect
which will need the earnest consideration of the Council and officers before very
long. Our library, although it can scarcely claim anything like completeness, has
yet attained proportions which very nearly equal the shelf-room at present
available, and this without counting a quantity of pamphlets which will in due
course be bound and placed on the shelves. In our present rooms there is
practically no means of extending the library accommodation to any useful
extent; on the other hand, the increase of the library is continuous and fairly
regular, our exchanges alone requiring a certain number of additional feet of
shelving per annum. Thus it is only a matter of the simplest arithmetic to
estimate the earliest moment at which we shall reach the end of our tether, and
then the very serious question will arise whether it is possible for us to obtain
President ml A< I dress. 1 1
more rtfom in our present quarters, which will of course involve a corresponding
increase in rent ; secondly, supposing such an extension of room to be obtainable
here, whether we should avail ourselves of it, and bear the additional burden of
rent : or thirdly, whether we should try to obtain roomier quarters within our
means elsewhere. These are weighty questions, involving a great many incidental
difficulties, and the Council will not have an easy task in finding a satisfactory
solution. I do not propose even to suggest at this moment which of the
alternatives is to be preferred, but I feel it my duty to point out clearly what is
before us, and I trust that we shall be able to avoid the painful course that has
been followed by one Society in the same conjuncture, that is, to sell the library
by auction, a course which for us would, I think, have fatal consequences.
The Council have reported to you the issue of the new edition of the N»l<*
and Queries o)i Anthropology under the editorship of Dr. Garson and myself.
As before, the British Association has granted the funds necessary, and to its
Council our warm thanks are due for helping us in so practical a way — for it
must not be forgotten that we owe many useful papers to the publication of that
little book, and it will not be denied that our recent Journal* have been the
richer by its means. While the form and general aspect of the book remains much
the same as before, yet Dr. Garson has found it necessary to make very drastic
alterations in the physical section, which he had in charge, and I can well believe
that during the interval of seven years that has passed since the previous issue,
marked advance has been made in the methods of that branch of anthropology,
and that the instructions required considerable revision. I do not know that
any apology is required from me for leaving my part of the work, dealing with
ethnography, without any such severe alteration ; but, at the same time, I think
it well to point out that while observations in the physical section can only
be usefully made by a properly qualified physician or surgeon, the queries on the
ethnographical side are purposely so framed as to enable any intelligent and
observant person on the spot to deal with them. This difference is an essential
one and will serve to explain why the second part of the book is less subject to
modification than the first. I am fully aware that there is room for a manual
treating ethnography from a severely scientific standpoint, and that this will come
in time I do not doubt, but at present I fear it would have a very limited circulation.
While on the subject of the collection of anthropological material, I will take
the opportunity of saying a few words on the project of a Bureau of Ethnology,
which has been more than once mentioned in this room, and for which I for one
venture to anticipate a successful future, in spite of official apathy.
It will be remembered that as long ago as the Liverpool meeting ot the
British Association I ventured to bring forward a motion on the subject, urging
the prompt establishment of a bureau for the collection of anthropological data
under the auspices of a Government Department. I laid considerable stress on the
utility that such a bureau would have, not only for men of science, but for the
Government itself, which would possess, after the lapse of a lew years, a great
12 Presidential Address.
quantity of valuable information regarding the hundreds of primitive races with
whom we either have constant daily relations or with whom we occasionally come
into contact. I adduced also the valuable argument that all this work would be
done, the results arranged and classified for reference, and at the disposal of the
officers of the Government, almost without cost to the State. For it is an essential
part of the scheme that the field work of the bureau is to be entirely carried on
by the trained men already in Government employ in our distant possessions, and
I have good reasons for believing that many such men, naval officers, the trained
officials of the Intelligence Branch of the War Office, Commissioners and Adminis-
trators in our Colonies and Protectorates, would cheerfully and willingly employ
their leisure in this work. Such is a brief outline of the scheme, and I hope you
will pardon my repeating it now in case some members of the Institute may not
be already acquainted with it. The Council of the British Association received
the resolution favourably, a Committee was appointed to consider it, and this
Committee recommended that the Trustees of the British Museum should be
invited to undertake the working of the bureau. This body was accordingly
approached, and I was then informed that if the scheme were to be worked at the
British Museum, the bureau of ethnology would be attached to my department. This
had by no means been a part of my original programme, but I was clearly bound
to accept the additional responsibility. Communications were then opened with
the Foreign Office, in order to obtain the sympathetic co-operation of its officers,
and I had an interview with Sir Thomas Sanderson, who was favourably impressed
with the usefulness of the proposed work, and was good enough to address letters
to the chiefs of the Protectorates in East Africa, instructing them to carry out the
wishes of the Trustees of the British Museum, so far as it did not interfere with
their ordinary duties. This seemed very promising, and in order to begin the
work I applied for a clerk to help in the correspondence that I foresaw would
soon become a serious item.
After overcoming the objections of the Treasury, who maintained that such
work as was contemplated did not appear to be within the scope of the British
Museum, the request was finally granted, and a clerk will in due course be
appointed, but with a condition. The condition is this : that if the work of the
Bureau of Ethnology increases to any considerable extent, it must then be
transferred elsewhere.
However this may be, I have thought that the present is a good opportunity
to state the course that affairs have followed, for the information of the Institute.
It seems that the best policy now is to create so good and useful a department
that even the Treasury will see that it could not well be dispensed with, and to
this end I will devote my best efforts, and if, as I confidently hope, the bureau be
successful, we must then be prepared with a plan for its more extended working,
and a habitat in which the work can be carried on.
There is another project that I ventured to put forward in my address at the
last meeting of the British Association, viz., the future position of the important
Adrift1**. \'.\
ethnographical collections under my charge at the British Museum. In this
matter 1 had hopes that the few months that had elapsed would have seen some
progress ; but our national circumstances have been entirely unfavourable, and at
the present moment I think it would be both unadvisable and useless to try to
educate public opinion with regard to a scheme of this kind. Our counsels and
ideas would fall on oars necessarily and rightly pre-occupied with the vital issues
now being decided in South Africa, issues the importance of which we recognise
to the full, and I am sure that we shall best consult the dignity of our studies by
waiting patiently until a successful conclusion has been reached in South Africa,
when we can with propriety and more probable success press our views on the
Government for the establishment of a properly appointed museum of anthropology.
I have ventured to identify the Institute with this scheme, for I know that I
have the sympathy and support of the Council, and I am convinced that the
foundation of such a museum would form a potent factor in the success of the
Institute. I am equally sure that until the national collections of ethnography
are in such a position as to admit of their being worked on methods more adapted
to the requirements of the subject than is at present possible, we shall never take
the scientific position to which our empire is entitled. In this belief, curiously
enough, I am supported by more than one of our foreign competitors, who, while
they are naturally anxious to increase the treasures of their own museums, at the
same time are catholic enough in their views to realize that if England neglects
her vast opportunities, while it may be in part their gain, yet it cannot fail to
entail ultimate loss in the amount of material available for study.
While we may lament the apathy of the State in anthropological science, there
is considerable satisfaction to be derived from the activity seen in centres where
the impetus is derived from other sources. At Cambridge great efforts are being
made to bring anthropology to the front, by means of expeditions and publication.
The Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits and Sarawak,
under the leadership of Dr. A. C. Haddon, returned at the end of May, after a
successful mission. The main object of the Expedition was to study the Torres
Straits Islanders as completely as possible, and a good deal of work was accom-
plished in the departments of physical anthropology, psychophysics, linguistics,
and general ethnography. Observations have been recorded and collections made
which will furnish materials for a monograph on the Islanders, which in due
course will be published by the Cambridge University Press. Some of the
members of the Expedition visited various portions of the coast of British New
Guinea for the purpose of comparing the Torres Straits Islanders with the
Papuans and Melanesians of the mainland, and some valuable work was accom-
plished. Most of the members of the Expedition accepted a very hospitable
invitation from Mr. Charles Hose, the President of the Baram District of Sarawak.
Here a large number of anthropometric data were obtained, and a good insight
into the character and mode of life of various interior tribes of Sarawak was
pained. Dr. Haddon has also laid the foundation for a study of the decorative art
14 Presidential Address.
of Sarawak and Mr. Uay studied the languages ; but it is unnecessary to detail the
work done by the several members of the Expedition as the results will eventually
be published. Mr. Hose deserves the gratitude of anthropologists, not only for
his hospitality to this Expedition, and for placing his unequalled knowledge of
and influence with the natives at the disposal of his guests, but for his generosity
in giving fine collections illustrating the ethnography of his district to the British
Museum, and especially to the University of Cambridge. Mr. Hose is now in
England on furlough, and we hope to have the pleasure of learning from him
something about the natives whom he governs so wisely.
Mr. W. Skeat, also a Cambridge man, has turned to account his local know-
ledge of the Malay Peninsula, and has organised an expedition composed of graduates
from Oxford and Cambridge to study the fauna, flora, and anthropology of the
Malay Peninsula. Very few particulars are yet to hand, but I gather that the
expedition has met with considerable success, and a number of ethnographical
specimens have already arrived in Cambridge, which will supplement the very
fine collection that Mr. Skeat gave to the University three years ago. Unfortu-
nately, Mr. Skeat is at present invalided by beriberi.
A lectureship on Physical Anthropology, in connection witli the Human
Anatomy Tripos, has been instituted by the University of Cambridge for the
teaching of anthropology from the human anatomy standpoint. It is satisfactory
to find that the courses of lectures and the practical instruction which were
gratuitously carried on by Dr. Haddon for several years have been put on a
permanent basis. Professor Macalister is to be congratulated on having thus
strengthened his school. Our Fellow, Dr. W. L. H. Duckworth, who has read
several papers before the Institute, has been appointed to the lectureship.
From Oxford there is little to record except a steady increase in the
ethnological and archajological collections, and for the future the most hopeful
sign is that it is becoming possible to secure a small audience of University
men and others for lectures on passages in classical literature which admit
of anthropological commentary, and on the earlier stages of civilisation in the
eastern Mediterranean. The establishment under a joint committee of the Pioyal
Geographical Society and the University of a School of Geography in Oxford,
designed to provide a complete geographical training for all duly qualified
students, whether members of the University or not, deserves notice, though
not directly anthropological in intention, both because historical geography and
anthropogeography have from the first received ample recognition in its pro-
gramme of work, and because the constitution of the School of Geography itself
probably indicates the way in which similar studies may be. with the smallest
dislocation of the ancient ways, encouraged in the University.
In the Pitt Eivers Museum Mr. Balfour announces that his accessions have
been more numerous than usual, among them the greater part of the Australasian
collections of our deceased Fellow, Mr. H. A. Tufnell : and further that he can
make a satisfactory report on the use that has been made of the museum collec-
Presidentinl Addfess. !•>
tions by students. Mr. I *>al four's long illness, however, must have had an effect on
the usefulness of the collections, which owe so much to his energy and skill.
In the Ashmolean Museum, which through the munificence of the late Dr.
Fortnum has received large accessions this year, the principal acquisitions of
anthropological interest are a small but very valuable series of Chinese and
Japanese bronzes in the Fortnum collection; a further instalment of typical
specimens from M. Siret's excavations in Spain, which illustrate, for comparison
with other Mediterranean series, a number of features in early Iberian civilisation ;
and a rich series of tomb-groups of the later "Libyan pan-grave" type, from
Professor Petrie's excavations of 1899. These last, together with objects from
Hierakonpolis and other Egyptian sites, have been presented by the Egypt Explora-
tion Fund, and reinforce the existing collection on a side on which the museum is
already becoming peculiarly strong. The museum has also received by deposit
the collection of vases and other Greek antiquities formed by Mr. Edmund Oldfield,
which includes several choice and unusual representations of familiar Greek myths,
particularly of the making of Pandora, of (Edipus and the Sphinx, and of the
attack of Heracles upon Busiris ; the last-named being the well known vase with
representations of negroid types by a Greek artist. It was published long ago by
Dr. Helbig in Annali del' Institute, 1865.
Among the contributions to the practical anthropology of the year must be
counted the memoir read at the Dover Meeting of the British Association by
Mr. Henry, of the Indian Police, on his working of the finger print system for
the identification of criminals. Mr. Henry gave a minute account of his experi-
ence in the system of measurements for identification invented by Monsieur
Bertillon, and finding it unsatisfactory he fell back on the finger prints method
of our former president, Mr. Francis Galton. The Bertillon system, according
to Mr. Henry, suffers from the radical defect that no two individuals are likely
to produce exactly the same results from any given subject, while there is,
in addition, an inherent liability to error or variation in the instruments them-
selves. Thus the formulation of the results from a number of subjects cannot be
classified with any approach to the same certainty that Mr. Henry claims for the
linger prints. In these he has devised a very ingenious mode of classification by
means of which any person, after half an hour's explanation and practice, ran
unfailingly run to earth any given finger print among a series of many thousands,
and when so found its position can be defined by a very simple formula. It is
scarcely necessary to say that the police in India have to deal with a thousand
inidviduals where the English police deal _with ten or twenty, and Mr. Henry has
claimed for his system that it is practical in its working, and that its results are
certain, for one cogent reason among others, that the personal equation and the
error in instruments are both entirely eliminated. He desires that the most
exacting tests should be applied, and with that object he has asked to be allowed
to give a demonstration of the system at the Institute during the spring, when we
must see that he has the opportunity of doing so before as many experts as we can
16 7V''.s/V/rv///V//
get together. He thinks also that his case is strengthened by' the fact that
the criminal law in India has been so far changed as to admit finger prints as
substantive evidence.
In India the application of finger prints is not confined to identification in
criminal matters only. In all dealings with the native population, Mr, Henry
informs me, the finger print is gradually taking the place of the ordinary form of
identification, and it is found that the impression of the finger upon a receipt for a
payment is a more effectual bar against attempts at extortion than any signature
would be. It is easy to see how, in any community, it might be put to every-dav
practical use, and during the life-time of a testator would afford evidence of far
greater value than a signature alone can furnish.
Another valuable memoir to which I think the attention of the meinba :s of
the Institute may usefully be called is that by our Fellow, Mr. W. Gowland, on
the " Early Metallurgy of Copper, Tin, and Iron in Europe," published by the
Society of Antiquaries, in the Arcliceologia. Much has been written on this
subject, so fruitful in difficulties, but this is the first time that it has been under-
taken by one so well equipped by previous training as Mr. Gowland, whose career
in Japan was a happy combination of metallurgy with archaeology. One point of
great interest that in his judgment is still undecided, is whether iron or bronze was
first used by man, though it is probable that many archaeologists have made up
their minds on the subject ; but he dispels altogether the idea that there is any
greater difficulty, by the most primitive process, in producing an implement of iron
than in making one of copper or bronze, and endorses Dr. Percy's opinion that,
metallurgically, the Age of Iron should precede the Bronze Age. I venture to cite
this one point among many of great interest in the paper, in order to draw atten-
tion to the importance of recording carefully the occurrence of iron rust in an
interment of the Stone or Bronze Ages, for, as Mr. Gowland points out, it is
unlikely that in ordinary circumstances an iron object of, for example, the later
Stone Age, would be at this date anything but a mass of rust.
There is one argument bearing on the general question of the priority of iron or
bronze that I do not remember to have seen noticed, and though its application is
limited, it may be worth stating. In the bed of the river Thames from Windsor to
Chelsea have been found, from time to time, numbers of relics of past ages, ranging
from the stone implements of the Drift up to our own time. The materials of which
these remains are made are of all kinds, flint and other stones, bronze, iron, wood,
and so forth. All these materials, with the single exception of iron, have
undergone much the same alterations in the bed of the river as would have
occurred had they been buried on land, though there may occasionally be
differences in the degree of change. When an iron object, such as a sword, is
recovered from the river, it is more often than not found to have retained for the
most part a perfectly smooth surface, upon which any ornamental features are
often as plainly to be discerned as if recently executed. In this condition I have
seen iron swords of pre-Eoman, Ivoman, Saxon, and later times ; but among the
Presidential Address. 17
hundreds of iron articles from the Thames that I have had through my hands, I
have never encountered one piece that could not with certainty, and from extraneous
evidence, be attributed to some period more recent than the Bronze Age, The
position therefore would seem to be this : — The Thames Valley has been inhabited
by man at all times, from the earliest of which we have knowledge, this continued
habitation being'proved by remains of all the periods with which we are acquainted.
We know, from other evidence, that man used iron implements at and after a
particular period, and this knowledge is confirmed by the record of the Thames
itself, in which relics of iron of all these succeeding periods have been found, the
earliest of them fully as well preserved as the most modern. I do not think,
therefore, that it is an unfair deduction to draw that if instruments of iron had been
used in the Thames Valley in earlier times than is shown by the evidence of other
sites (i.e., an earlier than the Bronze Age) we must have encountered them. But as
we do not meet with anything of iron that cannot be assigned to post-bronze times,
we can only assume that man was unacquainted with the metal. The bed of
the Thames is not the only spot that has the quality of preserving iron ; other
streams have the same peculiarity, if that term can be used, and a review of the
probabilities would scarcely seem to be in favour of the theory that iron was
known and used before and during the whole length of the Bronze Age, seeing that
the many thousand discoveries have furnished no proof of it.
I cannot refrain from calling attention to one useful fact in connection with
anthropology that has come prominently to the front during the last few years.
It was common enough a generation or more ago, when discoveries of the early
ages that we roughly call prehistoric were made in England, or in Northern
Europe, to call in the aid of the anthropologist to help in determining the race or
affinities of the occupant of the tomb. It was considered that with the primitive
relics left by our own rude forefathers the methods of anthropology had an affinity
and a proper place. But if it had been suggested to a student of Greek art that
our methods could help to unfold and make clear the story of the origin of Hellenic
culture, the claim would surely have been received with the haughty assurance
that there could be no possible connection between the two subjects. It would have
been urged that although Greek art had undergone vicissitudes, so that at certain
times or places it stood at a higher level than at others, yet that in its essence it
was a heaven-born gift that had descended upon the land of the Greeks, where it
had flourished for a very few centuries, and had then passed for ever, owning no
human parentage, and, it may almost be said, leaving no progeny. Such was the
position taken up by most students of Greek art of the last generation, and it was
a position that no one thought of assailing. But within the last twenty years a
great and useful change has come over the methods adopted in attacking the
culture problems of the Mediterranean area. It is now recognised in all centres of
study that the most sublime and exquisite of human productions have their
beginnings in the over-mastering need for the beautiful which is as much inborn
with the warrior of the age of bronze as with the dilettante of the court of Lorenzo
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). G
18 Presidential Address.
the Magnificent. It is clearly seen that there must be a connecting chain joining
in a long line of inevitable continuity the feeble and often laughable efforts at
beauty of early Mediterranean man with the loftiest and most splendid artistic
achievements that the world has ever seen. It is practically admitted that man's
freedom, if not of thought, at any rate of expression, is in practice bounded by the
limits of the culture stage of the period and country in which he lives ; that while
he cannot escape the influence of the preceding stage, he cannot on the other hand
do more than make his own little step in the never-ending march of human
progress, leaving to the next generation the task of following on. In other
words, this is merely the recognition of the fact that the principle of evolution is
as much applicable to the essentials of the highest art as it is in the realm of
biology. Probably this proposition will scarcely be disputed, but it is one thing
to accept an abstract proposition and quite another to apply it in a practical
manner. And it is in the practical application of this principle that we have during
the last two or three decades made such an advance in the field of archaeology which
lies just on the other side of history. It is now seen that the similarity in the
methods of burial, or of the objects associated with the dead, at the two ends of
the Mediterranean, is scarcely likely to be an accidental coincidence, and that the
fact of the discovery being on a classical site has but little if any bearing on its
comparative value. The glamour of Homeric tradition has been so far cast aside
that we can now, without incurring contempt, compare the relics from a Homeric
site with the analogous remains from less historic lands, deal with them in the
same way, and apply to them the same terminology. It is to the wonderful
discoveries of Dr. Schliemann that we owe this great step ; they were so unlike
what, according to tradition, they should have been, that a new departure was
inevitable, and by degrees their true bearing on the world's history was recognised.
Since then many ardent and well-equipped workers have followed this new' line of
research, Mr. Arthur Evans, Professor Petrie, Mr. J. L. Myres and others, with the
result that we have, at Oxford at any rate, a collection where the student can
understand the beginnings of art, and realise the value of comparative anthropology.
I must now say a few words to record our sense of the great loss that we
have suffered in the death, after a useful and honoured career, of our former
President, Sir William Flower. To me he was a kind friend of more than twenty
years' standing, and I shall always remember with affection his kindly face.
Sir William Henry Flower, K.C.B., LL.D., D.C.L., D.Sc.,F.RS., Past President
and Vice-President of the Anthropological Institute, died on the first of July,
1899, at the age of 68 years. He was the second son of the late Mr. Edward
Fordham Flower, of Stratford-on-Avon, and was educated at University College,
London, and the Middlesex Hospital for the medical profession, which he entered
by becoming a member of the Eoyal College of Surgeons of England in March,
1854. At that time this country became involved in the Crimean war, to which
he proceeded as Assistant Surgeon to the 63rd Foot, and at the conclusion of the
war received the Crimean Medal with clasps for Alma, Inkerman, Balaclava, and
Presidential Address. 10
Sebastopol, and the Turkish Medal. After his return to England lie became a
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, and was appointed Assistant Surgeon to
Middlesex Hospital and Curator of the Museum of that School, and practised as a
surgeon till 1861, when he was appointed Conservator of the Museum of the
Eoyal College of Surgeons, a position he retained till the summer of 1884, when
he was made Director of the Natural History Department of the British Museum
at South Kensington on the retirement of the late Sir Richard Owen.
Although Sir William Flower has earned for himself a great and well merited
reputation by his labours in the field of Zoological Science, and in connection with
Zoological Museums, yet on the present occasion it is necessary to confine the
limits of this notice of him strictly to his work as an anthropologist.
It was in 1877 that he became a member of this Institute, and began to
identify himself prominently with anthropology, chiefly, I believe, through the
influence of his old and valued friends, the late Mr. George Busk and Professor
Rollestou. About this time he began a revision of the Catalogue of the Human
Osteology contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, the
numerous additions to which, chiefly made by his exertions, having rendered the
previous catalogue by Sir Richard Owen practically useless for the purpose it was
designed. Although he published in conjunction with Dr. Murie an account of
the " Dissection of a Bushwoman " in the Anthropological Review as far back as
1867, it was not till 1878 that the first of his more serious contributions to
Anthropological Science appeared, a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution on
" The Native Races of the Pacific Ocean," and published in the Reports of that
Institution for 1878. From that time onwards he was ever more or less engaged
advancing knowledge both by pen and word of mouth in the department of
anthropology. In 1879 his first paper on "the Osteology and Affinities of the
Natives of the Andaman Islands " appeared in our Journal, and in the following
year an equally important communication on " the Cranial Characters of the
Natives of the Fiji Islands." In 1881 we had a paper from him on " a Collection
of Monumental Heads and artificially deformed Crania from Mallicollo." The
same year he did signal service to the cause of anthropology in this country and
to this Institute in particular, in the first place, by the address which he delivered
as President of the then Sub-Section Anthropology at the Jubilee Meeting of the
British Association held at York, from which resulted a donation from the late
Dr. Muirhead of Glasgow of £100 to this Institute, and in the second place,
by the publication of the Catalogue, previously referred to, of Human Osteology in
the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. By his lectures on anthropology, as
Hunterian Professor, delivered at the College of Surgeons, and published in the
British Medical Journal for several years about this period, while he was engaged in
classifying and arranging the Anthropological Collection in the Museum, he did a
great deal to familiarise members of the medical profession and others with the im-
portance of the comparative anatomy of man, and was the means of bringing many
specimens of human osteology to our museums, and not least, led the way to the
c 2
20 Presidential Address.
acquisition by the Council of the College of the large and magnificent collection of
skeletons and skulls of the late Dr. Barnard Davis in 1880. Many of our Fellows
will yet remember the Presidential Addresses he delivered at the annual meetings
of this Institute in 1884 and 1885, published in our Journals for those years. In
the first of these he discussed the aims and prospects of anthropology, while the
subject of the second was the classification of the varieties of the human species. The
period between 1877 and 1885 may be considered that during which his principal
contributions to anthropology were made. Although short relatively to the time
zoological literature had the benefit of his work, his anthropological contributions
produced during it are of the greatest importance, containing as they do not mere de-
scriptions of specimens, but the results also of new and original lines of thought and
investigation, and generalisations of already acquired facts, so that they must ever
remain as landmarks in the history of anthropology. The chief cause of his active
participation in original research in anthropology slackening off at the period
mentioned is attributable to the sphere of his labours having been transferred
from the College of Surgeons Museum to the more elevated post of Director of
the Natural History Museum at South Kensington in the latter part of 1884.
Henceforth his work lay more in the administration of that large Institution than
in the investigations of the Zoological and Anthropological Laboratory from which
he was now removed, much to the loss of our particular branch of science. But
although no longer able with his other duties to take as active a part in anthropo-
logical research as he would otherwise have done, we are indebted to him for
many smaller contributions at our meetings and in our Journal, of which that on
" The Size of the Teeth as a character of Eace " deserves special notice, and not
least for his last address delivered in the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford as
President of the Section Anthropology at the Meeting of the British Association
in 1894, a most memorable occasion, apart from other considerations, as being
the last meeting of the Association in which he and the late Professor the Pit.
Hon. Thomas Henry Huxley attended and took part. Lastly, we must not be
unmindful of the very valuable work he inaugurated, and was actively engaged in
up to the time when ill-health was the cause of his retirement from the Director-
ship of the Natural History Museum, to advance the study of anthropology by
the formation of a collection in that Museum to illustrate the comparative
anatomy of man which would appeal to the thousands who during the course
of the year visit that great Institution, and which we trust those succeeding him
will relax no effort to develop to a still greater extent than declining health
permitted him to do.
While the foregoing is a brief epitome of the work in anthropology which
Sir William Flower has left behind him for the benefit of ourselves and future
generations, no record of it would be complete without some reference of a
personal nature to himself.
Dr. Garson, who has kindly furnished me with the facts of Sir William
Flower's career, says, " any stranger making his acquaintance for the first
I ' K sidential Address. . 21
time could not fail lo be impressed with his urbane and gentle manners.
' Professor Flower ist ein feiner Mann ' was the remark made by the late
Professor Braune of Leipzig after his first interview with him. To know him
intimately was to love and esteem him and at the same time to hold him in
veneration. I can only say for my own part that during the six years we were
associated together at the College of Surgeons, 1 have never heard or known him
utter an angry or unkind word, and when he had to find fault it was done in the
gentlest and kindest possible manner. He was ever most considerate of others, and
the greatest harmony and good feeling ever prevailed from the highest to the
lowest of the staff; at the same time he never condescended to undignified
familiarities or favouritism, but always upheld the position he had to maintain
with dignity and grace." As in his official relations, so also in his home, which
was everything to him, and amongst his large circle of friends he was greatly
beloved and esteemed. On the other hand I feel sure that he would be the first
to claim that no small part of his success was due to the support he ever received
from the gifted and equally estimable lady who was for so many years his devoted
partner in life, and has now, with a family equally devoted to their father, to
mourn his irreparable loss.
The universal esteem in which Sir William Flower was held was shown by
the crowds of sorrowing friends and colleagues who attended the funeral service at
St. Luke's Church, Chelsea, where he had been a constant attendant and com-
municant since he took up his residence at South Kensington. The Institute was
represented at the service by Mr. Paidler, Dr. Garson, and myself.
The name of Dr. Brinton was known and respected in every spot where
anthropology was cared for. His wide knowledge, his industry, and his
sympathetic intelligence made him a welcome visitor at all times. Daniel
Garrison Brinton was born in 1837 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and after
graduating at Yale and the Jefferson Medical College he entered the army in 1862.
While on active service a sunstroke incapacitated him from continuing his career
in the army, and he settled in Philadelphia and occupied himself with the literary
side of his profession. From his student days, however, he had been much
interested in ethnological questions, and was a prolific writer. He established a
library and a printing house exclusively for aboriginal American literature, and
from this press several valuable works were issued. He filled the office of
President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a post as
honourable in America as the corresponding one is with us. One of Dr. Brinton's
latest acts was to present his valuable library to the University of Philadelphia.
He died on the 31st July last.
Such is the record, ladies and gentlemen, that I have to lay before you to-day.
If I have been tedious I am sorry, but in that case you will be grateful that I have
refrained from dealing with many other matters probably equally important that
have passed through my mind.
THE OAK AND THE THUNDEB-GOD.
BY H. MUNRO CHADWICK, M.A., Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.
[PRESENTED JANUARY 9TH, 1900.]
INTRODUCTION.
THE object of this paper is to discuss the connection between the sacred oak and
the cult of the thunder-god. For this purpose it is necessary to give an account,
first, of the cult of the thunder-god as practised by the chief peoples of Europe,
and secondly, of the tree-sanctuaries which are found among the same peoples.
After this we may consider the evidence for connecting the sacred oak with the
cult of the thunder-god ; and in conclusion an attempt will be made to give some
explanation of this connection. Since the myths and cults of the Greeks and
Eomans are comparatively well known, it seemed unnecessary in most cases to do
more than give references to easily accessible authorities. On the other hand I
have thought it advisable to illustrate at somewhat greater length the less
familiar religions of the northern peoples. In the course of the discussion I hope
to show that the thunder-god was the chief deity of the early inhabitants of
Europe, and further that the temples of late heathen times were, to a great extent,
developed out of tree-sanctuaries. I think, therefore, it will be admitted that the
subject is one of considerable importance for the study of early European religion.
CHAPTER I.
§ 1. The Thunder-God in the North.
H. Petersen in his book Om Nordboernes Gudedyrkelse og Gudetro i Hedcnold,
has shown that in the North during the last centuries of the heathen age Thor was
more worshipped than any other god, and that his cult bears every sign of a
remote antiquity. This subject has been so fully and ably discussed by Petersen
that it is needless here to do more than briefly recapitulate the main arguments
which he has advanced.
They are as follows :— (1) Whenever mention is made of figures of the gods
in temples, Thor's figure seems always to take the chief place. In no case is it
stated that the central position was occupied by any other god. In several cases
Thor's figure is the only one mentioned. (2) In compound personal names Thdr-
is vastly more frequent than the name of any other god. Thus in the Landnuma
Bok Thor- oscurs in 30 men's and 21 women's names, distributed over about 800
H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — Tin- O<il- and the Tliunder-God. 23
uiul 300 persons respectively. On the other hand Frey- occurs only in two men's
names and one woman's name (four persons in all), while 6din- does not occur.
The significance of these statistics is shown by the fact that persons who bore the
name of a god were regarded as being under his special protection.1 In place-
names also Th6r- is far more frequent than the name of any other god. (3) When
Scandinavian gods are mentioned by foreign writers, either Thor is mentioned alone
or he is represented as the chief of the gods. (4) Especially significant is the
title Mickgards Vturr " sanctifier of the earth " which is applied to Thor in the
Edda. Petersen illustrates this by the use of the phrase \ur uiki ]risi Jcuml (or
YU. ]>asi runar) " may Thor sanctify these mounds " (or " these letters ") which
occurs on two monuments in Jutland. The same idea is symbolically expressed by
the representation of the hammer on several inscriptions in Jutland and Sweden.
That the hammer was used at funerals is made probable by the account of Balder's
funeral in Gylfayinning 49, where Thor consecrates the pyre with his hammer. A
similar usage at weddings may be inferred from the story in Tlirymskvida.
Petersen infers that the hammer was used on many other important occasions,
especially at the opening of the assembly. Hammers used as personal adornments
have frequently been found. That they were used also in public worship is made
probable by Saxo's account (xiii, p. 630) of the large metal hammers (malleos
Jouiales) which Magnus Nielsen carried away from a temple of Jupiter on one of
the Swedish islands (about A.D. 1130). As sanctifier and guardian of the home
Thor's figure was carved upon the ondvcgissiilur "pillars of the high-seat" (the
place of honour reserved for the head of the house). The reverence attached to
these pillars is shown by several stories dealing with the colonisation of Iceland.
The colonists brought their high-seat pillars with them. Thorolfr threw the
high-seat pillars of his temple overboard on approaching land and accepted the
direction which they took as an indication where to fix his new home.2 Hallsteinn,
son of Thorolfr, prayed Thor to send him high-seat pillars.3 (5) It is likely also
that Thor wras regarded as the patron of the assembly. In Iceland, Thursday was
the day on which the Atyingi (general assembly) was opened. This was also the
case with the Gidcfyiny in Norway and with most of the district assemblies in the
Danish islands. (6) Evidence for the cult of Thor in time of war is given by the
account of Styrbiorn's campaign against Eirekr, king of Sweden, and by Dudo in
his account of the Normans.
Such are, according to Petersen, the main features of the cult of Thor. The
importance of the cult may be estimated by the fact that it embraces every side
of public and private life, whereas the cult of Othin is concerned chiefly with the
military side. Lastly Thor seems to embody the ideal of the national character ;
he is represented as fearless, impetuous, but benevolent towards men. Othin on
the other hand is distinguished rather by shrewdness and cunning.
1 Cf. Eyrbyggia Saga, c. 7, 11, and the passage from Grcenl. Anndll. appended to Vigfusaon:s
edition of the Saga.
2 Eyrbyggia, s. 4. * Landnuma B6k, i, 23.
24 H. MUNRO CilADWICK. — The Oak mid the Ihunder-God.
It is unfortunate that no figures have survived which may be identified with
certainty as representations of Thor. Yet there can be little doubt how he was
depicted, for the Sagas contain several stories of his appearing to his friends or
enemies upon earth.1 He is represented as a man of large and powerful build, in
the prime of life, and having a red beard. The equipment of the god as depicted
in the mythological poems is remarkable, especially from the negative side. His
weapon is almost always the hammer.8 He is never represented as possessing
spear, sword, shield, helmet, or coat of mail. Again in travelling he either goes on
foot or drives in a carriage drawn by goats. A horse is never ascribed to him.
In Gfrimnismdl 29, immediately before the enumeration of the horses which the
gods ride when they come to do justice under Yggdrasill's Ash, it is stated that
Thor has to wade through several streams on his way thither. The horses of Othin,
Freyr, Heimdallr and Balder are mentioned also elsewhere. The antiquity of the
representation of Thor may be estimated by the absence of the horse and of all
the ordinary weapons of war. His equipment indeed resembles that of a hero of
the Stone Age rather than of any subsequent period. Both from the shape of the
hammer ns depicted on Eunic stones, etc., and from the fact that the word
(O.Norse hamarr) also means " rock " and is perhaps related to O.Bulg. kamy
" stone " and kindred words, it appears not unlikely that Thor's hammer was
originally a stone implement.
Human sacrifices in connection with this cult are seldom mentioned. They
were known, however, both among the Normans (Dudo, i, 1) and in Iceland
(Eyrlyggia, s. 108), though in the latter case the victims were probably condemned
criminals.4 It is somewhat remarkable that in both these cases death seems to
have been inflicted by felling with a wooden instrument. Elsewhere sacrifices of
horses and oxen5 and offerings of bread and meat0 are mentioned. Besides the
sacrifices there is one other point which deserves mention. In Icelandic temples
it seems to have been the custom to keep a sacred fire in the afhiis (cf. p. 28)
which was never allowed to die out. Since the temple described in Kialncsingas. 2,
where this notice occurs, was primarily a Thor-temple, it is likely that this holy
fire was connected with the cult of Thor.
It has been shown by Petersen (see above) that the blessings conferred by
Thor apply to all departments of human life. His connection with weather and
natural phenomena is surprisingly little evidenced in Norwegian-Icelandic
literature. This is no doubt due in part to the disuse of the old word for
"thunder." In Denmark and Sweden on the other hand, where the words lorden
and aska (toraka) are preserved, the connection seems to have been more clearly
kept. But it is rather as the protector of the human race against trolls (the
1 Cf. especially Fornmanna Sdgur, ii, 182.
* Saxo, iii, p. 118, provides him with a club.
* Cf. Kialnesingas* 2.
« For a similar custom among the Gauls cf. Ccesar, E.G., vi, 1C.
* FlateyiarbOt, ii, 184. « Olafs s. helgct, 33if.
H. MoNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
spirits of the desert), as the granter of land, the guardian of the laws and customs
of civilised life that Thor is best known. In connection with Petersen's
supposition that Thor was regarded as the patron of the assembly it is perhaps
worth recalling Grimnismdl 29, where Thor is represented as proceeding to do
iustice under Yggdrasill's Ash. None of the other gods are mentioned by name in
this passage.
In conclusion a few words must be said in regard to Thor's family
relationships. He is called the son of Othin, but this can hardly be an original
feature, for his cult appears to be much older than that of Othin. His mother is
called Fiorgyn1 or lord ("earth"). His wife is Sif,2 his sons Modi ("the
courageous ") and Magni (" the mighty "), his daughter priidr.3 The lateness
of the last four names is shown by their allegorical character. The nature of
Thor's relationship to the human community is well illustrated by the choice of
Sif as the name of his wife. Lastly it is worth observing that no royal or noble
family seems to have traced its genealogy to Thor.
§ 2. The Thunder- God of the Continental Germans.
Among the continental Germans and in England very few traces of this cult
have survived. In the " Old Saxon " renunciation formula Thunaer is mentioned
together with Woden and SajMot. Again the inscription on the Nordendorf brooch,
the meaning of which is not altogether clear, ends with the words wigi Jxwar,
which corresponds exactly to the formula employed on certain monumental stones
in Jutland (cf. p. 23). The earliest certain evidence for the existence of the cult
is the phrase O.H.G. donarcs tag, O.Engl. \unres dcey as a translation of Lat.
dies louis.* It is worth observing that among the Franks in the seventh century
St. Eligius (f 6f>9) found it necessary to forbid the celebration of Thursday
festivities.5 With this may perhaps be compared the fact that in many parts of
Germany Thursday has been the favourite day for weddings down to modern
times. The German thunder-god is sometimes mentioned under his Latin name,
e.g. in the Indiculus Superstitionum and in Bonifacius, Epist. 25, where mention is
made of a priest who " sacrificed to lupiter and ate the sacrificial meat."6
It is uncertain how far the attributes by which Thor was distinguished in
the North were applied to the thunder-god on the continent. In the Frisian
1 Identical with Goth, fairguni "mountain," O.Engl. firgen- " forest," etc.
• The same word is found in the other Germanic languages (Goth, sibja, O.Engl. sib, O.Sax.
tibbia, O.H.G. sippa\ in the sense of "relationship" (in O.Engl. and O.H.G. also "friendship,"
" peace "). In Old Norse only the pi. si/iar " relationship," occurs.
3 Identical with O.Engl. ]>ry]> " strength."
4 The names of the days of the week were borrowed probably between the second and
fourth centuries.
• Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie*, iii, 402.
• It is somewhat remarkable that the Germanic lupiter is not mentioned by the earlier
Latin writers. The only god besides Mercurius and Mars to whom Tacitus refers at all
frequently is "Hercules," and it has been generally assumed that under this name lie meant
the thunder-god. This, however, does not seem to me to have beeu satisfactorily established.
26 H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
story of the twelve Asegen,1 if the implement borne by the god is an axe,2 it is
very likely that it is the thunder-god who is meant. If so this would be valuable
evidence for proving the connection of the thunder-god with the laws. Another
possible reference to the axe of the thunder-god occurs in the Old English dialogue
of Salomon and Saturn (ed. Kemble, p. 148).3
§ 3. The Keltic Thunder-God.
Very little is known about the gods of the ancient Kelts. There was,
however, a god named Taran, who is mentioned by Lucan (I. 446) and whose
name appears also in inscriptions as Tanarus, Taranucus, Taranucnus.* Lucan
says that he was honoured with human sacrifices. Now the form Tanarus
corresponds exactly to *1punuraz, the Germanic name for thunder and the thunder-
god, while Taran- differs therefrom only by metathesis of -n- and -r-. The latter
may be identical also with Mod. Welsh taran " thunder." It is known that the
Kelts had a god " lupiter " ; Csesar (E.G., vi. 17) states that, like other nations,
they regarded him as the ruler of the gods. Since the Latin lupiter is likewise
the thunder-god, there can be little doubt that Taran is the god meant by Caesar.
This conclusion is further confirmed by the dedicatory inscription /. 0. M. Tanaro
found at Chester and dating from A.D. 154.5 It is likely enough that the god
corresponded to some extent in attributes, as well as in name, to the Germanic
thunder-god, for there seems to have been much similarity between the two
nations. But the evidence is not sufficient to enable us to arrive at any certain
conclusions.
§ 4. The Baltic Thunder-God,
The evidence for the cult of the thunder-god amongst the ancient Prussians
is much more extensive, but unfortunately it is late and not free from suspicion.
Grunau gives the god's name as PcrkunoG and says that together with the gods
Patollo and Potrimpo he was believed to inhabit the sacred oak at Eomove. He
was supposed to commune with the priests there in thunderstorms. In this way
the fundamental laws of the nation were believed to have been imparted by him.
In his honour a perpetual fire was kept burning under the oak. The priest who
allowed this to die out was condemned to death. According to Grunau (Tr. II,
cap. v, § 1) Perkuno's likeness, as depicted on King Widowuto's banner, was that
of a middle-aged man with black beard and wrathful expression of countenance ;
1 v. Eichthofen, Friesische Rechtsquellen, p. 439f.
2 The reading is uncertain.
3 There is no direct reference to the god in this pasage, but cf. Saxo, xiii, p. 630.
4 Taranucus in a Dalmatian inscription (C.I.L. 3, 2804); Taranucnus in two Ehenish
inscriptions (Brambach, C.I.Bh. 1589, 1812) ; on these names see Much, Festgabe f. Heinzel,
p. 227f.
6 Cf. also Taranin louen in a scholion to the above passage of Lucan (Usener).
« Identical with Lith. perMnas " thunder," which is still used personally in folk-songs ;
cf. also Michov in Grynaeus, Novus Orbis Terrarum ac Insularum Veteribus Incognitarum,
Basel 1537, p. 519, who says of the Samagitti (in East Prussia) : diis suis falsis, praecipue deo
lingua eorum appellate Perkuno, id est tonitru, adfocos quisque suos offerebat libamina.
H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God. 27
his head was crowned with ilames. Ann mi; the holy symbols of the Lithuanians,
according to yEneas Sylvius, was a huge iron hammer. From the place-name
neiliyciihril it is likely that similar symbols were used among the Prussians.
At the present time it is customary to regard the authorities for the ancient
Prussian religion, especially Grunau, with the greatest scepticism. Some writers
have even gone so far as to doubt the existence of a god Perkuno. This, however,
is certainly unjustifiable.1 What especially makes for the credibility of Grunau's
account in the main, distorted and embellished though it is without doubt, is the
fact that there is scarcely one of the religious observances mentioned by him for
which a parallel can not be found in some other European people, generally at a
very early period of history.2 In many cases these foreign customs can not have
been known to Grunau. The Northern cult of Thor offers several points of
resemblance to Grunau's account of Perkuno. It has been shown above that there
is some reason for regarding Thor as the god of the Assembly. Thjs goes far
towards confirming the conception of Perkuno as the law-giver. Again the
perpetual fire in honour of Perkuno may be compared with the perpetual fire
which was kept burning in Thor's temples in Iceland. Lastly the portraiture of
Perkuno on the banner strongly resembles the Northern portraiture of Thor.
The banner is no doubt fabulous, but the picture may have been drawn from
figures of the god such as the one which is stated to have stood in the oak.3
§ 5. The Slavonic Thunder-God.
In the treaties mentioned by Nestor (Chron. 21, 36, etc.) the Varangians call
to witness their god Perun. It is very likely that the Northern god Thor is
meant, but he would seem to have been identified with a native god and to have
adopted the Slavonic name.4 That the cult of the thunder-god was nothing new
among the Slavs is clear from Procopius' statement (Gothic War, iii, 14) that
" they consider one god, the creator of the lightning, to be the only lord of all
things."
§ 6. The Thunder-God amongst the other peoples of Europe.
It is unnecessary here to discuss the cult of the thunder-god among the
ancient Greeks and Eomans. That the Greek god Zeus bore this character is
1 Cf. Zeuss, Die Deutschcn und die Nachbarstamme, p. 41. It should, moreover, be
remembered that the latest of the writers whom I have quoted, Grunau and Michov, wrote
within a century of the death of Vitoldus (Vitovt), in whose reign (1392-1430) the Baltic
tribes were still mainly heathen. ^Eneas Sylvius (Pius II, Pope 1458-1464) is practically a
contemporary authority.
* I hope that in several cases this parallelism will be made clear in the following pages.
s It is possible, though hardly likely, that the religion of the Prussians was influenced
by that of the North in late heathen times. Gothic influence at a very much earlier period is
more probable.
4 The name is identical with Buss., Ceoh. perun " thunderbolt," and probably also with
Lith. perk&naft, though the loss of the -k- is still unexplained Much (Festgabe f. Heinzel,
p. 212ff) holds that both perun and perk-Anas are loan-words from Germanic, but his theory
seems to me to be beset with overwhelming difficulties.
28 H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The. Oak and the Thunder-God.
clear from the epithets applied to him such as repTriicepavvos,
vi/r£j&pe//.eT779, epiftpe/Aerris. a-repoTrrjjepera. He was also a god of the rain. In this
connection it is worth noting that a rain-charm was in time of drought practised
by the priest of Zeus on Mount Lykaios in Arcadia. The ceremony consisted in
dipping an oak twig in the sacred stream (cf. Paus. viii, 38, 3). With this may
be compared the Roman aqucelicium which took place at the temple of lupiter
on the Capitol.1 The connection of the god lupiter with the thunder and with
the phenomena of the weather in general is so well known that it will be
sufficient here to refer to Preller, Romische Mythologie, p. 190ff.
§ 7. Conclusion.
The foregoing brief summary is enough to show that the cult of the
thunder-god was in early times common to most of the Indo-Germanic speaking
peoples of ' Europe. The Greek and Roman thunder-gods, as might reasonably be
expected from the identity of their names Zeu? (Voc. ZeO Trdrep, Horn.) — lu-piter
(luppiter), seem to have had common features even apart from the influence
which was exercised by the one people upon the other in historical times. It
may reasonably be supposed also that such was the case with the Keltic Tanaros
(Taranos) and the Germanic ])unuraz, where there is the same identity of name.
Lastly, it has been shown that the Prussian cult had several points of resemblance
to that of the northern Germans. Here also a similarity of names is not wanting,
for Perkiinas is closely related to Fioryyn, the name of Thor's mother.
CHAPTER II.
§ 1. The Germanic Tree- Sanctuary.
The Northern temple in late heathen times seems to have been shaped much
like a church with an apse-shaped building (afhiis) at the east end. The a/hus,
which in Iceland seems not to have been open to the rest of the building, was
the sanctuary proper and contained the figures of the gods, the altar with the
oath-ring and blood-kettle and the perpetual fire. Petersen, however (op. tit.
kap. 2), believes that there was another form in use, namely the round temple, of
which he thinks the round churches, which occur in all Teutonic lands, are a relic.
He believes that this is the more original form and that it is a development of the
grove-sanctuary. In the more usual type of temple the afhus was the original
sanctuary, while the long rectangular building (lanyhus) was a later addition and
due to the exigencies of the sacrificial feast.2
Temples were known among the other heathen Germanic nations in the
early middle ages. In the sixth century a Frankisli temple was destroyed by
1 Tertullian, Ap. 40.
» It is possible, of course, that the form of th-> temple w&s influenced by that of Christian
churches in the British Isles.
H. MUNKO CIIADWICK.— The OnL- "tut. the Thunder-God. 20
Radegund, wife of Chlotar.1 Gregory of Tours2 describes a temple at Cologne
which contained figures of the gods and in whicli sacrificial feasts were held.
In Augustine's time the English had temples which were capable of being turned
into churches.3 The Frisians and Old Saxons also seem to have had temples,
but the notices are not always clear. The word fanum, by which these sanctuaries
are usually denoted, is also used of the " Irminsul," which was an upright pillar.
In other cases again it is clear that the Germanic invaders had appropriated
Boman temples to the use of their own gods. The true Germanic temples, except
in Iceland, seem to have been usually, if not always, made of wood.
In earlier times the evidence for the existence of Germanic temples is very
meagre. The clearest case is Tacitus, Ann. i, 51, where it is stated that Germanicus
" rased to the ground the temple which they called the temple of Tainfana and which
was most frequented by those tribes." In Germ. 40 mention is made of the
" templum " of Nerthus, but it is not unlikely that the word is loosely used for
" sanctuary " and refers to the holy grove mentioned just before.
According to Germ. 9 the Germans " deem it to be inconsistent with the
majesty of the gods to confine them within walls or to represent them after any
similitude of a human face ; they dedicate groves and woods and call by the name
of gods that invisible thing which they see only with the eye of faith." Sacred
groves are mentioned by Tacitus in several other places. According to Germ. 39,
the Semnones had a wood of immemorial antiquity and holiness ; according to
Germ. 43, the Nahanaruali had a grove of ancient sanctity. The sanctuary of
Nerthus (Germ. 40) was an island grove. Arminius' forces assemble in a wood
sacred to Hercules (Ann. ii, 12); Civilis brings his army together in a sacred wood
(Hist, ii, 14). These sacred groves contained altars (Ann. i, 61), and effigies et signa
quacdam which the priests carried into battle (Germ. 7). With the last passage
may be compared Hist, iv, 22, from which it appears that the effigies were figures of
wild beasts.
The accounts of later writers fully agree with Tacitus' evidence. Claudian
(Cons. Stil. i, 288) speaks of "groves grim with ancient religious rites and oaks
resembling a barbaric divinity " which he hoped the Roman axes would fell. In
the Translatio S. Ahxandri (Mon. Germ, ii, 676) it is stated that the Saxons
worshipped trees and streams. Similar evidence is given by the occurrence of
place-names such as ffeiligenloh, Heiligenforst, Heiligenlwltz. In the North
place-names ending in -hind probably denote the former presence of grove-
sanctuaries. There was a holy grove beside the Swedisli temple at Upsala, one
evergreen tree being regarded as especially sacred. The legendary sanctuary at
(ilirsisvollr (Hcrrarar Saga 1; Forn. Soy. i, 411) was probably connected with a
holy grove ; Glcesir here is, perhaps, identical with Glasir, the name of the tree in
Valholl (Othin's dwelling-place).
There is an obvious connection between these sacred groves and the " guardian
1 Acta Bened, *. i, p. 327. - Vita I'atntm, 6.
* Beck, Hint. Ecd., i, :$<>.
30 H. MUNKO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
tree " (Yard trad) which is found standing beside the homestead in many districts
of Sweden.1 Mannhardt describes how formerly every house in the sailors'
quarter of Copenhagen possessed an elder tree which was tended with the
greatest reverence and regarded as the dwelling-place of the guardian spirit of the
house. In the Northern mythology Valholl has beside it a sacred grove or tree
(Lceradr, Glasir). I have tried elsewhere2 to show that the evergreen tree at
Upsala was regarded as the Vardtriid of the Swedish nation and that, the conception
of the "world tree," Yggdrasill's Ash, may have arisen from the idea of a
Vardtriid of the divine community.
We may now return to the discussion of the Northern temple. The
"langhus" seems to have closely resembled the hall of an ordinary large
dwelling house. Like this it contained the "high-seat pillars" which stood
beside the seat of the owner of the temple. Indeed there can be little doubt
that the langhus is copied directly from the hall and that originally it formed no
part of the temple proper. Originally it would seem to have been the residence
of the priest or chief who presided over the temple and provided the feasts.
Peterseu's suggestion that the " afhiis " (the sanctuary proper) is a
development of the holy grove is rendered probable by the following
considerations: — (1) The temple appears to have been of comparatively late
origin among the Germanic peoples. The passage quoted above from Tacitus
(Germ. 9) practically amounts to a statement that the Germans had no temples,
though in one or two instances temples seem to be actually mentioned by him.
(2) The Old English word hearg, hery, which is used to translate saccllum, lupercal,
simulacrum, fanum, templum, is apparently also used for "grove" and is identical
with O.H.G. haruc which is used to translate lucus, nemus, fanum, am.3 (3) The
sacred tree or grove is sometimes found standing beside the temple, as at Upsala.
The same phenomenon is found among other European peoples, as in the case of
the oak at Stettin destroyed by Bishop Otto (cf. p. 33), and the pine destroyed by
St. Martin (cf. p. 34). In every case the tree seems to have been regarded with
greater reverence than the temple. (4) In other European countries certain
temples are distinctly stated to have been erected on the site of a holy tree or
grove. Such was the case with the temple at Dodona and, according to tradition,
with the temple of lupiter Capitolinus at Borne. From these considerations it
seems to me not unlikely that if the langhus is a development of the chief's
dwelling, the afhus may bear some close relationship to the sacred grove or tree
(Vardtriid) which originally stood beside the dwelling.
In conclusion it is worth mentioning that the sacred groves of the ancient
Germans seem to have been used also as places of assembly, the meeting of the
Thing being no doubt closely connected with religious festivals. Passages have been
quoted above (p. 29) showing that the German armies assembled in sacred groves
' Mannhardt, Baumkultus, s. 51ff. * Cult of Othin, p. 75ff.
;t With this may be compared O.H.G. paro, which is used to translate both lucus and ara,
and is identical with O.Engl. bearu " grove."
H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The, Oak and the Thunder-God. 31
daring their wars with the Komans. It is probable that at the national assemblies
in the wood of the Semnones (Germ. 39) the business transacted was political as
well as sacral. Certainly the great assemblies at the Upsala grove-sanctuary met for
more than merely religious purposes. The usual name for the place of assembly in
the North is Ipinyvdllr which must originally have meant " wood of the assembly,"
though vollr has come to mean " field " in the North.1 It is in a forest-clearing
that the gods meet to decide the fate of Starkactr in Gautrcks Saya 7. According
to a mythological poem (Grimn. 30) the gods meet every day to dispense justice
under Yggdrasill's Ash.
o*j
§ 2. The Baltic Tree- Sanctuary.
The only reference of which I know to the existence of temples among the
Baltic tribes is a passage in Michov2 which describes how Vladislaus extinguished
the sacred fire at Vilna and destroyed the tcmplum et ara at which the
Lithuanians offered their sacrifices. That this was a real temple is made probable
by the fact that shortly afterwards he speaks of the lurris in which the sacred fire
was kept.
On the other hand there is no other European people with whom the sacred
grove occupies so prominent a position. ^Eneas Sylvius (Hist, de Eur. xxvi)
describing the missionary journeys of Jerome of Prag among the Lithuanians,
states that he came to a people who worshipped woods dedicated to devils. There
was one wood sacred above all others, and in its centre an oak of great age which
was especially regarded as the abode of their god. As Jerome continued to cut
these trees down, a great crowd of women betook themselves with lamentations to
Vitoldus3 complaining that " their sacred grove had been cut down and the house
of their god taken away ; in it they had been wont to solicit the divine favour and
from it they had obtained rain and sunshine ; now they did not know where to
seek the god whose habitation they had taken away." Michov (I.e. p. 518) states
that the Lithuanians " deemed woods and groves to be holy and regarded them as
the habitations of the gods." In a subsequent passage he relates that the
Samagitti considered even the birds and beasts which entered the sacred woods
to be holy. They believed that if anyone injured these woods or anything in them,
the devils would make his hands or feet to grow crooked. According to Erasmus
Stella (</c Borussiae Antiqidtatibus, ii4), the Prussians said that the gods dwelt in
groves and woods ; here sacrifices were to be offered to them ; from hence sunshine
and rain were to be obtained. " They said that the gods inhabited the finest trees,
such as oaks ; from these trees enquirers heard replies given to them ; therefore
they did not cut down trees of this kind but tended them religiously as the houses
of their deities. They treated the alder and several other trees in the same way."
1 The word is identical with O.Engl., O.H.G. wold "forest." A similar change of meaning
(from " grove " to " meadow ") is seen in O.Engl. leak.
1 Grynaeus, Novns Orbis, etc., Basel, 1537, p. 518f.
* Prince of Lithuania, see p. 27, footnote.
4 Grynaeus, Novus Orbis, etc., Basel, 1537, p. 581.
32 H. Muxuo CHADWICK.— The Oak and the Thunder-God.
According to Helmolcl (Chron. Slav, i, 1), Germans were, in his day, admitted to all
privileges among the Pruzi (Prussians) except the right of access to groves and
springs ; they thought that these would be polluted by the presence of Christians.
A similar statement is made by Stella (I.e.) who adds that atonement for the
intrusion of strangers could only be made by the sacrifice of a human victim.
Among the Letts a custom is found similar to that connected with the
Vurdtra'd in the Xorth. According to Mannhardt (JBaumkultitg, p. 52ff) it was
usual even up to the present century to find beside the homestead a small grove
which was regarded as the dwelling-place of the Mahjas kunys (" lord of the home ")
and honoured with small offerings.
Among the Prussians the nearest approach to a temple seems to have been
the holy oak at Remove (Rickoiot), the chief sanctuary of the Prussians.1 This
was an evergreen tree with foliage so thick that, according to Grunau, no rain
could penetrate it. In the stem stood busts of the three chief gods, and in front of
each of these was placed the emblem of his cult, Perkuno's emblem being the
perpetual fire. Round the oak were hung fine silk curtains within which no one
was allowed to enter except the chief priests ; the curtains might, however, be
partially withdrawn to enable visitors to see the busts. The priests lived in tents
round the oak; according to one authority3 the Jcirwaito3 or high-priest lived
within the curtain. In this oak Perkuno was believed to commune with the
kirwaito, who was known as " God's mouth." The other priests and priestesses
(ivaidlotten) were old widowers and widows, living in celibacy, and had to make
known to the people the commands of the kirwaito. In the neighbourhood of
the oak the Prussians held their religious, and no doubt also their political,
assemblies.
Michov (I.e.) states that on the first of October the Samagitti* held a great
festival in their sacred woods at which the whole population came together and
sacrificed to their gods, especially Perkunus. He states, moreover, that each family
had in these woods a hearth at which they burnt their dead, and seats made of
cork, on which were set food and drink for the souls of the departed.
§ 3. The Slavonic Tree- Sanctuary.
Holy trees and groves are found also among the Slavs. Thietmar of
Merseburg (Mon. Germ, v, 812) states that Riedegost was completely surrounded
by a forest, which was regarded with veneration and never touched by the
inhabitants. In a subsequent passage (I.e. p. 816) he relates how in the year 1008
1 Grunau, Preussische Chronik, Tr. ii, cap. v, s. 2 ; iii, cap. i, s. 2 ; cap. iv, s. 1.
2 " Prisca Antiquorum Pruteuorum Religio" in Respublica sive Statiis Regni Poloniac, etc.,
Leyden, Elzevir, 1642, p. 297ff).
3 This word seems to be identical with Lith. kriwditis on which Schleicher says: "jezt
unbekant . . . . es musz eiue hohe wiirde bezeichnen."
4 From Grynaeus op. cit., p. 524, it is likely that this passage refers, in part at least, to the
assemblies at Remove.
H. MUXTJO CFIADWTCK.— The On].' nn<l ///<• Thnndcr-( !<>,!. :',:',
Wigbert destroyed a grove called Zutibure,1 which was honoured by the inhabitants
in all respects as a god, and which had never been injured since the beginning of
time. In the year 1124 Bishop Otto of Baraberg destroyed three Slavonic
temples at Stettin.2 He then prepared to cut down an oak which was regarded
with great veneration by the inhabitants, as they believed it to be the dwelling
place of a deity. Beneath the oak was a spring. The people, though they had
allowed him to destroy the temples, besought him earnestly to spare the tree.
The Slavs, however, as has already been mentioned, also possessed temples.
One of the temples destroyed by Otto contained a three-headed figure (Triglaus).
A temple at Riedegost is mentioned by Thietmar in the passage to which reference
has been made above. Saxo (xiv, 822ff, 841ff ) gives a full account of certain
Slavonic temples in Eiigen which were destroyed by King Waldemar in the year
1169. One of these temples consisted simply of purple hangings, the roof being
supported by pillars. It contained an oaken figure of Puigieuitus with seven faces.
Another temple had an outer enclosure of walls and an inner one consisting of
hangings, the roof here also being supported by pillars. In the temple stood a
wooden figure of Suantouitus with four heads. The priest alone was allowed to
enter within the curtains and was not allowed to take breath there. Another
temple contained a figure with five heads.
These Slavonic temples bear a curious resemblance to the Prussian tree-
sanctuary at Remove. Boetticher3 has made it probable that among the Greeks
the earliest figures of the gods were made out of tree-stems, especially from the
stem of that tree which was sacred to the god. The statue was in fact a
development of the natural tree. If a similar development may be assumed for the
Slavonic temple, the latter must come from a form very similar to the Prussian
tree-sanctuary. An oaken image in a temple which had curtains for walls may very
well come from a living oak surrounded with curtains. Possibly even the
multiplicity of heads in the Slavonic idols may be due to the custom, which is
found at Romove, of inserting busts in the trunk of the tree. These arguments
seem to me to make it probable that the sanctuary at Eornove faithfully preserved
a type which was once common to the Slavonic and Baltic peoples. The very close
relationship subsisting between these peoples is shown by the resemblance between
their languages ; for, so far as phonology is concerned, there can have been -little
difference between them at the beginning of the Christian era.
§ 4. The Keltic Tree-Sanctuary.
In spite of the paucity of our information concerning the religion of the
ancient Kelts, it is quite clear that they had sacred groves and trees. Pliny (A7. H.
xvi, 249) states that the Gauls consider nothing more holy than the mistletoe and
the tree on which it grows, provided that this is an oak. He then goes on to
1 Apparently for Scetibor " holy forest " ; cf. Eusa. bor1 " pine-forest."
2 Mon. Germ. Script., xii, 794.
3 Der Baumkultus derHelli'ner 11. Riimcr, |>. :>1.">tr.
\Y,L. XXX (N.S. III). D
34 H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
describe the ceremonies connected with the cutting of the mistletoe, adding that
they never practise any of their religious rites without oak-leaves. In conclusion
he proposes an etymology of Druidae from Greek 8pv? " oak."1 Lucan (i, 453) says
that the Druids inhabit deep groves amid secluded woods. In another passage (iii,
399ff) he describes a grove-sanctuary in the neighbourhood of Marseilles. In
Britain also the Druids had sacred groves ; Tacitus (Ann. xiv, 29) relates how
Suetonius Paulinus destroyed the Druids' groves in Anglesey. Though Druidism
was put down by the Romans, tree-worship long continued in Gaul. Sulpicius
Severus ( Vita S. Martini, c, 10) states that St. Martin destroyed an ancient temple
without meeting with any opposition from the inhabitants, but on his subsequently
proceeding to cut down a pine-tree which was consecrated to a devil in the
neighbourhood, he at once encountered resistance. It is worth noting that the
Gaulish word for temple, nemeton, seems to have originally meant " grove."
§ 5. The Greek and Roman Tree-Sanctuaries.
For the tree- worship of these nations it will be sufficient to refer to Boetticher
(op. cit.). Here it need only be observed that in classical times the tree-sanctuary
had in most places been either wholly or partially displaced by the temple.
CHAPTER III.
§ 1. The Association between the Thunder-God and the Oak.
In the preceding chapter evidence has been given to show that among the
Baltic tribes (1) the cult of groves and trees was exceedingly prevalent ; (2) the
explanation of this cult given by the people themselves was that these groves
and trees were the habitations of the gods ; (3) the tree most reverenced was
the oak.
Is there any evidence to show that this tree-cult was connected with one god
more closely than the rest ? In most of the notices no particular god is specified,
while in Grunau's account the oak at Eomove contains the busts of three gods.
Yet there is reason to believe that it is Perkuno, the thunder- god, with whom the
reverence for the oak was originally connected. The thunder-god is essentially a god
of the weather ;3 it is rain and sunshine which the Lithuanians hope to obtain from
their trees. Again though three gods are mentioned in connection with the oak at
Eomove, yet it is always Perkuno who appears individually. It is -he who speaks
with the high-priest in the oak. Further it is stated that Perkuno's emblem was
a sacred fire of oak-wood which was kept up perpetually. Lastly Hirt (Idg.
Forschungen I, 479ff) has made it probable that the word (Lith.) perku-nas is
1 In spite of what has been said to the contrary it seems to me probable that Kelt, druid-
is a derivative of a Kelt, stem dru-" oak," though there is no evidence for precisely this form in
Keltic. The derivation is especially favoured by the Welsh re-formate derwydd "druid"
from derw " oak." Cf. also the Dru-nemeton (" oak-grove " ?), where the Galatian council met
(Strabo, xii, 5, 1.)
* According to Adam of Bremen, iv, 26, "Thor presides over thunder and lightning, winds
and showers, sunshine and the fruits of the earth,"
H. MITNRO CHAPWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God. 35
related to Lat. qucrcus (Idg. *perkmis) " oak." Consequently the word can originally
have meant nothing else than " oaken," and must have been an epithet : " the god
of "(or " in ") " the oak."
Among the ancient Germans also a similar association may be traced.
Bonifacius1 is said to have destroyed at Geismar in Hesse a huge tree which the
inhabitants called " Jupiter's oak."2 That groves sacred to the thunder-god were
known among the ancient English is shown by such place-names as ^unres-leah
which must originally have meant "grove of thunder." In the North the
association seems to be forgotten, yet an important trace of it is preserved
in the word Fiorgyn, the name of Thor's mother. This word is closely related to
Lith. PerMnas, and like it, in all probability, a derivative of Idg. *pcrkuus, " oak."
In regard to the Kelts it has been shown above : — (1) that the cult of the
thunder-god seems to have been an important element in their religion ; (2) that
veneration for groves and trees was prevalent amongst them ; (3) that the oak
was apparently the tree most reverenced. The connection between the cult of the
thunder-god and the reverence for the oak is shown by Maximus Tyrius, viii, 8 : —
" The Kelts worship Zeus ; the Keltic image of Zeus is a lofty oak."
Among the Eomans also the oak was associated with the cult of the thunder-
god (lupiter). Several writers3 give lists of trees which were sacred to various
gods, and in these it is always the oak which is associated with Jupiter.4 Some of
these passages may not perhaps be accepted as unimpeachable evidence for genuine
Roman tradition, since the suspicion of Greek influence is possible. But there is
other evidence of a less questionable character. The " civic crown " of oak-leaves
which was given to a soldier who had saved the life of a comrade in war, and which
was regarded as one of the highest distinctions which a Roman could gain, seems
to have been associated with the cult of Jupiter.5 The temple of lupiter Feretrius
on the Capitol stood on the site of a sacred oak, to which, according to Livy (I. 10),
Romulus brought the spolia opima which he had gained by killing the king of
Caenina.
That the oak was associated with the cult of the Greek thunder-god Zeus is
clear from several passages relating to the oak-sanctuary at Dodona (see below).
The association was not peculiar to Dodona, as it was found also at the sanctuary
of Zeus on Mount Lykaios. For the rest it will be sufficient here to refer to a
scholion on Aristophanes, Birds 480 which states that " the oak is sacred to Zeus."
The association therefore between the oak and the thunder-god is found among
the Prussians, Germans, Kelts, Romans and Greeks. In conclusion mention may
Ite made of the Albanian word perendl, perndl "god." If, as has been suggested,
1 Man. Germ., ii, 343.
" If the customary identification of "Hercules" with the thunder- god is correct, Tacitus
sU.uo, Herculi sacra (Ann. ii, 12) may be added.
3 Pliny, N.H., xii, 2 (cf. xvi, 4) : Phaedrus, Fab. iii, 17.
< Ovid (Met. 106) calls the oak " Jupiter's tree."
* Cf. Servius ad Aen., vi, 772.
D 2
3G H. Muxno CIIADWICK. — The- Dale and the Thunder-God.
this word is related to Lith. pcrlnlnas, it is likely that the association may be traced
also here.
§ 2. The Sanctuary of the, Thunder-God.
The sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona, near Jannina, was one of the oldest, and in
early times perhaps the most important of all the sanctuaries in Greece. In
later times Zeus, together with Dione, had a temple at Dodona ; but the early
authorities mention only an oak or grove. The first reference is in the Iliad (xvi,
233ff) : — " 0 lord Zeus of Dodona Pelasgian, who dwellest afar, who rulest over
stormy Dodona, around thee dwell the Selloi, thy interpreters, with unwashed
feet, sleeping upon the ground." The statement that the priests or Selloi slept
on the ground is repeated by Sophocles (Trach. llGGf), who mentions also that
the tree stood in a grove. Oracles were given by the rustling of the leaves'—-
whence the tree is represented as endowed with speech — and by the murmuring
of a stream which issued forth from beneath the oak.2 The stream is called by
Pliny (KH. II, 228) " Jupiter's spring." The pigeons which frequented the grove
were regarded as sacred.
There are several points of close resemblance between the Greek sanctuary at
Dodona and the Prussian sanctuary at Komove. In both cases the oak is the
dwelling-place of the thunder-god.3 The neighbourhood of Dodona is famous for
thunderstorms ;4 Perkuno manifests his presence in the thunder. Oracular
responses are given forth by the oak at Dodona ; so also by the sacred oaks of the
Prussians. The priests sleep on the ground round the oak at Dodona; the
Prussian priests live in tents round the oak at Ilomove. The sanctity attached to
the pigeons in the grove at Dodona may be compared with the sanctity attached to
the birds and animals which frequented the sacred groves of the Prussians.
These points of resemblance, however, are not confined to the Greek and
Prussian sanctuaries. If " the Keltic image of Zeus is a lofty oak " and if, as Lucan
states, the Druids lived in groves, sanctuaries like those at Dodona and Remove ,
must have been in existence among the Kelts. Again the following passage from
Claudian (De BeUo Getico 545ff) seems to show that oracular responses were
given by the sacred trees of the ancient Germans : — " Moreover we have
encouragement from the gods. It is not dreams nor birds (which guide us), but
clear speech issuing from the grove." It is also frequently stated, both in the
North and among other German tribes, that no harm was allowed to be done to
any living being in the neighbourhood of a sanctuary. Again for the spring
beneath the oak parallels may be found in northern Europe. The sacred oak which
Otto found at Stettin (<?/. p. 33) had a spring beneath it. There was a spring in
' Cf. Od,, xiv, 327ff. ; JEsch. Prom., 848ff. ; Soph. Track., 170f. ; 1164ff.
2 Cf. Servius ad Aen., iii, 466,
3 For Dodona this is implied by IL, xvi, 233ff. (quoted above). In a fragment of Hesiod
also (No. 156 in Rzach's edition) Zeus is represented as living in the oak, but this depends on
an emendation (vaitv or vaiti for MSS. valov).
4 Leke, Travels in Northern (jreece, 4, 198.
H. MUSKO ClIAIAVlrK. — Tin- 0«L ii nil UK Tlmmli ,-<•'<»/. '•'<"
the neighbourhood of the sacred tree at Upsala.1 It is stated that the nature <>!'
this tree was not known ; but like the oak at Eomove it was evergreen. It is,
perhaps, worth observing that the I'psala sanctuary may ])rimarily have Ijeen
connected with the worship <>f Tlmr. At all events Thor's image occupied the chief
position in the temple. Lastly the world-tree, Yggdrasill's Ash, is likewise
represented as evergreen, and stands over the " spring of Fate."
The results of this discussion may be briefly summarised as follows : There
were sanctuaries of the thunder-god among the Greeks and Prussians, probably
also among the Kelts, consisting of oaks standing within groves. Perhaps the
.sacred oaks were originally chosen by preference from one or other of the evergreen
kinds.2 Round these oaks the priests lived under somewhat primitive conditions
of life. Further, there are resemblances in points of detail between the tree-
sanctuaries of the Germans and Slavs on the one hand, and those of the Greeks
and Prussians on the other, sufficiently striking to justify the suspicion that
similar conditions may once have prevailed in the sanctuaries of these nations.
As regards the Germans3 perhaps some objection may reasonably be taken to
the assumption in the last statement. There is, however, some indirect evidence
to support it. It has been suggested above that in the Northern temple the
" langhus " is a development of the dwelling-house, probably that of the priest or
chief4 of the community, while the " afhiis " seems to have taken the place of the
sacred grove and to bear solne close relationship to the Vardtrad which is found
standing beside the ordinary house. Now there are traces that in early times the
relative positions of the house and tree were sometimes different. In the hall of
Volsung's palace, according to Vulstinya Say« 2 (Fornald. Soy. 1, 119), stood the stem
of a huge oak, the branches and foliage of which spread out above the roof. A house
of this type may obviously be a development of a tree-dwelling similar to the
sanctuary at Remove. I do not know of any other example of a house of this kind
in the North.5 Perhaps, however, the following possibility is worth taking into
account. Can the " high-seat pillars " which stood within the hall, both of secular
and sacred buildings, and were regarded with peculiar reverence, owe their origin
to the former presence of an oak in the same position ? It is not stated that they
were make of oak-wood, but from their association with the thunder-god it is likely
that such was originally the case.0 The figure of Thor which was carved upon
them may be compared with the Slavonic idols discussed above.
1 Schol. 134 to Adam of Bremen.
- It is worth noting that the Boman "civic crown" was originally made from the leaves of
the evergreen oak (ilex) ; cf. Pliny, N.H., xvi, 4.
x In regard to the Slavs, I have tried to show above (p. 33) that the Slavonic temples in
Iviigen may come from tree-sanctuaries similar to that at Eomove.
4 In the North the temporal chief seems to have been also the priest of the community.
* The description of the thalamos of Odysseus (Od., xxiii, 190tt'.) may be compared.
6 It is perhaps worth suggesting that the rec/in-naglar, which stood in the pillars, may have
been pegs used for ignition by friction, perhaps for the re-kindling of the perpetual fire, which,
in view of certain customs existing in later times, may have been extinguished once a year. Or
again it may have been for the kindling of the " need-lire " which was also perhaps connected
38 H. MUNRO CHA.DWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
CHAPTER IV.
It has been shown above : (1) That the cult of the thunder-god can be proved
to have existed among most of the Indogermanic-speaking nations of Europe. He
appears to have been the chief deity of the Greeks, Romans, and Kelts, in pre-
historic times probably also of the Germans (at all events in the North). Further
if Procopius' statement (Gothic War, iii, 14), that in his time (the sixth century)
the thunder-god was the only deity worshipped by the Slavs, be compared witli
the prominent position occupied by Perkuno in the religion of the Prussians, there
can be little doubt that the thunder-god was originally the chief, if not the only
deity of the Baltic and Slavonic peeples. (2) That among all these nations holy
trees and groves are found. The tree most generally venerated seems to have been
the oak. (3) That the oak seems to have been associated with the cult of the
thunder-god among the Greeks, Romans, Kelts, Germans, and Prussians ; further,
that oak-sanctuaries of the thunder-god showing striking features of resemblance
are found among the Greeks and Prussians, and that there are grounds for suspecting
that similar sanctuaries have existed among the Kelts, Germans, and Slavs. It
remains now to enquire what can have been the original nature of the association
between the thunder-god and the oak.
§ 1. Mr. Frazer's Theory.
Mr. Frazer holds that the oak was originally not merely the symbol or
habitation of the god, but was itself the object of worship. In The Golden Bough,
vol. ii, p. 29 Iff, he writes : — " If then the great god of both Greeks and Romans
was represented in some of his oldest shrines under the form of an oak, and if the
oak was the principal object of worship of Celts, Germans, and Slavs, we may
certainly conclude that this tree was one of the chief, if not the very chief divinity
of the Aryans before the dispersion." This passage must be read in connection
with vol. i, p. 62 : — " In these cases the spirit is viewed as incorporate in the tree ;
it animates the tree and most suffer and die with it. But according to another,
and no doubt later view, the tree is not the body, but merely the abode of the
tree-spirit, which can quit the injured tree as men quit a dilapidated house."
Also with vol. i, p. 65 : — " When a tree comes to be viewed no longer as the body
of the tree-spirit, but simply as its dwelling place which it can quit at pleasure, an
important advance has been made in religious thought. Animism is passing into
polytheism."
Originally therefore the oak was itself the deity ; the conception of it as the
dwelling-place of the deity is a later development.
Mr. Frazer seems to me to assume too much in his statement (vol. ii, p. 291)
that the oak was ".not only the sacred tree, but the principal object of worship
with the cult of Thor ; cf. Adam of Bremen, iv, 26 : sipestis uel fames imminet Thor ydolo libatur.
In later times the sparks for the kindling of the " need-fire " were sometimes obtained by twisting
a wooden peg round in an r aken post (cf. Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, i, 502ff) .
H. MUNRO CHAD WICK. — The Oak and the TJiunder-God. 39
of both Celts and Slavs." His authorities for this statement are the passages
quoted above regarding the tree-cult of the Lithuanians and Prussians,1 and Pliny's
account of the cutting of the mistletoe. But it is clearly stated in many places
that the Lithuanians and Prussians regarded their groves and trees as the dwelling-
places of the gods. Again Pliny, though he says that " the Druids . . .
esteem nothing more holy than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows,
provided only that this is an oak," yet adds the following explanation for this
fact : — " they believe that whatever grows on these trees is sent from heaven, and
is a sign that the tree has been chosen by the god himself." The god is clearly
not inseparable from the tree here. For illustrations of the original form of cult,
wherein the tree and the tree-spirit are identical, Mr. Frazer has to go far beyond
Europe.2
§ 2. Objections to the above theory.
Mr. Frazer's statements would lead one to the conclusion that among the
Indogermanic-speaking peoples the development of polytheism from animism, or
at all events the development of the thunder-god from the oak, took place
subsequently to the " dispersion." Against this supposition, however, there are
several serious objections : —
I. Though several of the Indogermanic languages possess words for " god "
peculiar to themselves, yet it is practically certain that one word must have been
used with this meaning even in the parent language. This is shown by the
identity of the Indian, Italic, Keltic, Germanic, and Baltic words for " god "
(Sanskr. dcvas, Lat deus, diuus, O.Irish dia, O.Norse tivar (pi.),3 Lith. rfevas).
II. No tree-name is ever used for " god," nor is the thunder-god ever denoted
by a word which may have been a tree-name. The Baltic-Slavonic designation
of the thunder-god seems indeed to be derived from the Indogermanic name of
the oak (*perk^us), but it is a derivative and not the word itself. Hence it would
seem to have been originally an epithet, " having something to do with the oak,"*
perhaps " living in the oak."
III. The name of the thunder-god in Keltic and Germanic is identical with
the word for thunder. It is probable that a similar word must once have existed
in Baltic and Slavonic. Otherwise the use of the words perktitias, perun for
" thunder," " thunderbolt " is difficult to explain. On the other hand the name
of the thunder-god in Italic and Greek seem to have originally meant " sky,"
" daylight " (cf. Sanskr. dyaus " sky," " day," also personified ; Lat. dies " day ").
But, further, this word seems to be ultimately connected with Indogerm. *deiuos
1 I ought here to acknowledge my obligations to Mr. Frazer's book for several of these
references.
2 I have not the qualifications necessary for entering into a discussion of these examples,
but I suspect that some of them might be capable of more than one interpretation.
3 The singular is only used as the proper name of a god : O.Norse, Tyr : O.H.G., Zio ;
O.Engl., Ti, Tiw-.
* Cf. Gk. <t>r)y<ovalos as an epithet of Zeus (Stephanus Byzautinus under
40 H. MUNKO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
"god." This tends to show that among the Indogernianic-speaking peoples the
conception of " god " in general was bound up with that of " sky," and that this
was more especially the case with the conception of the thunder-god. It must be
admitted that it is at all events more natural that the thunder should be
conceived of as coming from the sky1 than as proceeding from an oak or any
other tree.
These arguments seem to me to tell greatly against the probability of
Mr. Eraser's hypothesis, and in favour of the supposition that the conception of
the thunder-god was originally bound up with or developed out of the conception
of " sky." Therefore, since it is obvious that the two hypotheses are mutually
exclusive, it remains to be seen whether the association of the thunder-god with
the oak may be of secondary origin. In the following pages I will endeavour to
show that this may be the case.
§ 3. Conclusion.
It has been shown above that in the Greek and Prussian sanctuaries of the
thunder-god the priests lived beneath the sacred tree, and that there is some
reason for supposing that the same custom may once have prevailed among the
Kelts, Germans, and Slavs. One might, perhaps, say "chiefs" for "priests," for in
the earliest times it is probable that the two offices were united. Such appears
to have always been the case in the North,2 while among the Prussians it is
noteworthy that Bruteno, the legendary first high-priest, had formerly been king.
The question must now be asked : Is it necessary to suppose that the priests
lived beneath the oak because it was sacred ? Is it not possible that the oak
acquired its sanctity from the fact that the priests lived beneath it ?
According to Eobertson Smith (Religion of the Semites, p. 197) the oldest
sanctuaries among the Phoenicians appear to have been natural or artificial caves.
He explains this fact by suggesting that in this district caves were the earliest
form of human habitation. Now what is likely to have been the earliest form
of human habitation in the more northern parts of the continent of Europe?
Over a considerable part of the area, which in the earliest historical times was
occupied by Germans and Slavs, caves would not often be available. On the
other hand it is known that great portions of these countries were at one time
almost completely covered with forest. Is it not probable that in primitive times
the inhabitants of these regions made their home under the shelter of the larger
forest trees ? Though this may be granted, it will, perhaps, be said that such a
state of society must lie too far back in the past for any reminiscences thereof to
have survived in historical times. Yet according to Erasmus Stella3 the Prussians
> Cf. the Homeric phrase Zevs .... aWi pi vaiuv (II. ii, 41 2), and Adam of Bremen, iv, 26 :
T/ior praesidet in aere.
• I hope to deal with this question, so far as the Germanic nations are concerned, on some
future occasion.
3 Grynaeus, op. cit., p. 574,
H. Muxin> di \D\VICK. — Tin- Of>/.- ,i,nl Hi'' T1mn<l<-r-God.. 41
li;ul u tradition that at one time they did not build houses but protected
themselves and their children from rain and cold by caves and by the bark
of trees. lordanes (c. 5) says that the Slavs inhabited forests and marshes
instead of cities. The dwellings of the Germans in the first century and of the
Slavs in the sixth century, as described by Tacitus and Procopius respectively,
seem to have been of a somewhat primitive description. But according to
Tacitus the Finns in the first century were still without houses. They slept on
the ground, and their homes consisted simply of a network of boughs1 with which
they protected their children and old people. Now the customs of a more primitive
state of society are often preserved in sacral use when the community in general
luis reached a higher grade of civilisation. The life jf the priests at Uodona is
practically identical with that ascribed by Tacitus to the Finns. It may be
conjectured therefore that this manner of life was once practised by the ancestors
of the Greek race in general.
The sanctity of the oak has yet to be explained. There is reason for
believing that the oak was once the commonest, as well as perhaps the largest
tree in the forests of northern Europe. As such it would naturally be chosen for
the habitation of the primitive community and consequently of all their
belongings, their animals, their guardian spirits and their tribal god.2 Evergreen
trees, such as the oak at Romove or the tree at Upsala, would obviously have the
preference. Subsequently, when the art of building had become known, the
tree-home was deserted for the purposes of ordinary dwelling, but the sanctity of
( ild associations clung to it, and it continued to be regarded as the home of the
tribal god, as Tacitus (Germ. 39) says of the grove of the Senmones : tan(ju<iin
indc initia gentis, ibi rcgnator omnium dcus.
Between the primitive community beneath the oak and the Prussian
sanctuary at Romove an intermediate stage may be traced. Herodotus (iv, 23)
relates how far to the north of the Scythians, at the foot of lofty mountains,
there dwelt a race of holy men called Argippaioi, each under his own tree.
This tree was uncovered in summer but in winter was surrounded with an
impenetrable covering of white felt. It is interesting to observe that, like the
] )ruids these patriarchs were not only regarded as sacred, but were also appealed
to as judges in all cases of dispute. Their homes were inviolable places of
asylum and. like the priests of the ancient English, they possessed no weapons of
war. Does the curtained tree-dwelling of these patriarchs represent an earlier
form of the type seen at Romove ? If so it is a natural inference that the
curtain was originally no more than a protection for the primitive community
against cold and wet.
1 These dwellings would presumably be somewhat similar to the rough shelters still in use
among the dwarf yellow races of Equatorial and Southern Africa.
- To this is probably to be added the fact that in primitive times the acorn seems to have
been a common article of food. The tradition was pieservcd by both Greek- and Romans,
of. Fnuer, o/j. cit., ii, |>. 292, footnote, and the references there quoted.
42 .H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
To sum up briefly the results of this discussion, I am of opinion that the
thunder-god was supposed to inhabit the oak because this had formerly been the
dwelling-place of his worshippers. Originally, no doubt, he was conceived of as
dwelling in the sky ; but from the very close connection which exists in all
primitive communities between the god and his people, it became inevitable that
he should be regarded as present in the home of the community. When the
community took to building and deserted the tree-home, the sanctity of old
associations clung to the latter, and the god was still supposed to dwell there.
This is the stage of society represented by the Germans of Tacitus' clay and by
the Prussians up to their conversion.1 The protection of the god over the new
home was obtained, in the North at all events, by the importation into it of a pillar
(probably cut from a holy tree) with the image of the god carved upon it. The
third and last stage was reached by the accommodation of the god in a temple
built like human habitations, but with certain peculiarities which may be due to
reminiscences of the grove-sanctuary. This is the stage found in the North in the
last days of heathendom. The change, however, was not complete, for, in certain
cases at all events, the sacred tree or grove continued to exist by the*side of the
more modern temple.
It may be objected to this explanation that it is in no way specially applicable
to the cult of the thunder-god. Against this I would answer that the thunder-god
was the god of the primitive European community. He is the only god whose
cult is common to the Indogermanic-speaking peoples of Europe. It is probable
that these peoples, like the ancient Semites (cf. Eobertson Smith, op. cit., p. 39),
though they recognised the existence of many supernatural beings, were yet not
polytheists in the sense that they worshipped more than one god. According to
Procopius the Slavs of the sixth century had only one god, namely, the thunder-
god, though they also worshipped 8ai/j,ovi,a. The same was probably also the
case in the North in early times. The cult of Fro seems originally to have been
peculiar to Sweden and, together with that of Niordr, is capable of a special
explanation. The worship of Othin was probably introduced at a comparatively
late period. No other cult seems ever to have attained much importance in the
North. According to Kobertson Smith (I.e.) pantheons, such as the Greek, do not
belong to the primitive stages of society. Each community has its god (and
perhaps a goddess), its guardian spirits and tribal heroes. In the primitive
European community the god seems always to have been the thunder-god.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. W. GOWLAND, after complimenting the author on his extremely interest-
ing paper, called attention to several analogies between the sacredness of trees in
early and later times in Europe and in the Far East — in Japan and Korea.
1 It is noteworthy that the Prussians took their dead to the sacred woods, where, according
to Michov. each family had a hearth specially reserved to it for cremation (Grynaeus, op. cit.,
p. 520).
H. MUNRO CHADWICK. — The Oak and the Thunder-God.
43
In Japan in most villages there is a sacred tree, the actual tree, however, not
being reverenced per se, but as the abode of some god or spirit. It was not
regarded as the home of the spirit, for this is always in the sky, but merely as
his terrestrial dwelling-place, where he could receive the offerings and reverence
SACRED PINE TREE IN A JAPANESE VILLAGE.
which the inhabitants of the village might wish to offer. The spirit was often
held to be the peculiar guardian of the prosperity of the village, even when,
as often happened, his nature was malevolent.
44 H. MUNKO CHADWICK. — The 0«l- and //«• Thunder-God.
The tree was always encircled by a straw rope with pendants of straw or of
straw and paper suspended from it resembling a fringe, as shown on p. 43. This
is a perfect parallel of the curtain mentioned by the author. The offerings
consisted of food and wine, frequently also of round water-worn stones, the latter
being piled up around the base of the trunk.
These sacred trees belong essentially to Shinto spirits and the offerings made
to them are evidently survivals of an ancient pagan cult. They are sometimes
found in the immediate vicinity of a Shinto temple, and occasionally small Shinto
shrines are fixed on their trunks. The tree in South and Central Japan is
generally the pine (Pinus Thunberyii), but sometimes the camphor tree (Cinna-
momum Camphora), not because there is any special virtue in either tree, but
because they are the largest trees in the district.
In Korea he had found the same practice. The sacred tree was the largest in
the neighbourhood. Its trunk was encircled by a rope with pendants of straw or
of strips of rags. Heaps of water-worn stones offered by the villagers or by passing
travellers were piled up at its base.
Groves of trees were not regarded as sacred in Japan, and temples were not
built to resemble groves, but every important Shinto temple was erected in a grove,
or in front of a clump of trees which were often of gigantic size.
Mr. G. M. ATKINSON said that he would be glad to know if there was any
connection or continuity between the Gospel Oaks and the Thunder God, and why
the oak leaves are worn on the 29th of May, for the popular explanation is
unsatisfactory. The battle of Worcester was fought in September. He thought
their structural ornamentation went far to prove the timber origin of the Temples.
The ritual of the rag-bush and its connection with Northern Mythology has
been explained by Mr. M. J. Walhouse ; but it is Yggdrasill's ash-tree that
comes in for the greatest share of its attention.
NOTES ON SOME CAVES IN THE T'ZITZIKAMA OH OUTENIQUA
DISTRICT, NEAR KNYSNA, SOUTH AFRICA, AND THE OBJECTS
FOUND THEREIN.
BY HENRY D. R. KINGSTON, M.D.
[PnKSKNTED JANUARY OTII, 1900. WITH PLATE I.]
THE caves which I had the opportunity of exploring some years ago are to be
found on the coast of South Africa, where it runs almost exactly east and west;
they lie mid-way between Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth, about 150 miles from
either and 450 miles from Cape Town.
The harbour and village of Knysna, from which they are distant eastwards
about 40 miles, stand on the meridian 23° E. of Greenwich. Rob Berg or Cape
Seal, a distinct and remarkable promontory, is a point of the locality easily noted
on any map. The coast for many miles hereabouts is rocky and abrupt, open or
sandy spaces of shore being few and far between. The land falls suddenly and
often almost precipitously from " the flats," a tableland or shelf at the foot of the
FIG. 1.— SKETCH-MAP OF PART OF SOUTH AFRICA, BETWEEN MOSSEL BAY AND
PORT ELIZABETH: FROM INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY DR. KINGSTON.
Outeniqua Mountains, with a face to the sea of some 300 or 400 feet in height.
This is scored or intersected by a number of small rivers — none of them of any
great length — which rise in the hills to the north and have cut their way deep
into the land, forming narrow and densely wooded kloofs. From this the district
gets its native or Hottentot name of T'Zitzikama, meaning " plentiful or beautiful
waters." It was near the mouth of one of these rivers, called "Groot River"
because it is rather bigger than the rest, that the caves were situated.
46 H. I). R KINGSTON. — Notes on some Caves in tlie T'Zitzikama or Ontcniqua
The mouth of Groot River, like many other points in that district, is a spot
of great beauty. The forest, with grand yellow- wood trees and many other
sub-tropical species, comes down almost to the water's edge. A bold headland
distinguishes its eastern side, clothed with " cripple bush " or scrub on most of its
western face, but bare, rocky and rugged on its southern or seaward aspect. It is
mid-way between the top, where the rough vegetation of the veldt above fringes
over, and the tumbling sea below, that the rock — a quartzite or metamorphic
sandstone — is fissured and bored into caves, and perhaps even excavated by the
action of the waves in some past time when the levels of the water and the land
were different, a condition of which there are many indications along that coast.
The largest of these caves is placed so exactly in the extreme angle of this
headland that it has two openings, one seawards with a view straight out over
the southern ocean, the other looking westward over the sandy bar which always
obstructs, and often entirely closes, the river mouth, to the wooded and less
striking headland beyond it. In this feature Groot River mouth closely resembles
that of Knysna Harbour, the difference being chiefly in the greater size of the
latter and the fact that it is deep enough to allow of navigation. To our cave we
scramble and climb from the shore below and enter by the roughly rounded
window-like opening to the west. The floor is fairly even, but cleft by a great
fissure extending upwards from the troubled water below and narrowing as it
trends backwards deep into the rock behind, so that it is soon necessary to use
candles (and lean sideways) in exploring its inner recesses. These have for us,
however, but little interest, for the cave men, in one of whose rude homes we are
standing, had evidently a morbid fear of the dark, and even the advantage of
greater shelter from the wind and spray did not apparently tempt them into
this convenient cleft; at all events, they left in it no remains, nor did they
bury their dead there. The floor of this cleft is covered only with fine sharp
unworn sand, the debris from the gradual disintegration of the rock above, and the
droppings from a colony of bats. The floor of the outer cave, some 50 or 60 feet
deep and quite 30 feet wide, is on the other hand covered to a very considerable
depth with shell de'bris and chips and flakes of the local quartzite, usually,
however, not of the yellow rock of the cave walls themselves, but rather of the
same grey stone of which the boulders of the shore chiefly consist now. I do not
remember to have seen and certainly I have not got a specimen of a flake hand-
made from this yellow stone, which apparently did not chip kindly ; so that it was
usually very easy to distinguish between hand-made flakes and naturally scaled-off
fragments of the rock. The de'bris consisted of shells more or less disintegrated
and of various kinds. There were in this cave enormous quantities of mussels
and great numbers of a large " ear shell," Haliotis.
The greater mass, however, of the deep, soft bedding on the floor consisted of
white nacreous dust, the result of the entire disintegration of the softer shells of
the oyster, which abound immediately below the cave, and were apparently as
greatly appreciated by the old cave-dwellers as by modern explorers.
District, near Knyma, South Afrlm, timl ////• objects found tJierein. 47
The i'avourite feeding place, or at any rate the " midden," in this cave seemed
to be a ledge which ran out on one side of the chasm towards the larger opening
of the cave, for there great heaps of shells were to be found.
I have not much to say about the remains of the " strand loopers " or " shore
walkers," as they have been called, from their habit of life, which may have been
left in this cave, since the upper levels of its deposits had already been much
disturbed by the farmers and squatters in the neighbourhood, who value the
" shell guano," as they call it, as a dressing for their lands, and who found it
possible to hoist it in sacks to the veldt above, where they were able to bring a
waggon sufficiently near to carry it away. It would have required much time and
great labour to remove the confused masses above, into which pits had been dug,
and lay bare the lower though probably much more interesting layers beneath
them.
Our better fortune was to find another cave at no great distance from the
first, smaller and at a greater height above the sea, but so difficult of access that
it had evidently remained intact since the last trek of its migratory inhabitants.
Here we found evidence of frequent and successive periods of habitation.
On the surface was a layer of fine white or yellowish sand, which is not water
worn but merely the gradual powdering from the roof above.
It is greatly to be regretted that we had not the means carefully and system-
atically to remove the different layers of material and make a thorough scientific
examination of the whole of the contents of the cave, but we arrived, by a series
of soundings in various places, at a very fair idea of the nature of the deposits
and even of the manner of life of the former inhabitants.
Certain people saw fit, after our amateur excavation was completed, to point
out how much better it would have been done had it been done officially ; but the
fact remains that no one had previously explored the caves at all, and I have just
learned from a friend, who has resided within a few miles of the caves all his life,
that no one has made any attempt to explore them since.
FIG. 2.— BONE IMPLEMENT FROM THE KNYSNA CAVES. FIG. 3.— SHELL ORNAMENT.
SCALE, ABOUT £ NATURAL. SCALR, £ NATURAL.
Evidences of human occupation were found in the mass of shell ddbris ; the
circular blackened area of the primeval hearth; arrow heads and stone axes of
the quartzite (Plate I, Nos. 1-8); a hard bone spoon or scoop or hide-scraper
(Fig. 2), which bears evidence of long use and careful custody in the polishing of
its rough surfaces ; and a simple but elegant shell pendant (Fig. 3).
48 H. D. 17. KINGSTON. — Notes on some Cares in the Ty Zilzikama or OHtenir/na
The patches of burnt shell which mark the places of the fires were at
different levels, and now and then we came upon a layer of sand, which made one
believe that some time had elapsed between one occupation of the cave and
another. Deep down we would come upon a mass of ribbon-like "sea-grass,"
probably a sleeping place, while heavy flat stones, ground and hollowed on their
upper surface, and handy flattened "mells" or pounding stones, told of the
domestic occupation and the culinary art. Bones of sea birds, of seals, and some
of the larger animals probably indicated an occasional change of diet, but there
were no weapons large enough to determine whether these were secured by
hunting or obtained by accident. Pit-fall traps for buffalo or buck there were
in abundance in the neighbouring forest, but whether rightly or not, we were
impelled to the opinion that they belonged to a different and later age and a
different race — the " Hott'nots," the remains of whose encampments were so
abundant on the " flats " above, whose whorl stones, perforated either to weight
their digging sticks or for use as clubs, were found there in quantities, and whose
rough pottery lay there in fragments, while one well-formed and even elegant jar
with a rim has been found already, indicating a much higher stage of civilisation
than there was any proof of in the caves. In them we found no whorl stones
but only arrow or spear-heads — if, indeed, they were not merely forms of the
prehistoric knife — and many " flakes " of varied shape and doubtless varied use.
I have said that the inner recess of the first cave described was not occupied,
and this was true in a marked degree of every cave I visited ; so much so, that
the large caves in and near Eob Berg were so piled with great masses of shell
(Ulris at their mouth as almost, in some cases, to close the opening. One climbed
up the rocks and then over a high ridge of shell — gaining access only by stooping
— and passed down into the cave by a steep slope till one stood in a high and
roomy chamber. Caves with a double opening were not uncommon on the coast,
and from one of these I heard that seven skeletons had been removed.
A cave was not, however, the only residence of the " cave dwellers." An
overhanging rock, giving the merest shelter, was often found to contain a mass of
shells, and that, too, on steep arid sloping ground; these, perchance, served as
summer quarters. What is now the neck of Rob Berg also, which is marked by
a huge and very conspicuous notch, was once a mighty cave. At first two caves
back to back, it in time became and for ages remained a double-mouthed cavern
and then an arch, the roof of which at last fell in. Great blocks of conglomerate
can now be seen littering the space between the walls of rock, and the places from
which they have fallen can easily be pointed out.
I regret that I have not been able to visit the caves farther along the coast,
westward, towards Knysna Heads and beyond; but many exist there, and
skeletons of the same race of men have been found in them,
No doubt the life of these strand loopers was nomadic, their wanderings
governed, not by the pasturage available for their flocks — for flocks and herds they
had none — but by the food supply accessible for themselves. This food, as we
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX ( = N.S. Ill), Plate I.
STONE IMPLEMENTS OF FLAKED QUAKTZITE, FliOM THE KNYSNA CAVES, SOUTH AFRICA.
SCALE NATURAL.
STONE IMPLEMENTS FKOM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF KNYSNA, SOUTH AFPJCA.
SCALE, | NATURAL.
District, near Knysna, South Africa, and the objects found therein. 49
have seen, consisted mainly of the shell-fish on the rocks, and the amount
obtainable within a given area was naturally not large and would obviously be
but slowly replaced. The shore is rocky and narrow. The tide falls but little,
and the waves are most frequently beating with great force upon the coast. They
could at the best but snatch a precarious existence from the jaws of the jealous sea.
Then in time the growing strength of the Hottentot hordes on the hills
above would be felt by the prowlers on the lonely shore, for parties would come
down and raid the rocky terraces.
So would the fierce primeval tribe gradually grow less, till the skeleton we
found crouched to the small and superficial hearth, the bones barely covered by
the sand of the crumbling rock, perchance indeed, was that of the lone survivor
of his race who had crept there, wounded, to die — the last of the strand loopers.
Description of Plate I.
Nos. 1-8. Flaked implements of local quartzite from the Knysna Caves.
„ 9-20. Smoothed implements of various local stones (not quartzite), found on or near the
surface in the neighbourhood of Knysna ; figured for contrast with the flaked
implements from the caves.
Nos. 9-11. Pounders, formed by use from large round water- worn
pebbles.
„ 12-14. Rubbers or grinders formed by use from longer water- worn
pebbles.
„ 15-20. Series to illustrate stages in the manufacture of the per-
forated mace-like stones used as weights for digging-
sticks.
No. 16. Showing preliminary chipping of the surface of a
natural water-worn pebble, to give purchase
to the borer.
„ 17. Boring has begun.
„ 18. Boring is carried further.
„ 19. Boring is carried through the stone on both sides ;
but the perforation is still hour-glass-shaped,
and needs enlargement.
„ 20. The hole has been enlarged so that its walls are
nearly parallel to each other.
VOL. XXX (N.S. 111).
50 )
NOTES ON THE GALLA OF WALEGA AND THE BERTAT.
BY REGINALD KOETTLITZ, M.D.
[PRESENTED FEBRUARY 13TH, 1900.]
THE route followed by Mr. Herbert Weld Blundell's expedition, of which I was a
member, was briefly this : — We crossed the Gulf of Aden, from Aden to Berbera ;
thence, starting on December 6, 1898, we crossed Somali Land in a south-westerly
direction as far as Jig-jigga on the Abyssinian frontier. This portion of our
journey we performed with camels. Thence to Harar we travelled with mules.
Avoiding the hot desert route we then proceeded along the ranges in the Arusi
and Itu countries, and passed lakes Hanamaya and Chercher to the river Hawash,
which we crossed, and thence ascended to Addis Abbeba, the capital of King
Menelik. From this place I paid a flying visit to the holy mountain of Zikwala,
some forty miles to the south.
Leaving Addis Abbeba we proceeded due west through the countries occupied
by the Mecha and other Galla tribes ; crossed the river Didesa into Walega, which
we traversed in a northerly direction. Crossing the river Dabus we entered the
country of the Berta or Nuer. where is Abd er Rahman's village called Beni
Shongul by previous visitors. Finally we came to Famaka on the Blue Nile;
following that river we reached Khartum and ultimately Cairo.1
WALEGA.
The Galla of Walega are nearly as dark in complexion as the Itu in the east,
and much more so than their kinsmen of Abyssinia. They are much less particular
about their dress than are the Gallas in the east. The men often only wear a
leather breech-cloth, or are content even with a goat-skin phallocrypt with the
hair still upon the skin. The women often only wear the leather breech cloth.
The girls, as elsewhere in Galla Land, arrange their hair in the shape of a mop,
consisting of a mass of corkscrew ringlets. The married women stiffen this mop
with Avax and honey until it forms a coherent mass of rigid shape, with an edge
like a honeycomb rising above it. Sometimes they dye their hair with red
day.
The tokuls outwardly resemble those of the Abyssinians, except that they are
more squat and dome-shaped, with a stick protruding from the apex. The internal
arrangement, however, is different. A partition made of sticks cuts off the space
1 For a map of the route, see Geographical Journal, March, 1900.
REGINALD KOETTLITZ. — Notes on the Galla of Walega and the Bertat. 51
near the door from the main body of the circular hut, thus forming a sort of
vestibnle. All household work is done within the inner compartment, and there
also, along the wall, are the sleeping places, those of the unmarried men and girls
being on opposite sides, and screened off by reed screens suspended from the roof
and rising about 7 feet above the floor. The walls of these huts are made of
grass thatch.
The hoe is the ordinary agricultural implement, but primitive ploughs, drawn
by oxen, are occasionally to be seen.
Gold in small quantities is found in Walega, as also in Leka and Sibu, and is
washed out of the sand of rivers and brooks. As the Gallas are required by their
Abyssinian masters to pay their taxes in gold dust they are obliged to wash for it.
I asked a man who had six dollars' worth of gold how long it had taken him to
wash for this, and he told me seventeen days !
In these gold districts it is very common to see men carrying a wooden
tray-like pan about 2 feet long and 15 to 18 inches wide. This pan is
used for gold washing. A small goat-skin bag contains quills in which the gold
is kept, and other apparatus. They carry also a neat native-made balance, with
weights of pebbles or seeds, fitted into a small basket, by means of which they are
able to ascertain fairly accurately the value of their washings. These quills filled
with gold dust, or small packets of it, or gold rings of different weights, have a
known value, and pass as currency throughout these districts, and there are some
markets, notably that of Nago, which go by the name of "gold markets," and
are frequented by merchants desirous of exchanging their commodities for gold
dust.
THE BERTAS.J
The Bertas inhabit the country to the north of the Dabus river2 as well as a
small tract to the south, within the Abyssinian border. They are true negroes, of
a dark complexion, with markedly prognathous crania, thick protruding lips and
broad flat noses. Most of them are under the average stature, have long arms and
flat and spur-heeled feet. They are far from being a pure race, and there is no
doubt a good deal of Arab strain among them.
Their chief, Abd ur Rahman, is an Arab, and resides at a village called liuiii
Shongul by previous visitors, but not known by this name in the country.
Our visit was ill-timed, for twice recently had the country been raided by the
Abyssinians, once by Kas Makunen and again by Dejaj Demisi. The tokuls had been
levelled, the crops destroyed by fire, and the live stock killed or driven off. Most
of the inhabitants who had escaped death or capture had fled to remote parts of
the country. Hence we were unable to obtain food, and obliged to lay in a stock
before we entered the country.
1 Berta is the singular, Bertat the plural. Shangalla is an Abyssiuian designation applied
to the Bertat and all other negro tribes. — ED.
• Dabus seems to be the Galla name of this river. The Bertat call it Tabus, the Gamila
l)<ik, and others Dadhesa, etc, — Eo.
K -2
52 REGINALD KOETTLITZ. — Notes on the Galla of Walega and the Bertat.
We saw, however, enough of the people to convince us that the Bertas are
lazy, careless, ignorant, stupid, impudent, fierce and vicious. By the Arab- rulers
we were treated well.
The dress of these negroes is of the simplest, consisting for the most part, and
in the case of females as well as males, of a piece of leather or skin attached to a
hip-belt and passed between the legs. Many, however, may be seen to wear the
loose trousers, shirt and tope common in the Sudan.
Both sexes wear their hair short or shave the head, and they are much given
to gashing their faces and arms, and also the trunk and occasionally even the legs.
These gashes are made with a knife, when young, and the scars resulting from this
operation stand out above the surface, salt and ashes having been rubbed into the
wounds. Usually there are three long gashes in the face, running obliquely
downwards and out\vards across the cheeks, as also a number of smaller gashes,
vertical and slightly curved, on a level with the eyes, towards the ears.
The marks on the arms consist of numerous small wedge-shaped gashes,
arranged in rows, or broad arrow-heads, with transverse lines separating the rows,
or zigzags, diagonal crosses and other fanciful designs. Gashes of the same kind
cover the trunk and the lower extremities, and sometimes they cover nearly the
whole body. Women even decorate their breasts with these fanciful designs.
Occasionally a patch of small round spots, resembling vaccination or small-pox
marks, covers the shoulders and other parts of the body.
FIG. 1. — BERTA SPEARS.
FIG. 2. — KULBEDAH.
The weapons of these people consist of a spear, sword, throwing stick and
dagger. The spear has a long slender iron head, which ends in a comparatively
small barbed arrow-headed point, the iron below which is jagged in a regular
REGINALD KOF/ITLITZ.— Notes on the Ctalhi of W<tln/a and the Bcrtat. .".°,
pattern all round and as far as the socket by which it is attached to a bamboo
shaft. This shaft ends in a ferrule with a chisel-shaped iron point. A spiral iron
ring is attached one-third up the shaft, probably with the object of balancing the
spear.
Many are also armed with the kulbedah, which resembles a curved double-
edged sword with a spur on the inner side of the curve not far from the handle.
This is an ugly and dangerous weapon, which is used as a sword and is also said to
be thrown. A variety of this weapon, S-shaped, with a second spur, is met with
occasionally. The straight iron handle of these swords is padded with leather, and
often covered with crocodile or lizard skin.
The throwing stick or club is the weapon seen most frequently. It is curved
and flat, and resembles a boomerang. It is made out of wood (sometimes of the
root-end of a bamboo), and the patterns vary considerably. The men are very
expert in its use and are able to knock down a bird in the water, fifty yards
away or more. It does not, however, return to the thrower like the boomerang.
The tokuls are circular and resemble those of the Abyssinians and Gallas,
except that the upper ends of the rafter sticks protrude about a foot through the
thatch all round the centre pole. The floor is generally formed of a platform
supported upon short poles and covered by the projecting roof. The walls are
plastered with hard mud resembling mortar. In cases where the tokul does not
FIG. 3. — TOKUL.
FIG. 4. — GRANARY.
stand upon a platform, the threshold of the door is raised a foot or 18 inches
to prevent the hut being flooded during the rains.
The granaries, likewise, are raised upon a platform some 5 or 6 feet above
the ground. They resemble cylindrical baskets.
We came past many fields enclosed within thorn hedges, but the only crops
we noticed were dhurra and cabbages, all the rest having been destroyed.
They grind their corn on a disc-shaped stone (granite) about 18 inches
or 2 feet in diameter, and slightly hollowed out upon the surface. The corn is
ground or crushed with a smaller stone which is rubbed up and down, or round and
round like a pestle in a mortar.
54 REGINALD KOKTTLITZ. — Notes on the Galla of Wcdegn and the, Bertat.
Large heaps of the empty shells of a big land mollusc were seen outside the
tokuls. These had evidently been made use of as food, perhaps in consequence
of the scarcity of more palatable food caused by the war.
Gold is washed in the Bertat country. The wooden trays used for the
purpose are the same as those used by the Gallas, as are also the balances and
quills.
The salt-blocks imported from Abyssinia constitute the favourite currency,
more so than Maria Theresa dollars and Egyptian coins.
Donkeys are the only beasts used as pack animals and for riding, for owing
to the Serut fly, ponies cannot be kept. The caravans of the merchants, however,
are for the most part made up of human beasts of burden, male and female slaves
being more numerous here, and cheaper than animals.
The following is the mean of a number of anthropological measurements
which I was able to take : —
A^e
Abyssinians.
Gallas.
Bertat.
Males.
Males.
Females.
Males.
26 '7 years
5 feet 5'4 ins.
22'3 ins.
5 feet 8'65 ins.
34-125 ins.
7 '5 ins.
9-6 „
5-9 „
27 years.
5 feet 6-6 ins.
22-33 ins.
7'49 ins.
9-60 „
5-70 „
41 '2 years.
5 feet 3-3 ins.
21-3 ins.
27 years.
5 feet 5 "8 ins.
23-08 ins.
5 feet 10-7 ins.
33-93 ins.
7 '42 ins.
9-57 „
5-54 „
Stature ....
Length of upper extremity ....
Length between tips of fingers
when arms are extended.
Chest girth
Head measurements : —
Occipito-frontal
Occipi to-mental
Bi-parietal . .. .... ....
The bi-parietal diameter was measured 2 inches above and 0'77 inch behind the external
auditory meattis in the case of the Abyssinians ; 1'9 inches above and 0'39 inch behind iu the
case of the Galla, and 2'18 inches above and 0'77 inch behind in the case of the Bertat.
As a result, I found that the Galla are the tallest; the Bertas exceed in
length of arm and fathom stretch ; the Abyssinians in girth of chest ; the
occipito-frontal diameter is greatest among the Abyssinians; the occipito-mental
among the Galla; and the bi-parietal among the Abyssinians.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. EAVENSTEIN said the expedition of which the author was a member had
performed a most interesting journey, the results of which were most acceptable
to geographers and anthropologists. Starting from Zeila. it had successfully
traversed the countries of Mohammedan Somal and Gallas, of Christian
Abyssinians and heathen Galla and Berta, and had ultimately come down the Blue
Nile to Khartum. All these, however, were more or less border-districts, where
neighbouring tribes had influenced each other, and primitive or primaeval
conditions could hardly be studied with
advantage.
He had Ions:
thought
UKCINALD KOKTTLITZ. — Notes on tit Hullo <>f Wuh'i/a ami the Bertat.
that a well-formed expedition despatched into the heart of Galla-Land, might
yield results of the very highest interest. We had learnt no doubt a great deal
;il tout the Gallas, but nearly all that information had come to us through
missionaries, such as Leon des Avanchers, Massaja or Krapf, who had obtained
their information in frontier lands, and whose preconceived notions hardly fitted
them to present unbiassed reports on a heathen people. The information to be
found in Tutschek's gr;mmiar showed these Galla to be simple atheists, whilst the
curious bits of information collected by his friend, the Eev. Thomas Wakefield, made
me anxious to obtain a fuller and a more precise knowledge of their circumstances.
If this Institute were richer, or if one of its wealthy Fellows could l)e induced
to come forward, he thought the money could not be spent better than by
despatching an expedition into the country of the Bworani Galls, who seemed, as
yet, not to have been contaminated by contact with Christians or Mohammedans.
Such an expedition might now safely start from Kismayu, the tribes around which
had been won over since the occupation of the coast by England. It would, of
course, have to include several members, all of them well prepared for the task
they undertook, and some of its members would have to be prepared to stay two
or more years in the country, so that they might thoroughly learn the language
and win the confidence of the people. An expedition like this, he thought,
would furnish scientific results of the highest value, and in every department of
science.
THE STONE CIRCLES OF SCOTLAND.
BY A. L. LEWIS, RC. A., Treasurer of the Anthropological Institute.
[PRESENTED MARCH 13TH, 1900.]
FROM the times of Aubrey and Stukeley to the present day the tendency, whether
intentional or unconscious, of almost all writers upon stone circles has been to
dwell upon their points of resemblance and to minimise the differences which exist
between them, and, consequently, to suggest a uniformity of origin, date, and
purpose, which is perhaps less probable than has been supposed. Even when
differences have been recognised there has not been, so far as I know, any attempt
made to classify or localise them ; such an attempt I now propose to make.
Thirteen years ago I was able, as the result of a visit to the district round
Aberdeen, to show (in a paper read before this Institute on the 8th March, 1887,
and printed in the Journal of August of that year), that most of the circles there
had special features, which were not to be found in any other locality, and to which
I will presently refer more fully. On this occasion I hope, as the result of a
more extensive tour made last autumn, to show that the circles in other parts of
Scotland have peculiarities which distinguish them both from the circles round
Aberdeen and from those of England and Wales, and which, even in Scotland
itself, are confined to special localities.
Stone circles are still much more plentiful in certain parts of Scotland than
in the rest of Britain, but many that formerly existed have been destroyed, and
for the most part without any satisfactory description of them having been
preserved.
Sir James Young Simpson, as long ago as 1861, said, "Almost all the primaeval
stone circles and cromlechs which existed in the middle and southern districts of
Scotland have been cast down and removed. ... In the beginning of the
eighteenth century Sir Robert Sibbald states that near the Kipps cromlech was a
circle of stones with a large stone or two in the middle, and, he adds, ' many such
may be seen all over the country.' They have all disappeared, and but lately the
stones of the Kipps circle have been themselves removed and broken up, to build,
apparently, some neighbouring field walls, though there was abundance of stones in
the vicinity equally well suited for the purpose."1
Notwithstanding this lamentable destruction, there are still so many circles
left that I have been unable to visit the greater part of them, but I have been able
to supplement my own observations from many excellent and evidently trust-
1 Anniversary address to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, January, 1861. (Pro-'
r, vol. iv, p. 48.)
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland. .r>7
worthy accounts contained in the Proceedings of the Society of Antifji"iri<* of
Scotland, and other publications, and propose, with the aid of the lantern, to take
you on what I may call a " circular " tour round the coast of Scotland, beginning
at the extreme south-west.
In the counties of Wigtown, Kirkcudbright, and Dumfries there are still
several circles, some of which are more than 100 feet in diameter, and which
consist of rather irregular single rings, formed partly of shapeless boulders,
and partly of more pillar-like stones, which are seldom more than 5 feet high.
Many circles of apparently similar construction are also spoken of in Perthshire,
and some in Argyll and Sutherland, but none of these of which I have seen any
account can be compared for size or grandeur to the larger English circles, or for
regularity and beauty to the smaller circles of Cornwall and Devon.1
In the island of Arran, in the estuary of the Clyde, close to the road, and
about half-way between Brodick and Lamlash, is .1 circle, which is, I think, very
much like those I have been speaking of, but much smaller, being only 21 feet in
diameter; it now consists of three granite blocks and some fragments; 63 feet
from its circumference is a stone 4 feet high, of coarse conglomerate, in a direction
35° east of south, and, as this stone is just seven radii of the circle from its
centre, it may have been specially connected with it. Dr. Bryce dug into this
circle in 1861, and found in the centre a small kist, or rather a hole cut in the
underlying sandstone, which contained black earth and fragments of bone, while
in the stony soil above he found a Hint implement and three other flint fragments ;
he dug on both sides of the outlying stone, but found nothing. Twelve miles
away, on the other side of the island, is a more important group, which I was
unable to visit, but concerning which Dr. Bryce has given full particulars.2 There
were in 1360 the remains of eight circles very near to each other, varying in
diameter from 7 to 21 yards, five being of sandstone and three of granite, the
largest stone being 18 feet high. One of these was a double concentric circle, and
four of them contained kists, all pointing a little east of north, with hand-made
urns, rude flint arrow-heads, and fragments of bone, with black earth, which,
however, was not formed from animal substance. In one kist there was a skull
with some long bones, and in another a piece of a bronze pin ; in the other circles
nothing was found, but, with one exception, it would not be safe to say that no
burial had ever existed in them, yet the one exception may be taken to show
that burial was not the universal primary object. Dr. Bryce remarks casually,
" The granite peaks of the Goatfell group were defined against the deep azure of
the north-eastern sky with wudvous distinctness," a circumstance to which I have
1 (Miss) C. Mat-lagan, Hill Forts, Stone Circles, etc., of Scotland, 1875. Proc. Soc. Atitiq.
Scot. :—Vol. xxix (1895), p. 301, " Stone Circles of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright," by F. R.
Coles ; vol. xxxi (1897), p. 281, "On the ' Girdlestanes,' etc., Dumfriesshire," by D. Christison
M.D. ; p. 90, "Notes on a Stone Circle in Wigtownshire," by F. R. Coles ; Proc. Soc. Antiij.
Lond., 1885', vol. x, p. 303 (Rev. W. C. Lukis).
- Proc. $oc. Antiq. Scot., vol. iv, p. 499, "An Account of Excavations within the Stone
Circles of Arran," by James Bryce, M.A., LL.D., etc.
58 A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
had occasion to draw your attention in connection with other circles. Goatfell,
1 may mention, is 2,866 feet above sea level. Dr. Bryce says that the nearest
deposits of flint are in Antrim.
There are three fine standing stones at the entrance to Glen Eosa, on, the
north side of Brodick, and there is another 10 feet high by the side of the road
"on the way to them. Dr. Bryce also says that several stone circles were known to
have existed in other parts of Arran, but that in 1860 there were none remaining
but those I have mentioned.
It can hardly be doubted that there have been, even if there are not still,
circles in some of the other islands off' this coast, but the only two which I have
found mentioned were: — One at Kirkabost, Strathaird, Skye, which, it is said,
originally consisted of large upright stones, very few of which remained in 18631 ;
and one about ten miles from Kothesay (Bute), near Kingarth.2 In what the
inhabitants of these islands sometimes describe as the adjacent island of Great
Britain, there are said to have been, not far from the Crinan canal, cairns, some
with kists and some with chambers, but both with circular retaining walls ; and
on the moors and throughout the hills, several small circles of stones containing
burials, but not kists.8 Near Taradin or Tardain, also, I think, in Argyllshire,
Mr. Logan, in 1832, reported the existence of a circle of large stones with a
covered way leading into it ; this was probably the remains of a chambered cairn
with a retaining wall,4 and not what is understood by a circle.
Proceeding northward, we arrive at the island of Lewis, on the west side of
which there is a very interesting collection of circles. The first we come to from
Stornoway, after a journey of fourteen miles along a road bordered principally by
peat and puddle, with hills in the background, is a concentric double oval. The
outer ring now consists of eleven stones, and its diameters are about 50 and 40
feet ; the inner ring has only four stones remaining, and its diameters are about
27 and 20 feet. The tallest stone, which forms part of the inner ring, is 6 feet
high. This circle is not marked on the one-inch ordnance map, and I have not
found any record of excavation being made or anything found in it.
About half a mile farther across the moor may be seen the remains of
another oval, of which five stones, of about the same size as those just mentioned,
are standing, and three are i'allen ; both these rings were formerly almost buried
in peat, on removing which, in 1858, there were found in this one a small cairn or
heap of stones, and four little holes dug in the ground, surrounded by stone
borders and paved with smooth round sea-shore pebbles brought from some
distance, and in these holes bones and charcoal were found.5
1 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. v, p. 14.
2 Nelson's Tourists' Guide to the River Clyde.
* Journal of the Ethnological Society, vol. ii, New Series, p. 146, Eev. J. R. Mapleton
on " Prehistoric Remains in Neighbourhood of Crinan Canal." Dr. Munro, Prehistoric
Scotland, 1899, p. 285.
4 Arch&ologia, vol. xxv, p. 614.
* Proc, Soc, Antiq. Scot., vol, iii, p. 203, 16th February, 1859, Right Hon. Edward
A. L. LEWIS.— 77/r M<>n<' r //•/•//« // ti-othmil. 59
Two other circles are marked on the ordnance map, from one to two miles
south from these, and another on Great Bernera, about four miles west across an
inlet of the sea, but I was unable to visit any of these, and have no information
about them except a vague statement that they are like the others.
The monuments which I have described so far, with the exception of a few in
Argyllshire, are all of one sort, consisting of single or double open rings of stones,
both circles and stones generally of moderate size, and usually having burials of
some sort in the enclosed area, though, as some have no traces of interment, that
would seem not to have been their only purpose. This kind of circle, which
extends also into Perthshire, I propose to call the " Western Scottish type."
The chief object of pilgrimage in the island of Lewis is, however, the
Callernish circle which is about a mile. beyond the two I first mentioned, and
plainly visible from them. Various plans and measurements have been given
of this circle and its unique appendages, but the best are those by Sir Henry
James.1 The circle consists of thirteen stones, from 12 to 15 feet high, with
one in the centre, 17 feet high ; they are from 3 to 5 feet in width, but not
more than 1 foot thick, and these proportions and their number and proximity to
each other produce a rather bewildering effect when close to them. A line of five
stones standing and some fallen extends southward from the circle, and lines of
four stones from its east and west sides respectively, while from the north-north-
east two lines, one of nine and the other of ten stones, form a sort of avenue, from
which, however, there is no special entrance into the circle ; there are two other
stones outside the circle, one on each side of the south line. Inside, occupying all
the space between the central stone and the east side of the ring, is a slight
tumulus, with three cells, forming a sort of cruciform sepulchre, about 10 feet long
and 2 feet deep ; it is most'probable that this is quite a secondary structure, though
it may, notwithstanding its shape, have been made some time before the
introduction of Christianity, yet long after the rest of the circle. All these stones
were buried in a growth of 5 or 6 feet of peat, which was cleared away in
1857-8, but the protection afforded by it from weathering and lichen is still clearly
visible on all the stones. Minute fragments of human bone, apparently burnt, and
a black unctuous substance were found in the cruciform tomb when the peat was
cleared away from it.8 Mr. Callender has said with regard to this circle, " That its
position was chosen and laid down from astronomical observation can easily be
demonstrated by visiting the spot on a clear night, when it will be found that, by
bringing the upper part of the single line of stones extending to the south to bear
Ellice, M.P. Archceologia Scotica, vol. i, p. 283 (published 1792), Colin McKenzie on
"Antiquities in Lewis."
1 Plans and Photograplis of Stonehenge and of Turusuchan in the Island of Lewi's, etc., etc.,
by Col. Sir Henry James, R.E., F.R.S., etc., Director-General of the Ordnance Survey, 1867,
4to. (Ordnance Survey, price 14s. 6d.) Dr. T. A. Wise published some plans and remarks on
this and some other monuments in the Journal of the British Arclueological Association in 1877
(vol. xxxiii, p. 158), but they abound in errors.
* Sir J. Matheson in the Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 12th April, 1858, vol. iii, p. 111.
60 A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
upon the top of the large stone in the centre of the circle, the apex of that stone
coincides exactly with the pole-star. This is more readily done from the south line,
being on sloping ground, so that looking along the line upwards to the higher
level of the centre stone is very much the same as taking an observation through
the incline of a telescope."1 The bearing of that line is, according to Sir H.
James's plan, about 3° east of north ; the northern and longest lines are not,
however, quite in the same direction, being about 10° and 15° east of north
from the centre ; these directions, 10° and 15° east of north, are specially marked
in some of the Cornish circles by prominent hilltops.2
According to Sir Henry James's plan, the inside diameters of the circle are
42 feet from north to south, and 36 feet from east to west; the greatest length of
the whole structure from north to south is 408 feet, and the extreme width from
east to west is 130 feet. From the centre of the circle to the end of the northern
line is 294 feet. It does not appear to have occurred to Sir Henry James or to
anyone else, but it is nevertheless the fact, that 294 is exactly seven times 42, so
that from the centre of the circle to the end of the avenue is exactly seven of the
long diameters of the circle. The northern lines of stones are both irregular in
their spacing, and the stones in the lines are not opposite to each other.
Mr. Callender points out, with regard to the double row, that although " it has the
appearance of an avenue it does not seem to have been intended to serve as a
mode of access to the circle. If such had been the case the upright stones in front
would naturally have been omitted, whereas they stand facing the approach with-
out any deviation from the regular order." Sir Henry James says, " The row of
stones on the east side of those which form the shaft of the cross is so arranged as
to form an avenue leading up to the grave." This row starts from a stone
outside the circle 48° north of east, which is about the midsummer sun rising
point, and I am inclined to think that this and the stone at the other end of this
line are in their original positions, but that the other stones between these two,
which are all rather small, were set up later, and were perhaps removed from the
other line, which they would just about suffice to complete. It seems likely, then,
that this monument was first constructed in the form of a cross, with a circle at
the intersection, and with a single line of stones for each limb, for practices of
which the observation of the pole-star and of the sun formed a prominent part ;
that after a time a tomb was constructed in the interior of the circle, and some of
the stones from the northern arm of the cross were removed to make a second
line, forming with the first an avenue to the tomb ; and that, after a further
interval of time, the place was so entirely deserted that no less than 5 feet of peat
grew up over the tomb and around the stones. This circle, like many of those in
England, has direct reference to the sun and stars and proportional measurements,
and belongs, therefore, like them; to a class which I will call " sun and star circles."
1 H. Callender in the Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 9th March, 1857, vol. ii, p. 380.
2 "Stone Circles of Britain," by A. L, Lewis, in Archaeological Journal, vol. xlix, p. 13(J
1892).
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland. 61
The inhabitants are said to have no traditions now about these circles, but
Martin, writing about 1700, said the natives told him that the circle last described
was a place of worship in the time of heathenism, and that the chief dm id or
priest stood near tin • big stone in the centre, from whence he addressed himself
to the surrounding people. This could hardly have been learnt from Aubrey,
to whom the origin of the "druidic" theory is sometimes attributed, and Sir Henry
.lames points out that " the preservation of such names as ' (Jlach an Druidean '
(the Stone of the Druids) in this island would seem to prove their presence in it at
some possibly not very remote period of our history."
Proceeding on our journey round the coast, we arrive at Stenness in Orkney,
landing either at Stronmess, which is five miles from it to the west, or at Kirkwall,
which is ten miles from it to the east. Here, on a wind-swept peninsula, between
the Lochs of Harray and Stenness, is the circle known as the Ring of Brogar. The
best plans and description of this and the adjacent stones are those of Lieutenant
Thomas, II. X., published in Archceoloyia (vol. xxxiv, pp. 88-136, 1851), and I am
happy to say that there seems to be little if any alteration in these remains since
his survey, made in 1848.
Passing a ditch, 29 feet wide and 6 feet deep, by one of the two causeways
which exist, we stand on a circular plateau, 366 feet in diameter, upon which are
the remains of a single circle, 340 feet in diameter, of large stones, which,
according to Lieutenant Thomas, whose figures I am quoting, were originally sixty in
number.1 Thirteen of these, from 6 to 14 feet high, are still standing, eleven, of
similar dimensions, are lying flat, and twelve are represented by stumps and
fragments, leaving twenty-four vacant places. Across the Loch of Harray three
hills of no great elevation may be seen, between 35° and 65° north of east,
covering the midsummer sun rising point, as in many circles in England and as at
Callernish also, and answering to the old Egyptian " mount of glory, where the
sun rises and is saluted by the powers of the east."2
Looking from the centre of the circle in the direction of the bridge of
Brogar, about 30° south of east, we see a large stone by the bridge, called the
" AVatchstone," which is 18 feet high, and over and beyond it in a direct line
another, called the " Barns tone," 15 feet high. A little to the left of this line are
two standing stones, which do not seem to have any connection with the others ;
and a little to the right of it, but beyond the bridge and the " Watchstone," are two
standing stones, 15 and 17 feet high, and one fallen, 19 feet long; these and a
stump are all that remain of the Ring of Stenness, which Lieutenant Thomas thought
originally consisted (if, indeed, it were ever complete) of twelve stones, in a circle
104 feet in diameter, standing on a low mound, encircled by a trench and slight
embankment.3 In addition to these three stones there are upon the mound the
1 Mr. Speuce thinks 52 only.
2 Book of the Dead, see Proceedings of Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. xviii, p. 8, and
\x;l. xix, p. 145. Sir P. Le Page Renouf (President} on the Book of the Dead.
3 Lieutenant Thomas considered that this mound,162 feet in diameter, had been raised about
3 feet above the natural surface and encircled at a distance of 36 feet by a bank 3 feet high
62 A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
capstone and two supporting stones of a dolmen, which, I think, may very likely
have been made out of what was once a stone forming part of the circle, for their
present position does not seem to be either a usual or a likely one as part of the
original scheme. Somewhere on the north side of this circle was the celebrated
holed stone called the Stone of Odin, which was destroyed at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. Lieutenant Thomas was told by someone who had known it in
his childhood that it was on the north-west of the circle, but Dr. Henry, writing to the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in 1784, when it was still standing, says positively
it was to the north-east. It seems probable, therefore, that this circle was quite
independent of the larger King of Brogar, and had the Odin Stone as an outlyer to
the north-east, like the stone called the " Friar's Heel " at Stonehenge and others
elsewhere.1 Leaving the Stenness circles, we go in the direction of the road from
Kirkwall to Stromness, close to which we find the " Barnstone " before mentioned,
and again verify the fact that a line from it to the " Watchstone " will, if
prolonged, strike the centre of the Brogar circle. We then proceed north-easterly
to the celebrated chambered tumulus of Maeshowe, and sitting down at the
further end of the chamber and looking down the long passage to the outside see
the "Barnstone," and find that it is in a direct line down the passage. Mr.
Magnus Spence,2 who, as I understand, first drew attention to these allignments,
has, by personal observation, found that the line from the " Barnstone " to the
centre of Maeshowe is that of the midsummer sunrise. This raises the question
whether Maeshowe were always a closed tomb, or whether it may not have been a
sanctuary of some kind, or a dwelling for the priests.3
and 36 feet wide at the base, the bottom of the apparent trench being, in fact, the natural
surface. Mr. Spence thinks there may have been thirteen stones in this circle.
1 Dr. Henry's communication was not printed at the time, but is quoted by Dr. Hibbert
in his paper on "The Tongs of Orkney and Shetland " in vol. iii of Archccologia Scotica.
2 Standing Stones and Maeshowe of Stenness, by Magnus Spence (Gardner, Paisley and
London).
3 The three most notable chambered tumuli in Europe are at Gavr Iiiis in Brittany, New
Grange in Ireland, and Maeshowe in Orkney, and as I have been in all of them, I may perhaps
be allowed briefly to compare them. The gallery and chamber at Gavr Inis are of what may
be called the ordinary type, upright slabs forming the walls, and horizontal slabs the floor and
roof ; its chief distinction is the incised markings with which it is so profusely ornamented.
The New Grange monument has an irregularly shaped gallery and chamber, the lower part of
the walls of which are of upright stones, while the roof is formed by courses of stones projecting
inwards till they meet, and there are three recesses, one on each of three sides of the chamber,
which, with the entrance gallery on the fourth side, give it a cruciform plan ; there are also
concentric and other ornamental patterns inscribed on some of the stones. At Maeshowe there
is a long gallery opening into a chamber of an almost square shape, which also has three
recesses, making with the gallery an apparent cross, but the walls are all of horizontal courses,
except a large upright at each corner of the chamber, and while the roof of the chamber is as
it were domed by diminishing courses like that of New Grange, the roof of the gallery is made
of flat slabs like that at Gavr Inis. The recesses are different from those of New Grange, and
much more resemble the sleeping places made in the thickness of the walls of some of the
beehive houses in the island of Lewis (Leutenant Harris, E.N., in Proc. 8oc. Antiq.ticot., 12th May,
1858, vol. iii, p. 297), except that they would be much more convenient dormitories. A very
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland. 63
According to Mr. Spence, the distances between Maeshowe and the Brogar
circle and its outlying stones are carefully proportioned, and the lines between
them are all of astronomical import, thus : —
From Maeshowe to the " Barnhouse " stone or " Barnstone " is 42 or 43 chains,
in the line of the setting sun ten days before the winter solstice.
From the " Barnhouse " stone to the " Watchstone " is also 42 chains, or
according to the 25-inch ordnance map 43 chains, and from the " Watchstone " to
the Brogar circle is 63 chains farther in the same line, which is that of the
setting sun at the Beltane festival in May, or, looking from the circle to the
" Barnstone," that of the rising sun ten days before the winter solstice, when, as
Mr. Spence thinks, the winter feast may have begun.
From Maeshowe to the " Watchstone " is also 63 chains, in the line of the
equinoctial sun rising and settings.
Witli regard to these allignments, I can in a very great measure confirm
Mr. Spence's statements from my own observation, but the measurements were far
too long for me to attempt to verify ; we may, however, safely place the Brogar
circle, as well as the Callernish monument, in the list of " sun and star circles."
I should mention that there are several tumuli round about the ring of
Brogar, in which burials have been found, but that none have been found within
the circles. There is also to the north-west of the Ring of Brogar an earthen ring,
without standing stones, called the liing of Bukan.
Leaving Stenness, we go down the east coast of Scotland as far as Inverness,
where we find ourselves in the midst of a number of circles of quite a different type
from any we have yet seen. Perhaps the greatest assemblage of these was at
Clava, on the banks of the Nairn, seven miles from Inverness, and one mile past
the battlefield of Culloden. Half a century ago there were here, according to
Mr. Cosmo Innes (Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., 18th January, 1858, vol. iii, p. 46), eight
cairns, each surrounded by a circle of large stones, besides many smaller remains ;
since that time there have been much building and cultivation, attended by the
usual results. On crossing the river from Culloden, the first stone seen is one of
considerable size, standing alone in a field, and said to be the last survivor of a
circle and cairn. Following the road, we soon find ourselves in the midst of a
similar arrangement of three chambers opening from a central one is described by Captain Thomas
K.N. (Proc. tioc. Antiq. Scot., 16th March, 1859, vol. iii, p. 225), as existing in a beehive house in
the island of St. Kilda, which was inhabited at least as lately as the summer of 1697. There
is no record of any interment having been found in Maeshowe, and there is no reason why
it might not have been— at all events in the first place — a beehive dwelling of comparatively
palatial dimensions, even if it were (of which there is no evidence) converted into a tomb at a
later period. The only ornamentations on the walls are a number of runic inscriptions, and a
little figure of a dragon cut by Scandinavians, who knew no more about the origin of the
structure than we do. Another difference between New Grange and Maeshowe is that the
former was surrounded by a retaining wall of uncemented masonry, outside which is an earthen
bank 5 or 0 feet high, outside which, again, was a circle of upright stones, of which the
largest remaining is about 7 feet high. Neither at Maeshowe nor at Gavr Inis are there
any traces of adjuncts of this kind.
64
A. L. LEWTS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
circle, through which it runs, and which is one of a group of three, the principal,
if not the only, remains now to be found. This circle is a little over 100 feet in
diameter, and consisted of twelve stones, from 4 to 7 feet high, the highest being
at the south-west; in the middle of this circle is another, about 50 feet in
diameter, of small blocks, 2 or 3 feet high and broad, close together, which formed
a retaining wall for a cairn of large loose stones. Erom this wall, nearly opposite
FIG. 1.
Fallen ! tf
and restored i 9_
FIG. 2.
Ground-plan (fig. 1) and section (fig. 2) of South-west Cairn and Circle, Clava, lent by the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland from the illustrations to Mr. Eraser's "Descriptive
Notes on the Stone Circles of Strathuairn and the Neighbourhood of Inverness."
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland. 65
the highest stone of the outer circle, a passage leads inwards to another close
circle 12£ feet in diameter, which is in fact the lower part of a chamber, formerly
domed and covered with the loose stones which have fallen or heen thrown down
in a confused heap, in which the second circle or retaining wall is nearly buried.
These circles ;ire surrounded by a mass of furze, which may conceal many
fallen stones and smaller remains, hut the interior of the circles is kept clear, and
a path cut through the fur/e leads to another group in a north-easterly direction.
Mr. Jolly,1 writing in 1882, said it consisted of an inner chamber, 20 feet in
diameter; a retaining wall for the cairn, 50 feet in diameter; and a surrounding
circle, 100 feet in diameter, of eleven stones. Of these latter I found
only six, which are from 4 to 8 feet high, the highest being at the south-
west, as in the first circle described, but others may be fallen and covered by the
furze. Even in 1882 the two inner circles had almost gone, and last year I only
found a shapeless heap of stones where they had been. Mr. Fraser,2 writing in
1884, found no trace of a passage or of a wall rising from the inner circle, and as
the diameter Mr. Jolly assigned to that circle is unusually large for a chamber, the
chamber, if there were one, may have been a smaller construction inside it and
destroyed long ago.
Following the path still farther to the north-east, we come to the third of
these circles, which is almost identical in size and pattern with the first, there
being now ten stones in the outer circle, from 3 to 9 feet high, of which the
highest is, as in the other cases, at the south-west, nearly opposite the passage
leading from the second circle or outer wall of the cairn to the inner circle or
chamber, the walls of which latter are still 7 or 8 feet high. In one of
these chambers, but whether on or under its floor I do not know, as accounts seem
to differ, two small urns with calcined bones were found early in the nineteenth
century.
Some of the stones of the outer circles at Clava have fallen and been
re-erected, not always exactly in their original position. Cup-markings have been
found on one or two stones of each set of circles.
One of the best circles near Inverness is that of Inches, or Leys, two or three
miles up the old Edinburgh road. There are the remains of three concentric
circles and a passage, which few who have previously seen the Clava group could
doubt were also part of a chamber, cairn, and outer circle. All the small stones
which formed the cairn and the upper part of the chamber and most of even the
larger lower stones of the latter are gone ; but the intermediate ring which
formed the retaining wall of the cairn and the outer circle are almost complete,
and the lower stones of the passage are nearly all there. The diameters of the
circles are about a fifth less than those of the Clava group, but the stones of the
1 Oil " Cup-marked Stones in the Neighbourhood of Inverness" in 1'roc. >^oc. Aittiy. Xcot.,
vol. xvi, p. 303.
2 " Descriptive Notes on the Stone Circles of Strathnairn and Neighbourhood of Inverness,"
by James Fraser, C.E., Proc. 8oc. Antiq. Scot., vol. xviii, p. 341.
VOL. XXX (N.S. 111). F
66
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
outer ring are, if anything, a trifle larger, and the largest, as at Clava, is at the
south-west, nearly opposite the opening of the passage. A gold torque, which was
found either in or near these circles, was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland in 1824.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 4
Ground-plan (fig. 3) and section (fig. 4) of Leys Circle, near Inverness, lent by the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland from the illustrations to Mr. Eraser's " Descriptive Notes on the
Stone Circles of Stratlmairn and the Neighbourhood of Inverness."
I have a list, compiled from various sources,1 of more than forty circles round
ahout Inverness, but of a dozen or more of them little or nothing is left to sbow
their original plan, and others are too imperfect to say much about. Nine, at least,
1 Proc, Soc. Antiq. Scot. : — Vol. iii, p. 46, Cosmo Innes on " Stone Circles of Clava, etc.,"
1.8th January, 1858 ; vol. xvi, p. 314, W. Jolly on "Stones with Cup- markings near Inverness" ;
vol. xvi, p. 477, Angus J. Beaton on "Antiquities of Black Isle, Ross-shire " ; vol. xviii, p. 328,
J. Eraser, M.I.C.E., "Descriptive Notes on the Stone Circles of Strathnairn and Neighbour-
hood of Inverness."
Arch&ologia Scotica : — Vol. iii, p. 211, G. Anderson on " Circles and Cairns near Inverness " ;
Rev. C. L. Smith, M.A., " Excursions through the Highlands and Isles of Scotland in 1835
and 1836." M. Pocard Kerviler in Journal de la SotietZ Polymathiifiie^ 1869.
See list of circles at end of paper.
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Cirdes of Scotland. 67
were evidently of the construction I have described, and at least as many others
si io\v truces of three concentric rings but have no certain indication of any passages.
It is clear that we have in the district of which Inverness is the centre a number of
circles of a special kind, consisting of an outer ring of pillar stones encircling a
cairn with an interior chamber and passage leading to it, or it may have been in
some cases a small chamber or kist without a passage, and this kind of circle I
propose to call the Inverness type. In these circles the largest pillar stone is
usually at or about the south-west, and the entrance to the passage, when there is
one, is between south and south-west.
Although these circles were most numerous in the neighbourhood of
Inverness, there seem to have been two or three in Caithness, where, however, the
majority of burials appear not to have been in circles at all.1 One is mentioned in
the Orkneys, but as it was covered by a lake, it may very likely have been the
remains of a crannoge.3 Another is described as standing at the east end of
Quendale Bay, Shetland,3 but this has not, and perhaps never had, an outer ring of
pillar stones, and the same may apparently be said of some already mentioned in
Argyllshire ; these may therefore be only remains of chambered cairns without
surrounding circles. There may perhaps be one or two in Perthshire, but all that
are situated outside the Inverness district are more or less accessible from it by
water. A circle at Gunnerkeld in Westmorland is the only one in England that
bears any resemblance to the Inverness type4 and even this presents many
differences.
Continuing our journey round the coast, we arrive at Aberdeen, where, as I
mentioned at the commencement of this paper, we are in the midst of a group of
circles of yet another description, which I propose to call the Aberdeen type.
They resemble the Inverness circles in having an outer ring of pillar stones
encircling in most cases — not a large cairn with a built-up chamber but a kist,
covered by a low mound, which is frequently supported by a retaining wall of
small stones forming an inner circle, but of course without any passage leading to
the interior. The distinguishing feature of the Aberdeen type is, however, what is
locally called the " altar-stone," although it was not and never could have
been an altar, a large stone standing on its longest edge between the two tallest
pillars of the outer circle, filling up the whole space between them, and frequently
kept in position by two small stones in front and two behind it. It is generally at
the south of the outer circle, or slightly east of south, the highest stones being
next to it, and the others gradually diminishing in size to the north. There are
circles of other kinds in the country round Aberdeen — as for instance at Fordoun,
1 1'ruc. Voc. Antiq. Fcot., vol. vii, p. 293, Ehiud on " Yin-house, Wick, eU ."
- Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. xvi, p. 477, A. J. Beaton, "Antiquities of Black Isle
Roes-shire," 14 June, 1882.
3 Ibid., vol. xxi, p. 283, Rev. C. L. A eland, M.A., 9 May, 1887.
1 Journal of British Arclwological Association, C. W. Dymoud, C.E., 5th March, 1879.
Joti.ru. Anthrop. Jnst., vol. xv, p. 16f>, A. L. Lewis, 28th April, 1885.
F 2
68
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland,
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A. L. LEWIS. — Thf Stone Circles of Scotland. GO
and at Broomend of Crichie — but all inquiries that I have made have failed to
discover a circle of this type anywhere except in this district.
I have a list of more than thirty circles in the Aberdeen district, but I think
there may have been many more.1 Twenty- six have this peculiar " altar-stone,"
and some of the others may have had it, but are too imperfect to enable anyone to
say whether it formerly existed in them or not. I think, therefore, I may now say
that I have fully established the proposition with which I began this paper, that
the Scotch circles may be divided into different types, each of which has its centre
in a different locality, namely : — 1. The Western Scottish type, consisting of a
rather irregular single ring or sometimes of two concentric rings. 2. The
Inverness type, consisting of a more regular ring of better-shaped stones,
surrounding a tumulus with a retaining wall, containing a built-up chamber and
passage leading to it, or a kist without a passage. ?>. The Aberdeen type,
consisting of a similar ring with the addition of a so-called " altar-stone," and
usually having traces of a tumulus and kist in the middle. There is much reason
to believe that most of the circles of these three types were used for burial, if,
indeed, that were not their chief purpose, but, as there is evidence that all have
not been so used, it cannot have been their only purpose ; and, with regard to the
Aberdeen circles in particular, we have the statement of Dr. Garden, made to
Aubrey so long ago as 1692, that " the general tradition throughout this kingdom
concerning this kind of monuments is that they were places of worship and
sacrifice in heathen times."2 In addition to these three types of circles, there are
what I have ventured to call the sun and star circles, with their alignments of
stones, and apparently proportioned measurements; and other classes may
perhaps yet be distinguished by a closer examination in different parts of the
country.
This division of the circles into classes and localities is, it appears to me, an
important point for consideration in any attempt to unravel the early history of
the Scottish people. From Inverness to Aberdeen is only about 70 miles
in a straight line, and the distance between the points nearest to one another of
the districts of which they are the centres is much less, but there must either
have been a separate tribal origin or a considerable cessation of intercourse
between two branches of the same tribe for two such different types of circles to
1 Colonel Forbes Leslie, Early Races of Scotland. Arclxtologia Scotica, vol. ii, p. 324,
J. Skene, " Account of Hill-Fort of Barmekyne, etc." (1822).
Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. : — Vol. i, p. 141 (14th February, 1853), John Stuart on
" Various Stone Circles in Aberdeenahire " ; vol. xiv, p. 295 (1879), Dr. Angus Smith
on " Stone Circles in Durris, Kincardineshire " ; vol. v, p. 130 (1863), A. Thomson on
"Four Circles of Standing Stones in Parish of Banchory Devenick " ; vol. xviii, p. 319 (1884),
C. E. Dalryrnple on " Stone Circle at Crichie " ; vol. xix, p. 370 (1885), Rev. J. Peter on
" Stone Circles in Parish of Old Deer" ; vol ii, p. 466 (1857), A. Jervise on "Sculptured Stone
monuments, etc., at Fordoun, Mearns, etc." Arc/iceologici, vol. xxii, p. 198 (1827), J. Logan on
" Several Circles of Stones in Scotland, etc." ; p. 410 (Appendix, 1822), J. Logan on "Circles at
Dyce and Leuchars." Proc. Soc. Antiq. Loncf., May, 1885, vol. x, p. 305 (Rev. W. C'. Lukis).
- A rchceologia, vol. i, p. 312.
70 A, L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland..
have been developed in localities so near to one another. The apparent existence
of some specimens of the Inverness type outside its immediate district, but in
communication with it by water, suggests also that the greater facilities offered by
the inland lakes for the use of slight and fragile vessels may have developed a
seafaring capacity among the early men round Inverness, which was not so
readily acquired in the rougher and more open seas on the Aberdeen coast.
So far as Dr. Beddoe's statistics go, the Inverness people of a generation ago
seemed to be somewhat taller and heavier than those of Aberdeen, but he does not
appear to draw any particular distinction between them.1 He says, however
(p. 540), " I believe it would accord with what has been observed in other
mountainous and sequestered regions, such as Switzerland and Styria, if there were
considerable variations in average stature between one neighbouring valley or
district and another, and from general observation I think such is the case, and I
regret I have been unable to procure returns from some other portions of the
Highlands which might have brought out the fact."
I should like in conclusion to say a few words on the possibility of a
classification of the English circles. Perhaps the materials for such a classification
do not exist. The number of circles in England is much smaller, and the area over
which they are scattered is much larger, than in Scotland. It is only in
Cumberland, Devonshire, and Cornwall that there can be said to be groups of
them, and nearly every circle in those groups has an individuality of its own. They
vary greatly in diameter and in the sizes of the stones composing them, but they
are all single rings, except the Gunnerkeld circle, though some have one or more
stones inside them. The Cumberland circles have a more clearly defined entrance
than those of southern England. Avebury and Arborlowe may be said to form a
separate type, since they are shut in by high earthen embankments, and had in
the middle a " cove," consisting of three stones, forming three sides of a square,
with an open side to the north-east ; A'layburgh, in Westmorland, may also have
belonged to this type, but there is only one stone left inside the bank, so we
cannot tell. Apparent references to the sun and stars are more numerous in
England than in Scotland, where, however, more may perhaps yet be found if they
are looked for.
Finally, we have in England Stonehenge, which may be said to form a class
by itself, for there is nothing quite like it anywhere else. Its concentric double
rings and double horse-shoes, and its so-called " altar-stone," recall the construction
of the Inverness and Aberdeen types, though with great differences of form and
still greater of purpose ; and its north-easterly bearing and outlying stones connect
it with, and indeed give the key to, other " sun and star " circles, while the shaping
of the stones, and the tenons and mortices which hold the transverse stones in
position, and the transverse stones themselves, give it a special character and one
perhaps more modern than belongs to any of the other circles. It seems, indeed,
1 Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London, vol. iii, pp. 404 and 408, Dr. J. Beddoe
on " The Stature and Bulk of Man in the British Isles."
A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone, Circles of Scotland.
71
as though it might, in its present form, have been the work of some later
representatives of the early culture, who desired to unite in it the characteristics of
various districts, and so to make it a generally representative monument ; and tho
occasion for the erection of such a monument may be more or less correctly
described in the tradition to which Geoffry of Monraouth and others have given a
wide currency. This, however, is an unfashionable view, and is at the best
extremely speculative.
APPENDIX A (INVERNESS).
The following circles in the country round Inverness are or were of the
construction which I have called the Inverness type : — Tordarroch near Farr,
Tordarroch near Croftcroy, Gask near Farr, Midlairg, Daviot (fig. 6), Culdoich of
( 'lava, Milltown of Clava (2), Balnuaran of Clava (3), Little Urchany (a) ; all these
K—
FIG. 6.
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GROUND PLAN
Ground-plan of Daviot Circle, lent l>y the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, from the
illustrations to Mr. Fraser's " Descriptive Notes on the Stone Circles of Slratlmahn and
the Neighbourhood of Inverness,"
72 A. L. LEWIS. — The Stone Circles of Scotland.
are in Strathnairn. Kinchyle of Dores near Scaniport, Inches (Leys) near Inverness,
Newtown of Petty ; these are between the Nairn and Ness. Carn Inernan in
Black Isle, Corrimony in Glen Urquhart, Culbirnie near Beauly, Bruiach (Beaufort
near Beauly), Alvie. Twenty in all.
The following are known to have existed, and there are still remains of
some of them, but not in such preservation as to enable the details of construction
to be made out: — Duhallow of Aberarder, Mains of Clava (2), Culchuinneig
(2), Cantraybruich (2), Dalgrambich of Gantry, Balaurit of Cawdor, Little Urchany,
(b) Auldearn, Mains of Moyness, Golford of Moyness, Aldourie near Loch Ness,
Torbrech, Culduthel, Stonyfield of Eaigmore, Allanfearn, Culloden Tile Works,
east end of Cullearine of Culloden, Mains of Dalcross, Balnabual of Dalcross,
Flemington (2). Twenty-four in all.
There were also some small ordinary circles not of the special Inverness type,
as, for instance, two at Milltown of Clava.
APPENDIX B (ABERDEEN).
The following circles in the country round Aberdeen have or have had the
special stone locally called the " altar-stone," which differentiates the circles of the
Aberdeen type from all others:— Old Keig, Balquhain, Balgorkar, Sinhinny.
Auquorthies near Inverury, Newark, Lonmay, Chapel of Garioch, Lieth (Mill
Hill), Auld Eayne, Midmar, Ardlair, Kirk o' Tough, Ardoyne, Dyce, Auchorthies
near Aberdeen («), Fiddes Hill, Striehen, London Wood, Aikey Brae, Barmekyne of
Echt, Eees o' Kleen, Garrol, Esslie, Malloch West, Cairnie, Monymusk. Twenty-six
in all.
The following are so incomplete that it is uncertain whether they possessed
an " altar-stone " or not : — Badentoy, Auchorthies near Aberdeen (6), Glossel, Cairn-
fauld.
The following do not appear to have had an "altar-stone": — Hersch — Fordoun,
Kingcausie, Broomend of Crichie, White Cow Wood, Auchterless, Leuchar — Skerie.
It is probable that additions might be made to all these lists.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. BEDDOE contributes the following notes on the subject of this paper : —
There are of course considerable anthropological differences between the
North-east and the West of Scotland, but how far these can be carried back it is
difficult to say. The modern Aberdonians are to a large extent the descendants
of immigrants from England, Norway, Denmark, Holland, etc., who streamed in,
especially, during the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. Much the
same is the case with the district of Moray (Elginshire and the lower parts of
NTairnshire and Banffshire ; about Inverness, however, the blood is pretty purely
Highland or Gaelic).
A. L. LEWIS. — The. Stone Circles o/$W ///////. 7:'.
The Eastern Highlanders may be taken, with little doubt, to be descended from
the I 'ids, whoever the Picts were. I believe them to have been mainly what we
call nowadays Iberian, but there may have been other, perhaps Finnic, elements
in them. The Argyllshire people since about 500 A.D. are probably in the main
descended from Dalriadic- Scoto-Irish colonists; but what were their predecessors,
unless they too were 1'ictish ? I know not. Everywhere near the coasts there
are indications of a Norwegian cross, and this applies strongly to the north as well
as the west. Lewis, Harris, Skye, Colonsay, Isla, have much Norse blood.
There is a type among the flaels described by Hector Maclean and Sir
Arthur Mitchell which is widely distributed, which they, I think, call Finnish, but
I do not think that a good name for it. Short stature, dark complexion, large head,
low intelligence, it is probably of very ancient date.
I think there is a really Finn-like type about Barvas, near Carloway.
A GENEALOGICAL METHOD OF COLLECTING SOCIAL AND
VITAL STATISTICS.
BY W. H. E. RIVERS, M.A., M.D.
[PRESENTED APRIL 24TH, 1900. WITH PLATES II AND III.]
WHEN in Torres Straits with the Anthropological Expedition which went out from
Cambridge under the leadership of Dr. Haddon, I began to collect the genealogies
of the natives with the object of studying as exactly as possible the relationship
to one another of the individuals on whom we were making psychological tests.1
I soon found that the knowledge possessed by the natives of their families was so
extensive, and apparently so accurate, that a complete collection of the genealogies
as far back as they could be traced would be interesting and might enable one to
study many sociological problems more exactly than would be otherwise possible,
and with the stimulus of Dr. Haddon's encouragement I collected in Murray
Island and Mabuiag genealogies which included the families of almost, if not
quite, every individual now living on those islands. It is only, however, since
leaving the islands, and while getting the data into order, that I have realised
the many possibilities which I believe this method opens to the anthropologist.
Two genealogies are given as specimens. The Murray example (PI. II)
is complete so far as I was able to make it. The Mabuiag example, on the other
hand (PI. Ill), is only part of a complete family ; Maku was married twice, and
this genealogy gives his descendants by one of his two wives.
In both genealogies the descendants in the male line only are given ; those
in the female line are given in the families of the husbands to which the numbers
given in brackets refer, thus in the Murray genealogy the descendants of Soroi
and Gaum will be found in genealogy No. 652 giving the family of Soroi.
The names of the males are given in capitals and are always placed to the left
of their wives', whose names are given in small type. The names in red in the
Murray Island genealogy refer to the villages to which the individuals belonged ;
while in Mabuiag the names in red small type refer to the Augods (totems), and
those in red capitals to the place to which an individual belonged, in the case of
marriage outside the community.
The letters d.y. and d.unm. signify "died young" and "died unmarried"
respectively.
The names which are underlined are those of individuals now living.
1 See Journ. Anthrop. Inst., N.S., vol. ii, p. 219, 1899.
2 The numbers given in these cross references refer to the numbers of the genealogies as I
have them arranged at present. In the future complete publication of these genealogies this
arrangement will probably he altered, and the numbers would therefore not correspond with
those given here.
W. H. R. RIVERS. — A Genealogical Method of Collecting Social and Vital Statistics. 75
In Murray Island, where it was rarely possible to go back more than two or
three generations, I have collected nearly seventy families. In Mabuiag, on the
other hand, where one could trace farther back, the genealogies run into one
another much more and aiv consequently fewer in number. In the Maiming
genealogy it will be noticed that each family has more than one totem. These
run through the whole clan.
The method of collecting the data may first be described. In Torres Straits,
as in so many other parts of the world, the system of kinship is so wholly different
from that of ourselves that many of our simplest terms of relationship cannot be
used without the danger of great confusion and error.
In collecting the genealogies I therefore limited myself to as few terms
as possible, and found that I could do all that was necessary with the five terms,
father, mother, child, husband, and wife. Care had of course to be taken to limit
these terms to their English sense. The term which was open to the most serious
liability to error was that of father, but I was able to make the natives understand
very thoroughly that I wanted the " proper father."1
I took one individual as the starting-point of a genealogy, found the name
of his real father and mother, then if either had been married more than once ;
then the names of their children in proper order and ascertained the marriages and
families of each child. Thus in drawing up the Murray genealogy, my starting-
point was Warn, the mother of Pasi, my informant. 'After having ascertained the
descendants of lu and Warn, given in genealogy No. 13, I asked the proper father
and mother of Warn, ascertaining that each had only been married once. The
children of Gasari and Koni were then given in order. Wam's descendants being
already known and Maiwas not having married, I only had to ascertain the
descendants of Charlie.
When these were exhausted, I returned to Gasari and inquired the names of his
proper father and mother, the names of their children in order, the marriages and
descendants of Kebar, and so on, till all the descendants of Tagai had been given.
There were some interesting differences in the mode of collection in the two
islands, which were probably due to the greater extent to which the natives of
Mabuiag have come into contact with civilisation. In Murray Island it was
necessary to conduct operations with more or less secrecy, and to go away with
one, or at most two, individuals to a spot where there was no chance of being
overheard. This secrecy was always preferred by the natives of Murray Island
when talking about any of their customs, but was probably rendered more
necessary in this case by the penalties attached to the utterance of the name of a
relation, or, at all events, of a wife's relation. It will be readily seen that any
given family would come into several different genealogies, thus the family ot
Wasalgi and Olai in the Murray genealogy was not only obtained from Pasi
in ihis- case but also from A/ao when giving the family of his wife, and
1 In Torres Straits, all the younger men knew "pidgin" or " tnulo English." When
working with some of the old men, one of the younger men would act as interpreter,
76 W. H. R EIVEKS. — A Genealogical Method of
from other sources, and one of the advantages of the secrecy necessary in
Murray Island was that nearly every detail of these genealogies was
obtained from two or more independent sources, with the result that
different accounts corroborated one another to an extent which forms the
best guarantee of the truthfulness and accuracy of memory of the natives.
There would be occasional discrepancies in such details as the exact order of birth
of several children, the omission of a child who died young, and rarely the
omission of a childless marriage, but on the whole the agreement between different
accounts was extraordinarily close.
In Mabuiag the conditions were different. The secrecy required in Murray
Island was here completely unnecessary. I often compiled my genealogies sitting
in the huts, or on the sand, with a crowd of women and children sitting round
listening to the information which the men were giving me. In some cases, even,
the women were consulted. Often I was able to get several of the older men
together, who consulted about points of detail, and it was obvious that some were
looked up to by the rest as authorities on the subject. In Mabuiag I cannot
therefore bring forward, as evidence of the trustworthiness of my genealogies, the
same degree of independent corroboration as in Murray Island, but the close
corroboration of accounts obtained on different occasions and the general
consistency of the whole collection furnish conclusive evidence of their essential
accuracy. Independent corroboration has recently come from Mabuiag. Waria,
the present Mamus (or chief) of Mabuiag, who was one of the chief helpers of the
expedition, was so impressed by the interest taken in the families of his people
that he has drawn up an independent account of the genealogies of the island.
Mr. Cowling, who lives in Mabuiag, has written out Waria's account, and has very
kindly sent it to me, so that I have been able to compare his account of the
genealogies with my own. In all essential points the agreement is very close,
minor discrepancies being of the kind that I have already mentioned. AVaria has
also given a complete account of some families for which my data were only
fragmentary, and the book sent me by Mr. Cowling will enable me to make the
whole scheme of the Mabuiag genealogies very complete.
In Murray Island adoption was very common, and I cannot be certain that I
have altogether avoided the errors due to the prevalence of this custom. A child
was often adopted in the first few days of life (the adoption might be arranged
before the birth of the child), and it was said that there were cases in which
individuals had grown up, married, and died without ever learning their real
parentage. I was aware of this, and was, in consequence, always careful that at
least one of my informants in any given genealogy should not be closely connected
with the family in question.
Mr. Bruce, who lives on Murray Island, has been collecting information for
Dr. Haddon on various points since we left the island, and is inclined to be
despondent as to the possibility of distinguishing between the real and the
adopting father, At the same time, however, Mr, Bruce has sent some evidence
Collecting Xt«-i<il « n<f Vital Statistics. 77
which supports the correctness of my genealogies in this respect. Two lawsuits,
drilling with the disputed ownership of land, have recently been tried before the
court in Murray Island.1 These cases turned on the question of adoption and on
ihr ival ] clientage of two men. In each case several witnesses were called and
the real parentage clearly established. On referring to my genealogies, I found
that in each case my account of the parentage of the men in question is correct.
( hie of these men, Olmek or Meiti, was an adopted son of Nan in the genealogy
in PI. II, and had inherited some land from Nan. Olmek had died, Nan's own
children had left no heirs, and Tanu, as the next representative of Nau, had brought
an action to recover the land from Olmek's widow. It was decided that Olmek was
the adopted son of Nau, but nevertheless the right of his widow to the land was
upheld.2
In these cases the real parentage of two individuals has been decided as
definitely as such a question can ever be decided, and it is satisfactory that in
each case my data have turned out to be correct. Nevertheless, it is quite possible
that I have included adopted children in some families, but there is no doubt that,
if this be so, the adopted child in such a case has become an integral part of the
family, so that for many of the statistical purposes to which these genealogies may
be put their value would not be affected.
In Mabuiag, so far as I could find, adoption was much less common, although
I have accounts of several cases. The chief difficulty in this island arose from the
custom of exchanging names. A man would exchange names several times during
his life and would be called sometimes by one name, sometimes by another. In
some cases not only would a man exchange names with another man, but their
wives and children would exchange names at the same time, and in collecting my
genealogies I would sometimes come across a man, wife, and child with exactly the
same names as others in an altogether different family, leading me at first to
suppose that, in one case or the other, my information must have been wrong, and
it was often only after considerable investigation that I was able to establish the
identity of different individuals.
Having shown that extensive genealogies can be collected among savage com-
munities which possess a high degree of accuracy, I may now point out some of
the uses to which they may be put in the exact study of sociological problems, and
in the collection of social and vital statistics. I have not yet drawn up any
complete statistics because I am hoping to make the genealogies still more complete
by the addition of some details about which I am making inquiries from Mr. Bruce
on Murray Island and Mr. Cowling on Mabuiag.
The first and most obvious value of the genealogies is that they enable one to
study the systems of kinship very thoroughly. I have a large amount of material
1 When we were in Murray Island, the court consisted of the Mamus (chief) of Murray
Island and the Mamus of Dauar, with Mr. Bruce as an assessor. Since we left the island, a
council of four natives has been added.
These cases will be published in full in the Reports of the Expedition.
78 W. H. K. ftiVEfcs.— - A Genealogical Method of
giving the names of relationship which given individuals apply to other members
of their community, and shall he able to give the exact equivalents of these in
English terms of relationship. It will be possible to work out the system of
kinship with a degree of defmiteness which would not otherwise be possible. I
need only say here that in both islands the system of kinship is of the kind
known as " classificatory," and that the systems of the two islands present certain
interesting differences.
The genealogies provide a large amount of material bearing on marriage
customs. Dr. Haddon has described1 the existence in the western tribe of Torres
Straits of four intermarrying groups. The islands of Mabuiag and Badu together
form one of these groups, and the genealogies show very clearly that the vast pro-
portion of marriages take place between the natives of these islands who form one
community in respect of marriage. Marriages out of the community are, however,
not uncommon, and the data of the genealogies will give in statistical form the
relative frequency of these marriages and the islands with which marriages of this
kind most frequently occur.
In Murray Island, again, the vast majority of marriages will be shown to take
place within the island and with natives of the two small adjacent islands of
Dauar and Waier.2 It will be shown, however, that marriages with natives of
Erub or Darnley Island are not uncommon, and that occasionally marriages have
taken place with natives of other islands. Similarly the frequency of marriages
with members of other races will be shown.
Within the intermarrying communities, the genealogies will show very clearly
the dependence of marriage in Mabuiag and Badu on the totemistic system.
Individuals of the same clan do not marry one another. Among the Australians
we know that not only is this the case, but a man of one clan must marry a
woman of another given clan ; a Cicada man must marry a Crow woman, and a
Crow man must marry a Cicada woman. There is no distinct evidence of the
existence within recent times of such a custom in Mabuiag, but it is probable that
the statistics derived from the genealogies will show a tendency in this direction.
Rough inspection of most of the genealogies shows that there is a tendency for
certain clans to marry into one another, and when the genealogies are completed,
one will be able to show the relative frequency with which individuals of one clan
marry individuals .of the other clans of the community.
In Murray Island, on the other hand, the genealogies will show that marriages
are regulated by the places to which the natives belong. A man cannot marry a
woman of his own village or of certain other villages. The totemistic system
which probably at one time existed in this island appears to have been replaced by
what may be called a territorial system. Here, again, the statistics of the
marriages will show if there is any special tendency for certain villages to
intermarry.
1 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xix, 1890, pp. 301, 353, 856.
* The people of these iblauds now live on Murray Island.
Collecting tiicinf and Vital Statistics. 70
The grm-alogies show that polygamy existed till quite lately in both Murray
Island and Mabuiag. On the latter island in one case a man still has t\vo \\ivr.<
living, though one has been discarded owing to missionary influence. The custom,
IIM\\V\VI\ Mpprars to liave been exceptional. In some of the cases of polygamy
two or more of the wives were sisters, and in the absence of polygamy it was still
common for a man to marry his deceased wile's sister. In the Mabuiag genealogy,
the two wives of Nobua, viz., Pad and Swopei, were own sisters, and Panai and
Gugui, the two wives of Iwau, were sisters according to the native system of kinship,
though first cousins according to ours.
Another marriage custom which existed with polygamy, and will be shown by
the genealogies to have been of frequent occurrence, is a form of the levirate. In
the old days a man took his brother's widow in addition to any wife or wives he
might already have, and even when he had only one wife, she was in many cases
the widow of his brother. In the Mabuiag genealogy, I wail's second wife, Gugui,
was the widow of Madui, Iwau's younger brother. Azigo, the wife of Gaulai, was
the widow of Waup, who was Gaulai's second cousin according to our system of
kinship, but Gaulai's brother according to that of the island. The marriage of
Moipi, the widow of Wap, with Per was probably, of the same kind, but I am not
at present certain of the exact relationship of Wap and Per.
Another very common custom which continues to the present clay is that
brother and sister should marry sister and brother. In the Mabuiag genealogy this
was the case with two of the children of Maku ; Umu, the wife of Paitu, was half-
sister (by the same father) to Kadi, who married Kiesu, Paitu's sister.
Another instance occurs in the next generation ; Gebi, the first wife of
Gemini, was own sister of Uwaga. Another instance in the present day is in the
case of Gizu's wife, Mudulpur, who was own sister of Iwau, who married Gugui,
Gizu's sister. Gugui is thus an example of three different customs ; she was the
sister of her husband's previous wife, the widow of her husband's brother, and
married the brother of her brother's wife.
In Murray Island, also, the same custom existed, and in the genealogy given
the marriage of Tauu and Saiop, and of Barsa and Akoko, are examples of the
custom. A recent marriage in Murray Island was delayed for some time because
the bridegroom had not a sister to become the wife of the bride's brother.
All that can be done in the present paper is to point out the existence of
these marriage customs ; the statistics derived from the genealogies will show their
relative frequency and will, I hope, help to elucidate the relation of these various
customs to one another.
Before leaving the subject of marriage, I may give one instance which shows
the value of the genealogical method as a means of discovering facts which direct
inquiry failed to elicit. In spite of the certainty of the natives that a man never
married a woman of the same clan, I met with instances in which a Dangal
(dugong) man had married a Dangal woman. When I pointed this out to my
informants at Mabuiag, 1 altogether failed to get any explanation, although 1
80 W. H. E. RIVERS.— A Genealogical Method of
returned to the subject repeatedly, and I was inclined to believe that these cases,
which according to the expressed views of the natives would be cases of incest,
were evidence that the totemistic system was breaking down. It was in favour of
this view that all the cases were comparatively recent. It is only lately, on
working up the genealogies, that I have found that in these cases the secondary
,.„. Dangall Daiigal"|
totems were different, thus a T_ 1°. i- man has married a ^ > woman. We
Kodal J Gapu J
do not at present understand the significance of these secondary totems in Torres
Straits, but there is little doubt that in this special case we have to do with
separate clans, each having the dugong as its chief totem, and it is significant in
Dangall Dangal^j
this respect that the , }• clan belonged to Mabuiag. while the > clan
Kodal J Gapu J
belonged to Badu.
The genealogies will illustrate other features of the totemistic system, in
addition to those connected with marriage, which have already been considered.
They will show very clearly, for instance, the descent in the male line, and the
transmission of the secondary totems through the whole clan. Dr. Haddon has
collected a number of facts which point towards a grouping of the totems of
Mabuiag, and it has been seen that the marriages probably show something of the
same kind, and I hope that the marriage statistics will furnish material which will
help Dr. Haddon to clear up the meaning of this grouping. The significance of
the secondary totems is another problem on which it is to be hoped that the
genealogies will throw some light.
The social customs connected with names form another group which will be
very largely illustrated by the genealogies. It will, for instance, be very clearly
shown that there was in Torres Straits no trace of a " tabu " on the names of the
dead. Names often recur in different generations, and several instances occur in
which, one child having died, the next child of the same sex has been given the
same name.1 An extreme example of the absence of this " tabu " is the case of a
woman named Salmui. This is probably a man's name and was the name of this
woman's father. He was drowned shortly before the birth of this daughter, and
his name was given to the posthumous child notwithstanding the sex. Such a case
shows not merely the absence of a " tabu," but a very decided preference for
perpetuating the name of the dead.
Numerous other interesting points in connection with names will also be
brought out by the genealogies, such as the characters of male and female names,
the relation between the names in Murray Island and Mabuiag, etc.
The subjects so far considered come under the heading of social statistics.
The special problems which come under the heading of vital statistics include
the average size of families, the proportion of the sexes, the proportion of children
1 In the Murray Island genealogy there is an instance of this ; the firstborn of Charlie
and Kaibor was named Kuliar, and died in infancy. While we were in MuiTay Island twins
were born, and the elder received the same name. This child also died when a few weeks old.
Collecting Social and Vital Statistic.
who grow up and marry to the total number born, the proportion of the sexes who
grow up to adult life, etc. The genealogies will furnish a large mass of material
on these subjects, and it may even be possible to obtain some idea of differences in
these respects in different generations.
A question of very great biological interest, on which the statistics may
throw some light, is that of the relative fertility of different classes of marriage.
From the biological point of view, the marriages in Torres Straits may be divided
into three groups, viz., marriages within the island or intermarrying group,
marriages out of the island or intermarrying group, but with members of the same
race, and marriages with members of other races. In the first group there is a
large amount of intermarriage, although much controlled by the marriage customs,
thus in Mabuiag marriages with a second cousin, or second cousin once removed
through the female line, were common, and it was very difficult to find anyone in
either Murray Island or Mabuiag to whom a given native would not apply some
term of relationship. It will, therefore, be interesting to compare the fertility of
these marriages with others in which new blood has been introduced from outside,
and the genealogies will probably enable one to do this in a sufficient number of
cases to justify some definite conclusions. It is worth noticing here that Maku in
the Mabuiag genealogy, who has probably more lineal descendants on Mabuiag
than any other man, married two wives from Boigu and Dauan respectively. The
natives of these islands are of the same race as those of Mabuiag, but belong to
a different intermarrying group.
During the last twenty or thirty years a large number of marriages have
taken place with members of other races, especially with Melanesians, from the
Loyalty and New Hebrides Groups. There have also been a fair number of
marriages with Polynesians. In collecting the genealogies I was struck by the
frequency with which these marriages were childless, and I have little doubt that
when the statistics are worked out they will show that fewer children were born to
such marriages than to those between members of the same race. If such a fact
could be established, it would have great biological interest, but I am afraid that,
in this case, there are disturbing factors. Many of the marriages were only of a
temporary nature, terminating on the return of the husband to his own home.
We know also that abortion was practised in Torres Straits, and it is possible that
this practice may have been adopted more commonly in these than in ordinary
marriages. The conditions are too complex to allow any confident generalisation
without more definite knowledge than we possess.
While collecting the genealogies, I was frequently informed of various
interesting facts in the lives of the people whose names occurred, and I believe
that it would be possible to write a full and fairly accurate account of the recent
history of a savage community by taking a complete genealogical record of the
community as a concrete background. One of the chief sources of the vagueness
which too often characterises the accounts of historical events obtained from
savages is the indefiniteness of their ideas of time, and the genealogical details
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). G
82 W. H. K. RIVEKS. — A Genealogical Method of Collecting Social and Vital Statistics.
would give definiteness to the narrative and serve the same purpose as dates in the
history of civilised communities.
All who have experience of the savage mind must have experienced the
difficulty of eliciting information on abstract questions, while, on the other hand,
there seems to be hardly any limit to the number of concrete facts which can bo
remembered. The memory of the savage for names is as highly developed as in
any European, and far more so than in those Europeans who are accustomed to
abstract thinking. The great value of the genealogical method is that it enables
one to study abstract problems, on which the savage's ideas are vague, by means of
concrete facts, of which he is a master. It is a means of utilising the store of
information which the extraordinary memory for detail of the savage has enabled
him to accumulate.
The object of this paper is to bring before the members of the Institute an
anthropological method, and I have merely sketched some of the problems which
this method may help to solve. The statistics based on the genealogies of Torres
Straits will, I hope, supplement the sociological material collected by Dr. Haddon,
to whom I am glad of this opportunity of expressing my great indebtedness.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. JAPP, having complimented Dr. Rivers on the results of his very
extensive labours and his excellent system of tabulation, which reduced most
complicated phenomena to comparative simplicity, ventured to ask whether in
the case of "interchange of sisters/' referred to by him as existing among the
people he was dealing with, there was anything in the least corresponding to
what was common among the Gallas of East Africa. A young man there desirous
of " exchanging sisters " with another, but, having no sister, would embrace the
first opportunity to go to war or on raid to procure a female captive. Having first
with all due formalities initiated her into the clan or tribe, the young man would
then exchange her as a sister with his friend for his sister to become his bride.
Dr. Japp remarked further that a noticeable peculiarity in this case was that the
origin of these Gallas had caused much discussion among anthropologists, who
declared that they were certainly not pure negroes, others again asserting that
they presented proofs of really tracing to a white or a yellow race, and that they
practised nothing like purchase, pure and simple, in marriage.
Dr. RIVERS said there was, so far as he knew, nothing corresponding to this
in the case of the tribes he had dealt with.
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( 83 )
STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM PITCAIRN ISLAND.
BY JOHN ALLEN BROWN, F.G.S., F.R.G.S.
[PRESENTED MAY 15TH, 1900. WITH PLATE IV.-]
THESE stone implements from Pitcairn Island were brought home, with other
objects of anthropological interest, by the author's nephew, Lieutenant Gerald T. F.
Pike, E.N., then of H.M.S. Comus, when on a voyage in the South Pacific. The
largest specimens are of such unusual form and size that description of the imple-
ments and Lieutenant Pike's notes in reference to them will no doubt be of interest
to the members of the Institute.
Pitcairn Island was discovered byCarteret in 1767. It was then uninhabited,
and continued unoccupied until the mutineers of the Bounty settled there.
The island is about three miles long and about two in breadth ; it is an
outlying island of the Paumotu, Tuamotu, or Low (or Dangerous) Archipelago, but
it is nearly 100 miles south of Oeno. There is no land to the east between it and
Easter Island, from which it is distant about 900 miles, except two small islands,
Elizabeth Island and Ducie Island. Pitcairn rises from the depth of the ocean
in rugged cliffs of dark, dense basalt, and there is no anchorage except on a bank
at its western extremity, and the best of its three landing-places is dangerous
from the violence of the surf and a strong undercurrent. The long axis of the
island rises on a range of steep hills attaining a maximum of 1,008 feet. The
whole island is the result of vast submarine volcanic activity in the remote past.
There are no springs or streams, and drinking water is often scarce, but the
vegetation is luxuriant.
The stone implements obtained by Lieutenant G. Pike appear to be made
from the hard compact basaltic rock of the island ; in fact, it is the only material
there which is suitable for the manufacture of stone implements. There arc
among them two classes or types, which are probably of different age, but they
were all found about a foot from the surface. In the first series are the small
stone axes or adzes now exhibited, of which five or six were brought home. They are
chipped into shape and only ground on the cutting edges at the blades (Plate IV,
6, 7). They show one of the characteristic features of some of the stone axes
from the South Seas, i.e., the sides are worked to a ridge, and not flat, as in the case
of the axe-heads of the Maoris of New Zealand, of the natives of the Hawaiian
Islands, etc. The same mode of working is noticeable from Tahiti, the Wallis
Islands, etc.
The second group of stone implements are entirely different in form. The
axes also are chipped into a ridge at the sides, but in other respects they differ
o 2
84 J. ALLEN BROWN. — Stone Implements from Pitcairn Island.
entirely in shape or type from the first group (Plate IV, 1, 2). The body of the axes
is often ground, but the large one with expanding blade (No. 2) is chipped all
over and u.nground. In Lieutenant Pike's collection are several large axes of
this kind exactly like it, except that some of the specimens are larger.
It is a remarkable feature of these larger axes or choppers, that the blades
are incurved and expanding at the cutting edge, which gives them the appearance
of the mediaeval iron battle-axe of Europe, and they present us with what appears
to be a much more advanced type, and as far as I know it is unique as a stone
axe ; at any rate, I have not been able to find anything like it in the British
Museum, and M. Hamy, in speaking of this exhibit at the British Association last
year, was understood to say he knew of no other specimens of the same kind as
ever having been found before. No. 2, already quoted, is 15 inches long by
10J inches at the widest part of the curved blade, and about 2f inches in thickness
at the thickest part. It is skilfully worked by chipping all over, including the
blade, and not ground there as in the smaller axes first mentioned.
The butt end is reduced and wrought for easy insertion into a handle, which
must have been very stout and heavy to carry it. There is a stop ridge to prevent
the stone from being forced so far into the handle as to split it. These axes are
all chipped to a ridge as in the group first described.
It is of course possible that these large axe-shaped implements may not have
been mounted for that purpose. It has been suggested that such a wide-bladed
implement might have been used for digging when fixed in a straight handle with
a T-piece for the foot to drive it into the ground, but it does not appear to be
probable, seeing that the incurved expanding blade forms the most important part
of the form, which would hardly be the case with a digging tool or spade.
There is another great difference between these large axes and the , small
ones. In them the basalt has patinated white, whereas the latter are not bleached
and appear to owe their brown surface to an iron oxide.
Among the other implements of the second class there is a long, heavy
specimen which might be used as either an axe or an adze according to the haf ting
(No. 1). It is 19£ inches long by 4| inches across the broadest part of the blade,
which in this case is not expanded and incurved as the last. It has been chipped
all over and then ground down all over, so that in places the chipping is nearly
obliterated, as for instance at the broad part of the blade and on the cutting-
edge. There is a high ridge towards the butt, which is reduced for insertion in a
heavy club as a handle. As in the other cases, the weathering has produced a
white patina.
The smaller axe or adze (No. 5) is of similar type. It is made of the same
rock and shows the same patina. It is chipped into the long axe form and ground
down to a cutting edge from each face, and the grinding is continued over the
greater part of the surface. Like the last, the butt end is tapered by grinding
to receive the handle, and there is the usual stop ridge, but only about 2£ inches
from the end. It is 9f inches long by 2| inches broad at the widest part.
J. ALLEN BROWN. — Stone Implements from Pitcairn Island. 85
Several long bleached basalt chisels were discovered, of which No. 3 is a
specimen. It is 1 foot 5 inches long, and tapers from the centre towards each
extremity, terminating at one end in a ground chisel edge. It is of cylindrical
cross section, and has been polished all over.
The use of such an instrument to a savage is not apparent. It may have been
employed as a chisel to dig out a trunk for a boat, and it would have been suitable
for use as a heavy club as well, as it is ground down "at one end to take the hand
or a handle. There are no signs that it has been used, nor is any battering visible.
No. 4 is a specimen of several heavy, nearly cylindrical stone clubs,
ground or polished over the entire surface. It is 1£ feet long and tapers from
the centre towards the extremities, which is not the usual form of a club, and there
is no reduction of the implement at either end for use in the hand, except the
double tapering mentioned. It must be old, or the bleached surface of the black
basalt would not have been formed. It has been suggested that this instrument
may have been used as a beater or roller for beating bark in the manufacture of
Tapa cloth, but it differs entirely in form from the stone beaters from Tahiti and
other islands of the South Pacific. The latter are square in section, and the flat
sides are engraved or cut on the surface in crimping or other patterns to produce
a design on the cloth when finished. It may have been employed for crushing
grain by rolling it in a hollowed wooden or stone mortar, as seen in specimens
in the British Museum.
Besides these implements, Lieutenant Pike mentions the discovery of rude
sculptures in relief on the face of cliffs in one part of the island as being well
known to the inhabitants, and there are other prehistoric remains there which
should be investigated.
The Eev. T. B. Murray, who resided for some time at Pitcairn,1 speaks of
several stone hatchets and spear-heads and a large stone bowl as having been
discovered there. He mentions also that human skulls have been found there in
graves with a pearl shell underneath each, and he infers that they were probably
interred some centuries ago, but he gives no description of these crania and no
information as to their affinities with skulls from other islands in the South Seas.
Other persons who have visited the island have reported in the same way, that
" skeletons with a pearl mussel beneath the heads were discovered there."
The most important fact mentioned by Mr. Murray is the discovery of four
large stone images on a platform in the rock on a peak similar to those found at
Easter Island. They are of rudely human form, with the hips roughly sculptured
out of red lava. He found also on the east side of the island rude carvings of
men, a bird, etc., in a cavern situated on the face of the cliff, all of which is
corroborated by Lieutenant Pike, as at the time of his visit the figures were still
existing, though much weathered. Other persons who have visited the island
confirm this account, and say sculptured stone pillars and stone axes, etc., occur
similar to those found at Eapanui (Easter Island).
1 " Pitcairn," 1854.
86 J. ALLEN BROWN. — Stone Implements from Pitcairn Island.
Two other axe-heads are known of the same type as those in the first series,
and formed of the same rock. They were obtained in 1841 from Pitcairn and are
now in the museum at Dover. The larger one is straight and not incurved at the
blade as are those of the second series. It is chipped into shape all over, except
where the original surface of the block of volcanic rock of which it is made
remains on one face. The second and smaller specimen is ground on each face to a
cutting edge at the blade.
I attach much importance to the difference in the type of the axes obtained from
islands of the South Seas, and as shown by sides being ridged in the case of the
instruments from Pitcairn and other places in contradistinction to those found in
different places in this extensive region. It may be that the difference in the shape
and mode of working of these implements, combined with other evidence, affords a
clue to the difference of race and line of migration of the people who have probably
in succession inhabited the islands of the South Pacific Ocean.
There are many anthropologists who may, from their knowledge in other
ways, throw light upon this interesting subject, though my remarks apply generally
only to the types of stone implements. The axes or small hatchets from Tahiti are
of exactly the same type (with ridged sides) as the smaller ones, but as far as I
know, nothing like those of the large axes and other instruments has been found
there or anywhere else in this region.
I have, by the courtesy of the officials, examined the specimens of rude stone
axe-blades in the British Museum, and find that the axes from Tonga are of the
same form and show the same mode of chipping to a ridge at the sides as the small
specimens from Pitcairn (first series) ; there is, however, in the detailed infor-
mation in the catalogue describing them more fully, a note which says that five or six
of the axe-heads I examined, though said to have come from Tonga, are tradition-
ally believed to have come from Uwea (Uvea ?), Wallis Islands, west of Samoa.
In none of these do the large wide incurved blades occur. The similarity of the
type to the series of smaller specimens is, however, very marked.
The axe-heads from Samoa are rather flat at the sides, but not very pronounced
in that respect. Others from there are more ridged and rather resemble the
small axes from Pitcairn.
The stone axes from the Chatham Islands, like the Maori specimens, have
flat sides, and therefore differ entirely from the Pitcairn axes. Nor is there any
similitude between them and those in the British Museum from Cook's or Hervey
Islands. They are of greenstone and ground all over.
In the North Pacific the axe-heads from the Hawaiian group have very
distinct flat sides, and therefore in type are quite unlike those from Pitcairn.
The few stone axes of basalt from Easter Island in the British Museum are
mostly very thick and cumbrous, and with rather flat sides. There is, however,
one among them which somewhat approaches to the small axes of the first
series described in this paper. There is stronger evidence of a racial connection
between Easter Island and Pitcairn in the past in the gigantic as well as smaller
.1. ALLKX BKOWN. — Stum- Im/plmuotUt from Pitcairn Lxiinni. H7
stone statues which have been discovered in the latter, as well as abundantly in
the former, their flattened foreheads made, as is now known, to take a crown or
other headgear.
Pitcairn is more than 900 miles west of Easter Island, but such a distance is
not an impossible one to travel, and there are the two small islands already
mentioned (Elizabeth and Ducie Islands) a little to the north of the direct route.
Moreover, the natives of Easter Island held the tradition that they came from Rapa
Iti (or Little Rapa) or Oparo, one of the Tibriai or Austral group. If so, Pitcairn
would be on the direct line of route from the west. They have been considered to
belong to the Sawaiori or brown Polynesians. Pitcairn may well have been a
stopping-place nearly midway to their ultimate destination.
The prehistoric monuments at Easter Island, etc., are of the greatest importance
in considering the early race, or more probably races, who found their way to
Pitcairn, and for that purpose Mr. W. J. Thompson's Report to tlie U.S. Museum
1888-9, throws much light on the subject. Mr. Thompson gives the number of
stone statues as 555, varying from 70 feet in height, the smallest 3 feet, the
latter found in caves, the larger ones on platforms of rock. They are all of the
same type — the head long, the eyes close under the heavy brows, the nose long,
low bridged and expanded at the nostrils, the upper lips pouting, the aspect
slightly upwards, and the expression firm and profoundly solemn.
The heads were in all cases cut flat on top to take the red tufa crowns, which
have been found. The images represent the human body only from the head to
the hips, where it is cut squarely off to afford a good polygon of support when
standing. The ears are mere rectangular projections. Some of these statues are
much older than others, and greatly weathered.
As far as description goes, this might very well serve for the stone idols found
at Pitcairn. The sculptured rocks are covered with carvings representing human
faces, birds, fishes, and mythical animals, all much defaced by the elements. It
would be of interest if these carvings could be compared with those in the cliffs
at Pitcairn — the remains of large stone elliptical houses of uncut stone, each with
a small cave or niche to contain small images. These curious dwellings seem to
have been built for the accommodation of the natives, while the festival of the
" Sea-birds' Eggs " was being celebrated. The representation of birds on the rock
in both Easter Island and Pitcairn affords another analogy.
Tablets with inscribed letters or signs in a language now unknown have been
found on the former and should be sought on the latter.
Before concluding, it would be well to mention the bust cut in coral, now in
the British Museum, obtained by Professor Haddon. It is of the same type, with
flat head, etc., as may be seen in the Easter Island stone statues at the entrance
of the British Museum. It \vas obtained from an island in Torres Straits. Mr.
Thompson believes there is evidence of two races having occupied Easter Island,
and that probably is the explanation of the two forms of stone implements
discovered at Pitcairn. Both are probably very ancient, for the bleached surface of
88 J. ALLEN BKOWN. — Stone Implements from Pitcairn Island.
those of advanced type could not be produced in the black basalt without subjection
to the action of the air or water for a long period.
DISCUSSION.
Professor E. B. TYLOK, F.E.S., said that it was clear that these implements from
Pitcairn Island show extraordinary specialization of form, independently of those
of other islands ; but that to generalise on the whole subject would be premature.
The partial grinding of some of the implements suggests comparison with
the ground instruments of Australia, with reference to the possibility that
this method may have been introduced in both cases from the northern
islands. He also expressed the desire that, considering the great interest
attaching to the comparison of the images from Pitcairn Island with those of
Easter Island, some representations of the former should appear in the Journal of
the Anthropological Institute.
Mr. LEWIS mentioned the figures carved on the backs of the Easter Island
images at the British Museum, and regretted that they were not so placed as to be
more easily seen.
Journal of the. Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX'^(~N S.'IIJ), Plate IV.
IMPLEMENTS FROM HTCA1EN ISLAND.
DCS. lilted in the paper l>y Mr. J. Allen Brown.
S«-:iln in inrliHs : i natural size.
( 89 )
OX THE EARLIEST COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN ITALY A XI)
SCANDINAVIA.
BY PROFESSOR OSCAR MONTELIUS.
[PRESENTED MAY 29xn, 1900. WITH PLATES V, VI, VII, VIII.]
THE commerce between Northern Europe and more southern countries goes
very far back. During the first centuries after Christ, the Eoman Empire
extended over a great part of Central Europe, and the distance from the Eoman
territory in Germany to South Scandinavia was not a great one. In fact many
Roman objects dating from those centuries have been met with in Sweden and in
the other Scandinavian countries. But there have also been found in Scandinavia
a great number of things belonging to the time before Christ, which can be shown
to have been brought from Italy and Central Europe.
Bronze vessels like Figs. 1-4 date from the last centuries B.C. Many vessels of
these types are known from Sweden, Denmark, and Northern Germany. They were
all fabricated in Italy or other parts of Southern Europe.
From the middle of the last millennium B.C. date such ciste a cordoni as Fig. 9.
The original of this figure was found near Lubeck ; many similar ciste have been
met with in Northern Germany, in Hanover as well as in Posen. To about the
same time belongs the situla Fig. 8, found in Denmark. Other situle of the same
type are known from Northern Germany. The ciste a cordoni as well as the situle
were imported from the South, and many vessels exactly of the same types have
been found in Southern Germany, in Austria, and Italy.
Earlier than the ciste and situle just mentioned are such bronze vessels as Fig.
10 ; and still earlier, those like Fig. 6. Five buckets of the same type as Fig. 10 are
known from Northern Europe : one from Brandenburg, one from the northern part
of the province of Saxe, two from Denmark, and the fifth from Sweden. It is very
remarkable, that all these five foreign vessels were deposited with northern bronzes
of the 5th period of the Scandinavian and North German Bronze age. Buckets of
the same type occur in Southern Europe : one was found in Austria and another
in Northern Italy, in one of the pre-Etruscan tombs at Bologna. Several vessels
like Fig. 6 have been discovered in Denmark and Northern Germany, and
other vessels exactly of the same type are known from more southern parts of
Europe.
Personal ornaments of thin bronze with decorations of repousse" work in
simple patterns, Fig. 7, belong to the same time as the buckets like Fig. 10. Such
90 PKOFESSOK OSCAR MONTELIUS. — On the Earliest
ornaments are not rare in Sweden, Denmark, and Northern Germany ; and they too
have all been imported from Southern or Central Europe.
To the beginning of the last millennium B.C. belong such swords as Figs. 11 and
15, with blade and hilt of bronze. Some swords like Fig. 15 have ornaments of iron
inlaid on the hilt. Their blades, however, are of bronze, and the inlaid ornaments of
iron prove that they date from a period when iron had only just begun to be
known. The new metal was so rare that it could only be used for decoration ; the
weapon itself was of the old material, bronze.
Many swords of these two types (Figs. 11 and 15) have been found in
Denmark and Sweden. The original of Fig. 15 was discovered, some years ago, in
the south-western part of Finland, opposite the Swedish coast. Exactly similar
swords are common in Central Europe and Italy, and were evidently fabricated
there. That swords like Fig. 15 were cast in Central Europe cannot be doubted,
for a bronze mould for such a hilt (Fig. 14) has been found in Bavaria.
I mention also objects which were made in Central Europe, because their
presence in Scandinavia tells us that about and before the time of the foundation
of Rome there really was commerce between Northern and Central Europe ; just
as, on the other hand, the great number of Italian objects of the same period found
in the Central European countries shows us how important the trade between
those countries and Italy already was.
The bronze shields, Figs. 12 and 13, are nearly contemporaneous with the swords
mentioned just now. One of these shields was found in Sweden, the other in
Denmark, and similar bronze shields are known from Denmark and Germany. All
of them were discovered in peat-bogs, and their wonderful state of preservation is
due to the peat.
Similar repousse ornaments to those in Fig. 12, which consist of wheels and
pairs of snakes, and are imitations of the common Egyptian representation of the
sun's disc and the two ura3us snakes, are to be seen also on other bronze vessels
(Figs. 16 and 18) dating from the very beginning of the last millennium B.C.
Two big vases like Fig. 16 were taken out from a peat-bog in Denmark; and
two quite similar ones from a peat-bog in Mecklenburg. Two similar vases are
known from Central Europe, one of these discovered in Bavaria and the other
in Hungary. And a vase of the same form and with the same ornaments was
found in Northern Italy.
The original of Fig. 18 was found in a Swedish peat-bog. An exactly similar
vase, containing eleven gold-cups, stood in a Danish peat-bog. Similar vases have
also been found in Denmark, Northern Germany, and Bohemia. Now, as several
bronze vases of the same shape and with just the same decoration appear also in
Italy, there can be no doubt that all these vases are of Italian origin. They occur
both in Northern and Central Italy.
Of the same period as the big vases (Figs. 16 and 18) date such bronze-cups
as Fig. .20, and many of them are found in Southern Scandinavia, Northern
Germany, Central Europe and Italy.
Communications between Italy and Scandinavia. 91
A little earlier are bronze cups of the type Fig. 19. They, too, were imported
into Scandinavia and Northern Germany from Italy or from some part of Central
Europe, where the Italian influence was very strong.
To about the same time as the last mentioned bronze cups belong the small
bronze chariots supporting bronze vases (Fig. 5), which have been discovered in
Sweden, Denmark, Northern Germany, and Bohemia. They also are imported
from the South.
From a more remote period, the middle of the second millennium B.C., there
are a great many highly interesting proofs of the intercourse between Scandinavia
and Southern Europe. The Baltic amber appears in Greece at least 1500 years
B.C., for several hundred beads from Mycemean tombs have been shown by
chemical analysis to be of Baltic amber. On the other hand the influence of
Southern Europe on Scandinavia was at the same time so strong that bronze
fibula.; (Fig. 17) and spiral ornaments of southern origin were common in our
countries.
We can trace the same influence back not only to the beginning of the second
millennium — Italian bronze daggers (Fig. 21) are found in Northern Germany ;
bronze daggers imitating them and bronze axes (" celts ") of Italian form are
common in Germany and Scandinavia — but even to the third millennium B.C., as
I just have proved in a paper, printed in Germany.1
It is a most remarkable fact, that all those bronze vessels and other objects
coming from Italy are so common in the western part of present-day Austria, in
Germany — especially in the more eastern parts — and in Scandinavia, but are so
extremely rare in Western Europe. No such bronze vessels as Figs. 5, 6, 8-10, 10,
18-20 have been met with in France, Great Britain, or Ireland.
We can trace the route folio \ved by the commerce that imported those objects
into North Germany and Scandinavia. It was the same route as that which was
followed by the amber trade from Denmark and North Germany to Southern
Europe.
The time that was indispensable for carrying the Italian articles to Scandi-
navia was not long. We know that in the last century B.C. the tin came from the
English Channel to Marseilles in about thirty days, so that two months would be
sufficient to bring the bronzes from Northern Italy to the coast of the Baltic.
And if we do not consider two months sufficient, we must at all events admit that
six months or a year, or at least two years, would be enough. And if so, we are
fully entitled to say that the Italian bronzes imported to Scandinavia were in use
contemporaneously in Sweden and in Italy.
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT.: I need say nothing about the interesting character of the
very remarkable lecture, as that, is obvious to all of us ; but I think this lecture has
1 Montelius, Die Chronologic der dltcstcn Bronzeze.it in Nord-Deuttchland und Xkandi-
i"tt-ic;i (Braunschweig, 1900).
92 PROFESSOR OSCAR MONTELIUS. — On the Earliest
this advantage over those at University College, satisfactory both to him and to us,
that it can be followed by a discussion, and I should like to invite such a discussion
upon the clear r&umd which has been laid before us of the relations between the
north and south of Europe in remote periods.
Mr. MYRES : I am sure that we have all followed with the greatest interest
this detailed and masterly exposition of the work which Dr. Montelius has done in
this very important subject. Dr. Montelius has given us a full and clear idea of the
method of argument by which he has arrived at the conclusion that the successive
styles of metal working and other industries as found in North and Central Europe
approximately coincide in date with the styles which they most resemble in the
Mediterranean area. It has, as we know, been very frequently assumed that a style
of metal- working, which is found in the north, belongs to a considerably later epoch
to that of a similar object found in the south. But what he said on the question
of transit resolves the doubts which some of us have felt as to that. It would
probably be possible to collect examples from other parts of the world also, of
what seems surprisingly rapid transit from one district to another; one could
quote for example the average rate of traffic in Central Africa and Persia, and
other instances such as the Himalayan caravan routes, which present far greater
difficulties than those which traverse the Alpine barrier. We can well understand,
therefore, that although the time allowed for communication may frequently have
to be expressed in years, it certainly does not run into centuries.
Another point upon which we should like to have further details, is the
extent to which Dr. Montelius believes that in the course of a long series, of the
kind which he has described, each successive period in the north may be regarded
as apparently contemporary with the corresponding period in the south. One can
understand that at the end of an interval of 500 or 1000 years the total rate of
progress in the north might approximate to the total rate of progress in the south.
But we know that in the Mediterranean, for instance, the rate of industrial progress
was in all probability not uniform. We have evidence from time to time, in the
Mediterranean, of halts taking place, of complications due to political changes and
to emigrations, with the result that for the time some parts of the Mediterranean
were apparently plunged back, or at least marked time for a while. Now we
should suspect that in a case of that kind corresponding facts would be appreciable
in the northern areas ; and that at the time of a period of active and progressive
commercial development in the Mediterranean, the later style would sometimes
outrun the earlier in the northern area. I should like, therefore, to ask Dr. Montelius
whether he finds that a period of stagnation in the Mediterranean is represented
by a correspondingly long period in the north, and a period of expansion of
commerce in the Mediterranean by a succession of short periods. I only mention
this point because it might perhaps be of importance to anybody who failed to be
convinced by the argument of actual caravan time-tables ; and because, before those
time-tables had been so clearly presented, some of us here had been inclined to argue
that way ; my own impression is that very little such overlapping in all probability
has taken place, and that we can infer in turn from this that the rate of transit was
fairly constant. If it were possible for Dr. Montelius to enlighten us on this point,
and to tell us whether he has worked over his material in tkis way to any extent,
the information would be of great interest.
Communications 'between Italy and Scandinavia. 93
Professor MONTELIUS : I can say this, that we can always distinguish these
t\vo things : objects made in the south and imported to the north, and tilings made
in the north as imitations of them. We have not the Kornan culture in
Scandinavia, but we have something proving a strong influence from that direction.
Taking the case of the Benin bronzes as a parallel, we can show that at a certain
period there was a connection with Europe, when those peoples made their
imitations of European things ; and here, as we can fix the European periods, we can
say what period that was. I think I can trace the different periods, in the south,
centre, and north of Europe, and I can say for each period in the north whether it
is exactly contemporaneous with each period in the south, because we have so
many things made in the south and exported to the north, and we can date them
with fair accuracy. It is not impossible to answer Mr. Myres' question, but the
details are so voluminous that they could hardly be given now.
I should like to add one remark. I said that an object could make the
journey from south to north in anything from half a year to two years. But the
chief thing to know is what was the outside time that was necessary. AVe cannot
say that everything was actually carried in so short a time, but if the average time
is not one but ten years, it is all the same thing — and the object is contemporary.
Mr. LEWIS : I come here quite as a learner in this subject, but as the
Chairman has said, Dr. Montelius has entirely proved his case. I am sorry,
however, that he was not able to give us his views on stone tombs. The idea of
making a stone tomb to hold a body has occurred to all peoples, and unless some
very strong resemblance exists it is not possible to deduce any connection. Now
there are considerable differences between the stone tombs of Holland and those of
Brittany and this country, and differences exist also between tombs found in
different parts of the same country, so I am afraid we cannot say much that is
useful about them. I may mention one thing with regard to two tombs, one found
in the south of England, and one in the north of Scotland, 800 miles apart. Both
of them appear to have been laid clown to exactly the same measure, the unit of
measurement being the cubit of inches. It is quite obvious from what Dr.
Montelius says that although the time of transit cannot be fixed to days, months,
or even years, yet it is quite another thing to talk about centuries.
The PRESIDENT : In asking you to return thanks to Dr. Montelius I should
like to say two or three words, more particularly on the subsidiary lessons which
we get from such a statement as he has made this evening. I am inclined to agree
with Mr. Lewis that the case is practically proved, and an interesting point is the
very short time it took to make what we even now consider by no means a short
journey. Many of these points have been before us for a number of years past,
but I have never before heard so clear an exposition as Dr. Montelius has given us.
I may say I think that Dr. Montelius is in an exceptionally fortunate position, as
he belongs to a country where more care is taken of antiquities than in any other
country of Europe, not so much as regards their exportation, but in such a way
that they remain in museums where they can be studied; with the result of
producing such lectures as we have heard to-night. As long as we are not very
patient of legal restrictions, and think, when we find something, that it will look
better in our drawing rooms than in any other place, we are not likely to do
justice to our museums. But in course of time, perhaps, we shall improve. One of
94 PROFESSOR OSCAR MONTELIUS. — (hi thr Earlifd Communications, etc.
the lessons we can easily learn from Dr. Montelius' lecture is the enormous value
of archaeology in reproducing for us, in an absolutely accurate form, the history of
prehistoric times. In critical literature we are confronted with varying accounts
of historians set side by side. The advantage of dealing with prehistoric times is
that the evidence is truly set before us by the things themselves, and it depends
on our own judgment as to the deductions we make. There are several points
which have occurred to me, but as the statutory time lias arrived 1 will not enlarge
upon them, except to point out how little effect this commerce had on prehistoric
sites in Britain, and on our own art. Looking at these beautiful bronze vessels,
ornamented with bosses and birds, I cannot help thinking that they are things
which might have come to us, but did not. All these trade routes in primitive
times had termini, and their object was amber. It is a curious thing that we have
so few evidences of continental intercourse with Britain. We had, indeed, some
intercourse, but to nothing like the extent that existed between Scandinavia and
Central and South-eastern Europe. And this is the more curious because we had
here not only tin but gold, as is shown by the discovery here of ornaments which
differ from those of the Continent, so that we may assume that the gold itself was
found here. It is remarkable, therefore, that there did not exist greater inter-
course between- the prehistoric peoples of Britain and the Continent.
In asking you to return to Dr. Montelius a vote of thanks, I should like to
say how much it has added to our interest and pleasure this evening, that
Dr. Montelius has talked to us in our own language, and with as great a facility
as we do ourselves.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute XXX (= N.8. Vol. JI1), Plate V.
1. ESTLAND. V*.
2 a. DENMARK. V*.
2 b. DETAIL OF FIG. 2 a«
3. DENMARK. */»•
4. HANNOVER. V*.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute XXX (= N.S. Vol. HI), Plate VI.
6. BRANDENBURG. 1/4.
7. DENMARK.
8. DENMARK. V4.
NEAR LUBECK.
10. BRANDENBURG.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute XXX (= N.S. Vol. Ill) Plate VII.
11.
SWEDEN.
1 2. DENMARK.
14. BAVARIA.
13. SWEDEN.
15. FINLAND. V««
Journal uf the Anthropological Inttitute XXX (= N.3. Vol. Ill) Plate V11I.
16. DENMARK.
20. DENMARK. V* .
17. SWEDEN. 2/».
V
18. SWEDEN. 1/4.
21. MECKLENBURG. V*.
RECENT ANTHROPOMETRICAL WORK IN EGYPT.
BY DAVID MAC!VER, M.A.
[PRESENTED JUNE 12TH, 1900. WITH PLATES IX AND X.]
IN the following paper, which is a rdsumd of one read before the British
Association at the Dover meeting, I wish to bring forward a somewhat new
experiment. This experiment is the employment of anthropometry as an aid
to the solution of historical and archaeological problems. It is singular how
rarely the archaeologist makes use of anthropometry, although it might be
supposed that the physical characteristics of a race were not less important in
determining its origin and connections than the evidence of myth, language,
custom, and aesthetic production, which is so freely and often so uncritically
employed.
The chief reason for the neglect to which I have referred is probably to
be found in the difficulty of dating the specimens. Measurements taken from
various cemeteries of different periods and in different countries are of little
value if they cannot be arranged in a definite sequence of time and put into
relation with one another geographically and historically. Now it is precisely
in this respect that the worker in Egypt finds himself in a peculiarly favourable
position ; so much so, indeed, that it may be fairly claimed that Egypt is the
starting-point for all anthropometries! work which aims at establishing historical
connections. For, owing to the progress which has been made within the last
generation, ifc has become possible to date accurately every cemetery which is
excavated. Professor Petrie, to whom so much of this progress is due, has from
the first insisted upon the importance of measuring and comparing the skulls
and the bodies found ; and it is as a result of the work carried out in connection
with his systematic excavations that there are at the present moment available
series comprising over 1,400 examples, which are divided into eight periods
according to their dates, and which range almost uninterruptedly through the
whole length of Egyptian history from the neolithic age to the fall of the
Roman Empire.
How great an advance this represents may be judged from the fact that
the catalogue of the Royal College of Surgeons enumerates only thirty specimens.
These, in the absence of any proof to the contrary, may be separated from one
another each by a period of two hundred years, and may belong to three or four
different race stocks. And yet from such slight material has been made the
attempt to deduce the type of " Ancient Egyptian."
96 D. MAClVER. — Eccent Anthropomctrical Work in Egypt.
Before proceeding to any comparison between the various series to which
reference has been made, it will be well to explain the new method upon which
these measurements are now being published. In publishing a large number
of measurements there are two objects to be aimed at; the first is to give all
possible details, the second is to give them in a form which is intelligible and
expressive and which enables them to be easily worked over. These requirements
are not fulfilled by the methods which are ordinarily adopted. Of those in common
use, the first method is to set out all the individual specimens one after another,
accompanied by a list of their measurements. This is merely flinging a note-book
into print, and leaves the whole work of tabulation to be done by the reader.
The other is to arrange the indices in groups and to state how many examples
fall within each group. This is occasionally misleading if the groups are not
made close enough to one another to show the distribution of the examples. But
even at its best this arrangement destroys as much as it preserves. The identity
of the specimens is lost, and it is impossible to trace combinations of characteristics.
It may, for instance, be stated that, as regards the cephalic index, a certain number
of the specimens are narrow-headed and a certain number broad-headed; that
as regards the nasal index a certain number have slender noses and a certain
number have broad noses ; and so on throughout the various measurements.
But there is no possible way of discovering how these features are combined
in the various specimens, whether the long head accompanies the slender or the
broad nose, the straight or the projecting face. The reader is entirely precluded
from inquiring whether there are any general rules of combination or whether
there are not. He is, in fact, presented with a series of composite photographs,
isolated and incapable of being compared together.
In setting out the measurements taken at Dendereh in the season of 1898,
I have therefore adopted a new method, which, while it is quite simple, combines
the requirements of clearness and detail. The principle adopted is that of giving,
as it were, a chart of the district of measurements within which the specimens are
comprised (see Plate IX).
Thus, for instance, in comparing the length and the breadth of the skull
the figures giving the length are written in a vertical line at the side, and those
giving the breadth are written in a horizontal line along the top or bottom. The
chart is thus divided up into chessboard squares, in which the specimens are
pigeon-holed, each according to its measurements. Every specimen is given
a particular number by which it is denoted all through the various diagrams ;
this, which may be called its " name-number," is always reserved for it, so that
the identity of every specimen is preserved, and it is only necessary in order
to find all its measurements to look for it by its number in the several diagrams.
It will be noticed that in Plate IX the figures at the side and along the
top represent not the index, but the actual dimensions in centimetres and
millimetres. This is done deliberately in order to show the size of the skull
as well as the ratio of its parts. For it is one of the worst points in the system
D. MxcIVEl!. — Rrcvd Anthropomctrical Work in
07
of tabulating by groups of indices that specimens of which the
actual dimensions are enormously different are placed within
(lie same index group. Thus, to quote actual examples from
the prehistoric series, one specimen measures 196 x 143 and
another 179 x I'M. These give an almost identical index, and
according to the method which is in common use would be put
down in the same group in spite of a difference of 17 milli-
metres in length and 12 in breadth.
Again, it happens sometimes in comparing together series
of different dates that the average index has not altered, but
the average absolute dimensions have greatly increased or
decreased in the intervening period. It is therefore on all
grounds of paramount importance to give the absolute dimen-
sions as well as the indices.
In Plate IX the indices are shown by the diagonal lines
drawn across the chessboard squares. They are arranged at
regular intervals, as the irregular divisions of Broca are in-
convenient. As, however, the latter are so universally known,
their place is shown by the broad brackets.
Such a chart as this gives, therefore : —
(1) The absolute length.
(2) The absolute breadth.
(3) The cephalic index.
(4) The dispersion of the specimens according to their
absolute measurements.
(5) Their dispersion according to indices.
All this is done within a very .small space, and at the same
time the identity of every specimen is preserved.
Such charts can be used in all cases where it is desirable
to compare two measurements. Where, however, it is only
wished to set out one class of measurement by itself, the
" name-numbers " can be utilised in another way. They are
put out in a line, each opposite to the measurement to which
it belongs, and if attention is paid to the spacing, the length
of these lines automatically registers the frequency with which
any measurement occurs. Consequently a curve drawn through
the extremity of these lines will answer all the requirements
of the ordinary curve of frequency (Fig. 1).
It will be remarked that some of the "name-numbers"
are written not horizontally but at an angle. This denotes
that such specimens are nut sexed with absolute certainty: pa
if the bones are broken it is often impossible to be quite
.-insured «>f the sex by judging from the skull alone.
VOL. XXX (N.S. III).
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FU!. I.— FEMTt MAX.
OS D. MAOlvKU. — Recent Antliropo metrical Work in
As a matter of practical convenience it should be stated that it is almost
impossible to write the numbers sufficiently clearly to bear reproduction on a
much reduced scale. It is well, therefore, to use type-printed numbers and to affix
these to the paper in their places.
Tables on this model, which have been re-cast and arranged for publication by
Professor Petrie, are now appearing in the " Dendereh " memoir of the Egypt
Exploration Fund.
Passing now to the consideration of the various series, I shall deal only with
three indices, the cephalic, nasal, and alveolar, as these have been found in other
cases to be those most characteristic of race divergencies. For a complete
comparative study of the periods it would of course be necessary to collate all the
other measurements both of the head and of the limbs, and the full material for
such a study is provided in the publication of the measurements. For a broad
treatment, however, these three features may suffice.
In Plate X is shown a comparison of these three indices with their
fluctuations, in the different periods. The first period, both in date and in
importance is the " prehistoric." In this are included all examples antecedent to
the fourth dynasty. At the present moment it is impossible to more accurately
subdivide the prehistoric period, although it is hoped that Professor Petrie's
classification of pottery will soon enable this to be done. The period, however,
certainly includes two very different civilisations, and presumably, therefore, two
different race-stocks. Thus the people of the earlier prehistoric time lived in a
stone age, using implements of flint ; were cannibals ; manufactured a pottery of
unequalled beauty of form; but had no system of writing and had made little
advance in the arts of drawing and carving. The people of the later prehistoric
time, on the other hand, began to use implements of copper ; abandoned, if not
cannibalism, at any rate the burial practices which give the clearest evidence of
it; and, most important of all, employed an already elaborated system of hiero-
glyphic writing and showed considerable skill in carving. The line of cleavage
between the two is plausibly placed at the beginning of the Egyptian dynasties —
that is to say, about 5000 B.C. or a little later.
There is very good reason, therefore, for presuming the presence of two very
different races in the Nile valley before the age of the pyramid builders; but
until the pre-dynastic and the early dynastic periods have been accurately
differentiated, we can only conjecture which of the two stocks, of which the
skull measurements as well as the archaeological data give an indication, was the
earlier and which was the later. In attempting to establish the characteristics of
the prehistoric peoples, not only the anthropometrical material but also the
portraits which they have left of themselves have to be taken into consideration.
Such portraits are probably in the main, if not entirely, of the early dynastic
period. Some are to be seen in Nagada and Ballas (Petrie and Quibell, London,
1895) ; others will be available when Mr. Quibell publishes the results of his
excavations at Hierakonpolis,
I >. MAC-IVKI;. — Recent Anthrcpometrical //'»//•/•/// K'/f//>f: '''.'
The measured specimens come from two sites, vix., Nagada (1895) and Hou1
(1899). Both show a very strongly dolichocephalic type, the median falling as low as
721 and 718 ; the nose is broad, especially ;it Nagada, and the profile fairly straight.
It is noticeable that throughout the whole historical series, down to the
end of the eighteenth dynasty, the measurements of the women arc much more
consistent and show much less variation than those of the men. The cephalic
index of the women remains almost the same throughout the whole 4,000 years.
This fact is of considerable importance in making a conjectural division of the two
prehistoric peoples. That series in the males which most nearly corresponds to the
typical female measurement is likely, in the absence of contradictory evidence, to
be the older, and the subsequent fluctuations in the measurements of the men would
be due to causes which left the original type of women almost unaltered. Thus,
in considering the nasal index, it is found that the nose is much broader in the
men from Nagada than in those from Hou, but it is the broader nose which
corresponds more nearly to that of the women, from which I deduce that the Nagada
men, so far as the nose is concerned, represent the older stock, a belief which is
confirmed by the fact that this type of nose is that which is in the most extreme
opposition to the slender nose of the fourth dynasty. On the other hand, the
median of the female alveolar index at Hou is as high as 977 ; in the men from
Nagada it is 960, in the men from Hou 970. Here, therefore, in spite of the
dangers of the cross-division, I believe that in respect of the alveolar index it is
the men from Hou that represent the older stock. In the cephalic index the
males of both series practically coincide.
On the basis of this arrangement it would appear that the oldest prehistoric
people were very long-headed and very broad-nosed, but had a comparatively
straight profile. It has been suggested that there is a negroid strain to be
observed in them, but if this be so it must be very remote, for though the nose is
broad, it is not so broad as that of the negro, and the straight face of the pre-
historic Egyptian is most unlike the projecting negro muzzle. It is an interesting
coincidence, but probably nothing more, that the Hou series corresponds very
closely in all three indices to the regrettably small series of Veddahs given in the
catalogue of the Royal College of Surgeons, whose cephalic index is 711, nasal
503, alveolar 963.
The negroes, it has been remarked, cannot have been the main source of the
prehistoric Egyptian stock. An European origin is improbable, for the dolicho-
cephalic peoples of prehistoric Europe seem to resemble it in nothing but the
lowness of the cephalic index. There remain as possible places of origin North-
Western Africa, East Central Africa, and Asia. The race-type of East Central
Africa will be presently shown to have been radically different. Asia is not an
impossible provenance, but North-Western Africa seems more probable.
There is a good deal to connect the prehistoric Egyptians with North-Western
Africa (see Nagada and Balla*}. The survival amongst the Kabyles of Algeria of a
1 More accurately described as Abadtyeh. Results not yet published.
H 2
100
D MAClvEU. — Recent Anthropornetrical Work in Egypt.
FIG. 2.
Head of Lib
yBJj
FIG. 4,
pottery almost identical with a very
characteristic and peculiar form of pre-
historic Egyptian pottery is especially
remarkable.
Of measurements of ancient and
modern Algerians there arc lamentably
few which can be utilised. I defer discus-
sion of these till another occasion.
In Nagada and Bail-as was published
an extremely clever comparison between
the head of a Libyan chief from the
temple of Ilameses III at Medinet Habu
and a very typical skull from the Nagada
cemetery. The heads are here reproduced
(Figs. 3-4). In botli is seen the same
long head, straight face, and aquiline
nose. The head of another Libyan chief,
after Wilkinson (Fig. 2), shows the length
of the head still better, as there is no
headdress, and the curls of hair follow
the hinder projection of the skull. This
second example shows a straigliter nose
than that of the Libyan from Medinet
Habu, and the difference corresponds ,to
one which I observed in measuring the
Hou skulls, some of which seem to have
had an aquiline and others a compara-
tively straight nose. It is worth remark-
ing that the Libyan chiefs wear a long
side -lock like the Horus-lock of Egyptian
children and princes.
A reference to Plate X will show
that at the close of the prehistoric period
a most remarkable change takes place.
The type of skull entirely alters. The
cephalic index rises from 718 or 721 to
760, while exactly at the same time the
nasal index sinks from the 530 of Nagada
and 501 of Hou to 480. Such changes do
not take place without a reason. There
can be only one explanation, namely, that
they were caused by the influx of a large
number of foreigners of a homogeneous
P. MAC!VER. — Recent Anthroponietneal If '«/•/. in />///////.
101
>d of
NUrjKt^Ftka.
FIG 5.
Dynasty.
stock. That is to say, the country was at this lime invaded by a people with niudi
less narrow heads and with much slenderer noses than their predecessors. The fact
of this invasion is the most important result elicited by the comparison of these
measurements. Archaeology might guess at it; anthropometry, so far as present
data go, has well nigh proved it.
It must remain for the present an open question whether this invasion coin-
cided precisely with the fourth dynasty or slightly preceded it. I am inclined to
l>elieve the latter, and if this were the case the difference in the breadth of the
nose between the Nagada and the Hou series would be explained. The Hou
series would already show the influence
of the new arrivals. Only future work
can definitely settle the question, but it
seems quite probable that this notable in-
vasion, or perhaps a first wave of the great
movement, slightly preceded the fourth
dynasty, and coincided with the appear-
ance of the earliest dynastic Egyptians
and the introduction of copper and hiero-
glyphic writing. This newly introduced
type continues unchanged during the
fourth and fifth dynasties, with the ex-
ception of a curious drop in the alveolar
index during the fifth dynasty, and it
cannot be determined whether this is an
accident or a general modification until
more examples of the period are available.
If, now, the Egyptian wall-paintings
be consulted for races which unite the
necessary characteristics of a compara-
tively short head, a slender hose, and a
straight profile, it appears that one, and
only one, answers to the description. In
this case, however, the resemblance is so
close as to put the identification beyond
doubt. The invaders of this period who ousted the Libyans were the people of
1'unt, or what we call Somali-land, including perhaps a strip of the opposite coast
(see Figs. 5-6). Their features are well known from the representations of them
at Deir-el-Bahri, and a comparison of the men there represented with statues of
the fourth or fifth dynasty will convince any observer of the identity of the two
stocks. This is not, of course, the first time that the resemblance of the runt
people to the early Egyptians has been pointed out, but it is only now, when the
nthropometrical data have been brought to bear, that it has become possible to fix
precisely the date of their entrance into the country.
M
a? o
f Puipt.
FIG. 6.
102 t). MAclvEi;. — lli'i'i'ii' Anlki-(>i>omdrical Woi-l- in
The next period, sixth to twelfth dynasties, presents a difficult problem. The
measurements show a broad nose, not, indeed, as coarse as that which has been
provisionally assigned to the earlier, but practically identical with the later
prehistoric, accompanied by a cephalic index which is neither of the narrowest nor
of the broadest headed type, but exactly half-way between the two. If the skull
breadth alone were taken into account, nothing would be easier than to suppose
that this is the mathematically exact result of mixing the two preceding stocks.
It is with the nasal index that the difficulty arises. Should it be shown that the
earlier prehistoric nose is that which prevails at Hou, there is no alternative but
to suppose that the Libyan stock was very strongly reinforced by a new infUix
between the sixth and twelfth dynasties. This is possible in view of the dis-
coveries made in the season of 1898-99. If, on the other hand, the opinion which
has been advanced in the earlier part of this paper prove correct — vix., that it is
the men of Nagada who exhibit the original type of nose peculiar to the Libyans,
and that the nose as it appears at Hou is the result of an admixture of the Punt
people already beginning a little before the fourth dynasty — then the case is
altered. It would then follow that the nose of the sixth to twelfth dynasties
showed a measure almost precisely half-way between the coarsest Libyan nose and
the slender nose of the people of Punt. That is to say, the nasal index would give
a result exactly analogous to that given by the cephalic index, and would show
a compromise between the two originally so divergent types.
What, then, is to be said of the twelfth to eighteenth dynasties, where the
slender nose reappears in its most extreme form ? It is evident that the com-
promise established in the immediately preceding period has broken down, the
fusion of the two types has been interrupted. The nose index sinks to 476, and
the cephalic index to 730. This indicates a new disturbance, but let it be noticed
that it is not due to the reinforcement of either of the already existing races.
Had it been that more Libyans entered the country, the nasal index would have
risen instead of falling ; had it been that more Puntites came up from the south,
the cephalic index would not have fallen, but would have risen as it did in the
fourth dynasty. Here, therefore, it is a new people which appears ; it is a third
element which enters into the formation of the "Ancient Egyptian." The new
people combines a head nearly as narrow as that of the Libyans with a nose as
slender as that of the Puntites. They may have been allied either to the dolicho-
cephalic races of Europe or to those of Asia. It is a very significant fact that
the period of this second great invasion coincides with that historically ascribed
to the Hyksos.
This, then, was the chief movement which appears in the dark period between
the Middle and the New > Empire. It does not, however, follow that in this
troubled time there were not other race disturbances in Egypt, but it is probable
that none was so strong as this, as none has left its traces so clearly marked on the
anthropometrical chart.
The eighteenth dynasty itself shows some further slight modifications which
J^-urna.1 cflh^eJlnlkropological Institute. VolJKK (N.S.IIl).Plale ZZ".
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may be plausibly attributed to the close connection with Syria and to the Syrian
marriages then so fashionable.
Aflor the eighteenth dynasty there is a gap in tlie scries mil greatly t" !>»•
deplored, as tliis poriod of constant lon-i^n interl'erenee or domination l>y various
aliens would ]irohal»ly do nothing hut confuse the argument. When the measure-
ments are again observable, about 500 B.C., they show little change beyond a
slight straightening of the profile indicated by the fall in the alveolar index.
The measurements of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods give results of
exactly the kind which would be expected from the known history of the times.
The influx of people from all round the Mediterranean, the employment of Gallic
mercenaries, the foundation of Greek colonies such as Ptolemais, and the quartering
in the country of numerous Unman garrisons lead to a chaos of types from which
only one point clearly emerges, and that is a noticeable broadening of the skull as
compared with the dolichocephalic forms prevailing just before.
To recapitulate, therefore, the examination of these measurements leads us to
consider that the country was, when it lirst comes under our notice, held by
Libyans with very long heads and very broad noses. These are supplanted
probably rather before the fourth dynasty by the Puntites, with heads which are
much broader and noses which are much slenderer. From the sixth to the twelfth
dynasties ensues a period of fusion, or rather perhaps a mixture, of these two
stocks. Between the twelfth and eighteenth dynasties occurs an invasion by a people
not hitherto observed, having narrow heads combined with fine noses. This brings
us almost to the close of Egypt's independent existence, and the succeeding
modifications of the physical type do not explain history, but are explained by it.
1 hope that this superficial review of an enormous mass of material may
convince the reader that anthropometry can render very real service to archaeology
alike by suggesting new facts and by confirming old theories.
What is needed now that these series of measurements have been made in
Egypt is that those who are excavating or intend to excavate in Mesopotamia, in
Syria, in Greece, and in all countries which have had a geographical or historical
connection with Egypt, should collect similar material. The comparisons which
it would then be possible to make would, 1 am convinced, result in throwing much
fresh light on these most ancient civilisations in cases where unaided arclueolngy
is powerless.
104 )
THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULTS AND SCHOOL
CHILDREN IN EAST ABERDEENSHIRE.
P>Y JOHN GRAY, B.Sc., AND JAMES F. TOCIIEU, F.I.C.
[BEAD JUNE 12TH, 1900. WITH PLATES XI TO XVI.]
IN 1895 it was suggested by one of the authors (J. Gray) to the officials of
the Buchan Field Club that they should undertake an ethnographical survey
of their district. The suggestion was enthusiastically taken up, and a meeting
was called to explain the modus operandi, and the objects of the survey.
It was resolved at the meeting to commence operations at the Mintlaw
Gathering, an annual open-air function where some thousands of people from the
surrounding district come together for sports, dancing, and other national
amusements. Mintlaw, where the observations were made, lies near the centre
of Buchan, one of the ancient divisions of Scotland. The dialect spoken by the
rural population, at the present day, is a species of Lowland Scotch. Gaelic, no
doubt, was spoken at one time in the district, but probably not within the last six
hundred years. Previous to the thirteenth century the earls or mormaers were
Pictish; at least so it is recorded in the Book of Deer, and the . evidence is
strengthened by the existence in early times of succession through the female.
The people who attend the Mintlaw Gathering belong almost exclusively to the
agricultural labouring or farm servant class.
The plan of operations decided upon, was to note the colour of the hair and
eyes, and the shape of the nose of all persons as they entered the grounds. A tent
was also erected in the grounds where measurements were made of all persons who
chose to come. At the gate an enclosure was erected for the accommodation of the
Club. It was divided into four compartments, within which were stationed eight
members of the Club, two in each compartment, an observer and a recorder. The
observers noted the colour of the hair and eyes, and the shape of the nose of adults
as they purchased tickets at the entrance and passed the divisions between the
compartments.
At the gate, 2,309 males and 551 females were observed. In the tent 169
male adults were measured and noted as to pigmentation, etc, (Group I.)
The success which attended our efforts at the Miutlaw Gathering induced us
to attempt a pigmentation survey of the whole of the school children in the
district. One of the authors (J. F. Tocher) proceeded to interview teachers in
•T. GKAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — TV rkyxiwl C.linrn<-ffri*ii<-s< ••!<-. 105
various districts and found them all highly interested in the proposed work, and
ready and willing to co-operate .so as to make a complete and accurate set of
observations. On the 31st October, 1895, sheets and a circular letter were issued to
over ninety schools, enclosing a packet containing specimens of hair for guidance
in referring to the nearest standard shade. Each packet contained a typical specimen
of red, fair, brown, and dark hair. At a meeting of the teachers, a short paper was
read (by J. F. Tocher) explaining the objects and value of the survey, and a case
containing artificial eves, intended to show the different varieties of dark, medium,
v
and light, was exhibited ; fourteen tubes containing varieties of the four standard
shades of hair colour found in the district were also exhibited.
Early in 1896 returns began to come in, and by the end of the year the
survey of 75 schools had been completed ; the last of the returns had come in by
the end of November, 1897. Altogether observations were made in and returns
sent from 93 schools, covering 30 parishes, embracing the pigmentation statistics of
14,561 children— 7,717 boys and 6,844 girls.
After the Mintlaw Gathering, the adult survey was also continued.
Instruments were supplied to several members of the Club, who had kindly
consented to measure people in their neighbourhood as opportunity offered. A
considerable number of working men and fishermen were measured by one of the
authors (J. F. Tocher) in Peterhead. Rural people and fishermen were measured
at Lonmay by the Rev. J. Forrest ; and rural people were measured at Ellon by
Mr. D. Cameron. The total number in this last batch was 195 of the rural
population (Group II) and 38 fishermen (Group III). \Ve regret that up to the
present we have not got a larger number of the fishing population, because this
class does not intermarry with the rural population, and interesting results due to
this isolation might have been deduced. The small number we have got show, as
will be seen, considerable differences in their physical characteristics, a result
which may or may not be confirmed by the examination of larger numbers.
PIGMENTATION.
We propose in the first place to deal with the pigmentation statistics.
The question of the standards of colour employed in making observation is a
matter of the greatest importance. Unfortunately there has hitherto been a great
want of uniformity in the standards employed in different countries and by different
observers. The tables on pp. 106-7 have been drawn up to show the relations
between the schemes of Virchow and Beddoe, and that which we have employed
in our observations. We have also added a standard which, as a result of
experience, we would propose for future observations, with the view of making
statistics obtained more completely comparable with the very extensive statistics
that have been collected on the Continent.
Under Virchow's scheme, the statistics of nearly 10,000,000 children have
been collected in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland ; while under Beddoe's some
thousands of observations, chiefly on adults, have been made in this country ; yet
106
-I. <JI:AY AND J. F. TOCHEK.— The Physical Characteristics
STAXDARDS OF COLOUR— EYES
\. -lines
of
( 'olours.
VIRCHOW.
GERMANY, AUSTRIA,
and SWITZERLAND.
LIGHT.
BEDDOE.
BUCHAN FIELD
CLUB
(GRAY & TOCHER).
Proposed Standard.
LIGHT.
PURE BLUE.
Blue (all).
Bluish gray.
Light gray.
Blue.
Bluish gray.
Light gray.
Very light green.
Very light brown.
Blue (all).
Bluish gray.
Light gray.
GRAY.
NEUTRAL.
Very light hazel.
Yellow and green.
Dark gray.
Brownish gray
and all uncertain
colours.
Dark gray.
Orange and gray.
Greenish.
V
Very light hazel. £
Yellow and green. "^
Dark gray. P2
Brownish gray £
and all uncertain *
colours.
BROWN.
Brown.
Brown.
Brown
Brown. ^
DARK.
Dark hazel.
to
-z
01
pq
Dark hazel. '£
$>
£
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Number
of
Observations.
9,468,937
children.
14,551
children.
I
we shall see that at the light end of the hair and especially of the eye colours it is
impossible to establish any exact equation between them.
The horizontal lines in the tables are intended to define as exactly as possible
the limits of the categories in each scheme.
Virchow divides all eyes, first, into two departments, blue (or light) and
brown; and then subdivides blue eyes into pure blue and grey, and brown into
brown and black. In effect, Virchow has three categories for eyes, namely, pure
blue, grey, and brown.
Beddoe has three categories forteyes; light, neutral, and dark. Beddoe's light,
category is larger than Yirchow's pure blue since it includes light grey. Beddoe'*
dark category is identical with Yirchov's brown. The categories which we have
hitherto employed for eyes, are practically identical with those of Beddoe's. In any
future observations in this country, it appears to us to be desirable that the
statistics should be comparable both with the results obtained on the Continen
of A<lnll* inxt
Cliililrt n in End J/"7vAr//.s7///r.
STANDARDS OF COLOUR— HAI II.
Names
of
Colours.
VIRCHOW.
GERMANY, AUSTRIA,
and BELGIUM.
BEDDOE
and BRITISH ASSOCIA-
TION.
BUCHAN FIELD
CLUB
(GRAY & TOCHKH).
Proposed Standard .
BLOND.
Light yellow.
Whitish yellow.
Ash blond
grayish yellow,
gray brownish.
Light brownish.
Red blond.
FAIR,
Flaxen.
Yellow.
Golden.
Light browns.
Pale auburns
(with red incon-
spicuous).
White.
Flaxen.
Yellow.
Flaxen.
Yellow. 3
Golden.
pq
x
et
Light browns. »
Pale auburns
(with red incou- ~'fi
spicuous).
RED.
Fiery red.
Q
a
M
All shades of red
which approach
more nearly to
red than to
brown, yellow,
or flaxen.
Auburn.
All shades of red.
V
All shades of r<>d ,2
which approach ^*
more nearly to W
i-ed than to £
brown, yellow, «
or flaxen.
j
BROWN.
Brown.
Dark brown.
. • Numerous shades
J5 . of brown answer-
ing nearly to
P3 French, chatain
PP & chatain clair.
Medium shades.
Chestnut.
Dark brown.
All browns
up
to
Jet black.
DARK.
French bnm, dark-
est chatain up
to
NIGER.
Darkest brown.
Jet black.
DARK.
Darkest brown.
Jet black.
DARK.
Darkest brown.
Jet black.
BLACK.
Number
of
( >1 nervations.
10,077,635
children.
14,561
children.
and with those obtained by Beddoe and others in the British Isles. This we think
could be done by the slight modification of subdividing Beddoe's light category
into pure blue and light grey. In the last column of the table of eye colours we
show the classification which we propose to meet the requirement of being
comparable both with Beddoe's and Yirchow's schemes.
The differences in the hair-colour standards that have been extensively used
are perhaps not of such essential importance as those in the eye-colour standards.
Yin-how's red category is somewhat narrower than that which has been adopted in
this country, since he includes in this category only what, he calls "fiery red"
108
J. GRAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — The Physical Cliaracteristics
(Imndroth) hair. His brown category includes Beddoe's brown and dark
categories, and his black is smaller than Beddoe's Niger, since it does not include
darkest brown.
We have adopted practically the same standard as Beddoe and the British
Association, except that we have amalgamated Beddoe's brown and dark into one
category, brown. It seemed to us that it was unnecessary to distinguish between
shades of brown in a preliminary survey carried out by a large number of different
individuals, since very fine distinctions of colours would be worthless owing to the
unavoidable errors introduced by the personal equation. The standard, therefore,
which wre would propose for future observations is practically the same as Beddoe's
with the difference mentioned above. The standard is comparable with Virchow's
except in the case of red ; and Virchow himself admits that the statistics of red
hair which he obtained in Germany are untrustworthy.
The method of making the observations of adults at the gate, of Mintlaw
Gathering, has already been described. The numbers and percentages of complete
combinations of the three features observed are given in the printed report of the
Ethnographical Survey of Buclian (Transactions of the Buchan Field Club, 1895,
Tables I, II, III, pp. 18-20). In these tables the persons observed are
classified in the first place according to the colour of hair. Each hair colour is
then subdivided among the eyes according to the colour of eye possessed by each,
and further subdivided in the nose division (A). Column nose (B) represents
the hair and nose combinations (including eyes), e.g., in Table II (A.) there were
35 females who possessed red hair, and of these, 10 had dark eyes, 12 had
medium eyes, and 13 light eyes. Of the 10 who had red hair and dark eyes,
1 had a straight nose, 8 had concave noses, and 1 a wavy nose. Of the 12 who had
red hair and medium eyes, 6 had straight noses, 3 concave, and 3 Eoman. Of the
13 who had red hair and light eyes, 5 had straight noses, 7 concave, and 1 Eoman.
Leaving the eyes out of account, there were 35 females with red hair, 12 of whom
had straight noses, 18 concave, 4 Eoman, and 1 wavy.
The percentages for females and males separately, and for both together, as
may be seen in these tables, are as follows :—
H
air.
Eyes.
Fair.
Bed.
Brown.
Dark.
Light.
1
Medium. '' Dark.
t
Females
9-8
6-4
54-8
29
216
!
39 39-4
Males
9-5
5-6
66-2
, 18-7
26'3
50-9 22-8
Total
9-5
5-7
64-1
20-7
25-4
48-6 26-0
of Adidts and School Children in East Aberdeenshire.
109
These figures show that there is a greater percentage of dark hair among
females than among males, and also a greater percentage of dark eyes.
This fact is interesting, and has been observed also among the Jews, and
in regions like Alsace, where a blonde race has invaded a brunette country (see
Itipley's Jfaccs of Europe). Karl Pearson has shown by the analysis of statistics
that the hereditary resemblance between ancestors and descendants in the female
line, or in the male line, is much greater than between ancestors and descendants
of opposite sexes. The above statistics therefore point to an invasion by blonde
males of a district with an aboriginal brunette population, and confirm Eipley's
hypothesis.
If we examine the combinations of hair and eyes among the 2,309 males
observed, we find 67 per cent, of fair-haired persons have light eyes, and only
6 per cent, dark eyes. But of dark-haired persons only 13 per cent, have light
eyes, and 50 per cent, have dark eyes, lied and brown-haired persons occupy
intermediate positions as shown by the following table : —
Eyes.
Hair.
Light.
Medium.
Dark.
Fair
67-7
25-9
64
lied
53-8
37
9-2
Brown ...
21-9
59-5
18-6
Dark
13
37
50
This appears to us to show that the natural order of hair colours is fair, red,
brown, and dark ; and not red, fair, brown, and dark as adopted by Beddoe.
The following table gives the combinations (in percentages of the whole
population) of hair and eye colours of the rural population (2,860 males and females)
observed at the gate at Mintlaw : —
Eyes.
Hair.
Light.
Medium.
Dark.
Total.
Faii-
0
9
Ked
:;
2
1
6
lUown
14
."•7
13
64
Dark
2
ly
12
21
Total
25
49
27
100
110
.T. GRAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — The Physical Characteristics
The following table gives the combinations (in percentages of the whole
population) of hair and eye colours of the agricultural labourers (males) observed
in the tent at Mintlaw (Group I)1 : —
Eyes.
Hair.
Light.
Medium.
Dark.
Total.
Fair 10
8
15
23
4
15
18
40
40
Red 2
Brown 21
Dark 2
Total 35
46
19 100
The following tables give the combinations for (a) the mixed town and rural
population (Group II) ; (b) for the fishermen (Group III) :—
A. Mixed town and rural : Group -r,
II.
,e,
Hair.
Light.
Medium.
Dark. Total.
Fair 13
4
8
21
3
1
7
18
20
2
25
53
Red 1
Brown ... ... ... ... 10
Dark . 14
Total 38
33
29
100
B. Fishermen : Group III. ^
Hnir
Light.
Medium.
Dark.
Total.
Fair 8
5
13
11
18
8
3
42
47
Red 3
Brown 26
Dark 16
Total ...... 53 18
29
100
1 The complete statistics of Groups I, II, III are to be published in the Transactions of
Buchan Field Club, vol. V, Part iii, 1900.
The
* a ml Xc.Iinnl f '//////I'' ll in AW Alt' -i-'l" -iix/iin. I I 1
table -i\cs the combinations of th.- 14..~>ii| school cliildivn : -
Total
Kyes.
i inn.
Light.
Medium.
Dark.
Total.
Kiiir
15
8
2.~>
lied
•>
,
7
liroWll
18
L9
10
47
Dark
4
6
1 1
•2\
100
An inspection of these tables shows that there are considerable differences in
the percentages of the combinations even among the three groups of the adult
rural and town population ; the fishermen and school children show still greater
deviations.
In order to compare accurately the different groups it is necessary to devise
some method of finding the mean pigmentation. The method we have adopted
will be explained by the help of the diagram on p. 112. This diagram contains
twelve squares of equal size representing all the combinations of hair and
eye colour arranged as in the tables given above. The percentage marked in each
square is supposed to represent a weight placed at the centre of the square.
The centre of gravity of all these imaginary weights, i.e., the point on which
a thin plate without weight loaded in this way would balance, is then found,
by well-known methods. This centre we propose to call the centre of pigmentation.
To find the co-ordinates of the centre of pigmentation let us take as an
example the school children, denoted by C in the diagram. To find ./• take
moments about OY, add them together and divide by 100.
= 41 x 2 + 35 x 1£ + 24 x 2J.
100
_ 20-5 + 52 v> 4- 00
100
= 1'3."> or simply 1 .">.'!
This latter number gives the distance of the entree (' from the line OY, the
side of a square being taken as 100 units.
21 x ^ + 47 x 4+7 x :U -j- 25 x o^
10-5
100
70-5 + 17-5 + 87-5
100
= 1-86 or simply 186
112
J. GRAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — The Physical Characteristics
PIGMENTATION. ABERDEENSHIHE, E.
Eyes.
L
M
D
C
15
8
2
25
I
10
8
18
F
II
13
4
3
20
III
<S
8
M
6
3
9
C
4
2
1
7
I
2
2
B
II
1
1
2
III
3
3
M
3
2
1
6
C
C
18
O 19
10
47
I
21
M 15
4
40
1 O
B
11
10
0 0
0
7
25
II
III
III
26
0 5
11
42
M
14
37
13
64
C
4
6
11
21
I
2
23
15
40
D
II
14
21
18
53
III
16
13
18
47
M
2
7
12
21
C. 41. M. 25
0. 35. M. 49.
C. 24. M. 26
I. 35, II. 38, III. 53.
I. 46, II. 33, III. 18
I. 19, IT. 29, III. 29
X
of Adults and School Children, in AW Ab'i-d,,-,t*/,i,-':
This gives the distance of centre C from the line OX, and the position of the
point C is completely determined.
On the diagram are marked the positions of the centre of pigmentation for
the school children (C) ; the adults in Group I (I) ; the adults in Group II (II) ;
the adults at Mintlaw gate (M) ; the fishermen (III).
We note that (C) lies nearer the fair hair than the centres of the adults. The
three groups of rural and town adults have centres (I) (II) and (M) lying fairly
close together : the centre (III) of the fishermen shows that they are darker in
hah and lighter in eyes than the rural population.
Assuming that the intermediate colours brown and red are due to the
admixture of absolutely fair and dark hair, then by means of the centre of
pigmentation we may calculate the original percentages of fair and dark hair
which would produce the existing colours. We do this by supposing that all the
hair is fair and dark, and rinding the percentages that would give the same centre
of pigmentation. These quantities will be inversely proportional to the distances
of the centres of the fair and dark hair from the centre of pigmentation. Thus to
find the quantities of fair and dark hair equivalent to the actual hair colours of
the school children, the following formula is used : —
T . , . , . 186 — 50
Light hair s= - — .y—
o
— 45 per cent.
Bark hair = 100 - 45 = 55 per cent.
Dark eyes = 133 ~ 50
Jt
ss 41 per cent.
Light eyes = 100 — 41 = 59 per cent.
These numbers do not pretend to be absolute, but they are relatively
correct and enable the pigmentation of one population to be compared correctly
with that of another. Indeed no method has yet been devised of measuring
the absolute pigmentation of hair or eyes. Even if the exact tint was
measured by a scientifically designed instrument, it is doubtful whether the
amount of pigment obtained by chemical analysis would correspond to these
tints.
Our results appear to show that the mean pigmentation of a district when
taken from a large number of persons is very constant ; when taken over small
numbers it is extremely variable, as the maps prepared from the school children
show.
A summary of the results obtained at each school and in each parish is given
in Table III of the report already quoted (Trans. Baclian Field Club, 1897, pp.
7-16). The results are represented in the series of Maps III to XI accompanying
this paper (Plates XI, XII) : a key map XII being also given.
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). I
114 J. GRAY AND J. F. TOCHEK. — The Physical Characteristic*
Map I representing the brunette type in the British Isles after Beddoe, shows
Aberdeenshire as one of the least brunette districts. Our results show it as very
considerably more brunette than North Germany, where we have only about 7 per
cent, of the brunette type. This method of estimating the pigmentation would
therefore lead us to the conclusion that the percentage of North German blondes in
our population is very small.
Map II shows the distribution of the brunette type on the Continent. The
map is drawn to the same scale and is adapted from a map in Eipley's Races
of Europe. Some parts of Buchan are really darker than anything or the
continental map, but this only shows how great the local variations in
pigmentation are. It also shows how unreliable small samples are when used to
determine the mean pigmentation of a district. The average of the brunette type
in Buchan is 20 per cent. This corresponds in Germany most nearly to Upper
Bavaria, which is 24 per cent. Belgium, however, has a rather higher percentage
of the brunette type than Buchan.
Map III shows the distribution of the brunette type. This type is made
up -of persons having brown eyes and dark or brown hair. It corresponds
almost exactly with Virchow's brunette type, and is therefore valuable for
comparison with the results obtained from school children on the Continent.
The greatest density of the brunette type is found on the coast at Slains and
Aberdour, at both of which places are rocky and inaccessible coasts. East of
Fraserburgh the density is lowest on the coast, and here the coast is low and
sandy and therefore more likely to be the landing place for blonde invaders from
Scandinavia.
Map IV shows the distribution of the mixed blonde type, that is of persons
with fair hair and light eyes. Virchow's blonde -type contains only persons with
blonde hair and blue eyes, and is therefore more restricted than our blonde type,
and cannot be compared with it, as we have no means of ascertaining the
percentage of pure blue eyes among our light eyes.
Map V shows the distribution of dark hair. As in the case of the brunette
type the greatest density is on the most inaccessible parts of the coast.
Map VI shows the distribution of red hair. This lies mainly in two parallel
bands running inland from the coast. Koughly speaking, these bands lie between
maximum blonde and brunette regions. We have made several attempts to
discover the connection between red hair and other hair colours, but without very
much success. The best result has been got by dividing the whole district into six
nearly equal divisions and finding the mean density of the hair colours in each
division. It is found that the red hair is highest where the dark hair is lowest in
percentage and vice versa. It is also found that the same relation holds between
fair and brown hair.
Maps VII and VIII show the distribution of fair hair and brown hair ; and
Maps IX, X, and XI show the distribution of the three colours of eyes.
These maps have been drawn by means of a kind of contour lines of
of Adults and School Child mi in E««t Abcrdrnt*liir<:
116
pigmentation. The percentage at each school has been looked upon as a height,
and contour lines have been drawn with reference to these points. This was
considered more accurate than taking the average for parishes, the boundaries of
which are purely artificial lines, having no relation to the distribution of the
population.
An inspection of the adjacent table will show the difference between the
pigmentation of children and adults.
Hair.
Eyes.
Survey.
Red.
Fair.
Brown.
Dark.
Dark.
Medium.
Light.
Children
7-0
25-3
46-5
21-2
24
35
41
(1) Boys
6-8
23-6
48-2
21-4
22-6
35-8
41-6
(2) Girls
7-3
26-9
44-7
211
25-6
33-8
40-6
Adults (Mintla /'•)
57
9-5
64-1 | 20-7
26-0
48-6
254
(1) Male*
5-6
9-5
66-2
18-7
22-8
50-9
26-3
(2) Females ... ... 6'4
9-8
54-8
29-0
:'>9-4
39-0
21-6
It will be observed that there are about 15i per cent, more fair- haired
children than fair-haired adults; and I7i per cent, less brown-haired children
than brown-haired adults. This points to the conclusion that 15 to 16 per
cent, of the whole population are transferred from the fair to the brown
category in passing from childhood to adult age. It is interesting to find
that Virchow estimates that the increase of brown among adults in Germany is
15 per cent.
The table also shows that between boys and girls the percentage of dark hair
is practically equal, and the girls have only 3 per cent, excess of dark eyes; but
adult females have 11 per cent, more dark hair than adult males, and 16i per cent,
more dark eyes. The darkening of the females is therefore post-natal ; and this
circumstance may affect the conclusions which we have previously drawn as to the
pigmentation of the aboriginal population.
If a population is due to the intermixture of pure blondes and pure brunettes
one would expect to find even after many generations the number of heads of fair
hair about equal to the pairs of blue or light eyes, except there was some influence
that prevented them multiplying at the same rate. We do not, however, find the
percentages equal, either here or in Germany. The following table shows the
percentages in North Germany, where the Anglo-Saxons are supposed to have come
from, and in East Aberdeenshire : —
I 2
11G
J. GKAY AXU J. F. TOCHER. — The Physical Clwira<-t,'i-ixti<-x
Fair
Light
Brown1
Brown
hair.
eyes.
hair.
eyes.
Schleswig-Holstein
82
50
18
16
Liineburo-
83
49
17
18
O * * "*" "' '
Mecklenburg-Schwerin ...
77
49
23
21
East Aberdeen shire
25
41
68
24
In these northern districts of Germany there is always more fa^' hair than
light (blue) eyes, while in East Aberdeenshire the reverse is the case. This might
be explained by the fact that our light eyes category is larger than Virchow's blue.
But that will not explain the similar discrepancy between the percentages of
brown2 hair and brown eyes. One possible explanation of the discrepancy is that
the immigrants from Germany were not pure blondes, but of a mixed variety with
brown hair and blue eyes.
The excess of brown hair over brown eyes is still greater in the case of
adults : for instance at the Mintlaw gate we found 85 per cent, brown hair and
only 26 per cent, brown (or dark) eyes; and Groups I, II, and III show the same
peculiarity, as may be seen by looking at the Pigmentation diagram.
It is interesting to compare the pigmentation of the towns in the district,
namely, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, with the average pigmentation of the district.
Peterhead, the largest town, is almost exactly the mean of the whole district ;
Fraserburgh is slightly more blonde, no doubt owing to the proximity of a blonde
area on the east.
MEASUREMENTS,
The measurements taken in each case were the height standing, the height
sitting ; the maximum length and maximum breadth of the head. At the same
time a note was made of the colour of the hair and eyes and the profile of the nose.
It was also ascertained whether the person himself belonged to the district, or had
ancestors who belonged to the district ; all aliens were included. The surname of
each person was also noted. The measurements of the head were taken in
millimetres ; the measurements of stature in feet and inches, the equivalents of
which in millimetres have been added to the tables.
Table I contains a record of 169 persons, mostly agricultural labourers,
measured in the tent at Mintlaw (Group I).
Table II contains a record of 195 persons measured by three different
observers. About half of this group were townsmen of Peterliead belonging to the
working class. The rest belonged to the rural population (Group II).
1 "Brown" here includes our categories of "brown" and "black."
a Brown here is tnken in Virchow's sense, and is practically equal to our brown and dark.
of Adults and School Children in Etmt Alerdecnxhirc. 117
Table III contains a record of 38 fishermen from the fishing villages on the
coasts of Peterhead and Lonmay (Group III).
These tables are to be published in full in the Transactions of the Buclian
Field Club.
Head measurements. — The method we have adopted to analyse the statistics of
head measurements is to plot them out on what may be called a Cephalic Chart.
The chart is constructed by dividing a sheet of paper into small squares by a number
of equidistant horizontal and vertical lines, the distance between two adjacent lines
representing a millimetre. Numbers in millimetres are printed opposite the ends
of the spaces between the horizontal and vertical lines. To mark on this chart the
position of a head, the length and breadth of the head are used as co-ordinates, the
length being measured horizontally and the breadth vertically on the chart. The
square determined by the co-ordinates being found, a mark is made therein.
Straight lines have been drawn at an angle to the co-ordinates to represent equal
cephalic indices, and by means of these the cephalic index of any head plotted on
the chart can be determined by inspection. Curved lines (portions of rectangular
hyperbolas) have been drawn to represent equal products of length and breadth, or
approximately equal areas or volumes. These area factors will be found to be much
more efficacious in showing the racial elements of the population we have to deal
with in the British Isles than cephalic indexes, since these elements differ very
little in cephalic index, but very considerably in area. It may be stated other-
wise by saying that the variability of the cephalic index is much less than the
variability of the area factors.
Chart 1 represents the head measurements in Table I, plotted out in the way
described above. (Plate XIII.)
Chart II represents the head measurements in Table II. (Plate XIV.)
Chart III represents the head measurements in Table III. (Plate XV.)
Chart IV represents a number of Highlanders measured by Beddoe (Races of
.Britain, p. 234), and is introduced to enable a comparison to be made between the
population of the East and West Coasts of Scotland. (Plate XVI.)
On the left hand side of each chart a frequency diagram of breadths is drawn.
It forms a kind of projection of the group on a vertical line.
At the bottom of each chart a frequency diagram of lengths is projected in the
same way.
In Chart I there are well marked peaks in the breadth diagram at 150 mm.
and 155 mm. There are three peaks on the length diagram at 190 mm., 192 mm.,
and 195 mm. The superficial distribution on the chart enables us to determine
which of these lengths and breadths are associated together in the same persons.
Points of fairly well-defined maximum frequency occur on the chart at 155, 195 ;
150,192; 150, 195.
These peaks may be due to the circumstance that the number of persons dealt
with is too small, and the gaps may be filled up when a much larger number of
persons is taken.
118
J. GKAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — The Physical Characteristics
There would be a strong presumption, however, that these peaks really
represent racial elements if they appeared in a chart of another group of people
from the same district. In Chart II we have the distribution of a group from the
same district, the only difference being that there are a considerable number of
townspeople in this second group. Chart II shows in the length diagram the
same three peaks at 190, 192, and 195 ; one of the peaks in the breadth diagram
at 150 is also well marked ; the peak at 155 is not so well marked, though there
are two peaks on each side of it. The same peaks appear also on the surface
of the chart. There is, however, a peak at 153, 192 which is not represented on
Chart I.
On Chart III owing to the small number (38) we have no well marked peaks,
but on the breadth diagram 150 mm., and on the length diagram 195 mm., show up
well.
On the chart of the Highlanders the principal peak appears to be at 156, 203,
a peak which is not strongly represented on any of the other charts. The favourite
breadth among the Highlanders is 162, and the favourite length 203. There is a
considerable difference therefore between the head measurements on the east and
on the west coasts of Scotland.
Stature. — The average height standing of Group I is 5 feet Scinches: the
average height sitting is 2 feet 11| inches. The same dimensions for Group II are
5 feet 7£ inches, and 2 feet 11£ inches.
The average height standing of Group II is 1 inch less than the same
dimensions of Group I. This reduction of stature is evidently due to the presence
of the ninety-one Peterhead townsmen in the Group II ; for the average height of
the ninety-one is only 5 feet 6^ inches.
NOSES,
Each nose was referred to the nearest of the five types specified by the
Ethnographical Committee of the British Association : — (1.) Straight. (2.) Fig11
Bridge or Roman. (3.) Concave. (4) Sinuous or Wavy. (5.) Aquiline, Beaked
or Jew. Denoting these by the letters S. R C. W. and J., the following gives the
percentages in the different groups where they were noted :—
Group.
S.
R.
C
W.
J.
Mintlaw gate (males)
56
17
17'
7
3
,. ., (females)
60
7
27
0
1
Group I • • • • • • • • • • • •
66
20
4
8
1
II
66
19
4
9
2
,, .LJ.
Ill
63
21
_
16
» ***
of Adults and School, Children in Ead Abcrdeoukire.
11!)
Tin-re is ;i considerably higher percentage of concave noses and lower
percentage of Roman noses among the females than among the males observed at
the gate of the Mintlaw Gathering.
The percentages of the Groups I and II (all of which are males) are almost
exactly equal, but they show more straight and fewer concave noses than the noses
at the gate.
The fishermen, Group III, differ considerably from the rural population in this
as in most other physical characteristics.
The following are the percentages of straight noses in some neighbouring
countries as given by Beddoe, North -West Germany, 23 per cent, ; Denmark, 30
per cent. ; Sweden, 36 per cent. Of concave noses, Beddoe gives for Denmark, 20
per cent. ; and for Sweden, 23 per cent.
Though this belongs more properly to the question of correlation, we may
give here the association of hair colours with types of nose in the 2,860 adults
observed at the Mintlaw gate. The following table shows the percentage of each
colour of hair associated with each type of nose.
Hai
r.
Type of !N ose.
Fair.
Red.
Brown.
Dark.
Concave ...
9-7
4-9
75-2
10-3
Wavv
11-5
3
69
16-5
Roman
8-3
6-3
67
18-6
Straight .
9-4
6
63-3
21-4
Jew
8-3
17
58-3
317
We see from this table that the sum of fair hair and red hair is almost
exactly equal for all types of nose (except the Jew), but that the proportion of
dark hair varies considerably. The smallest amount is with the concave nose,
and the largest with the aquiline or Jew nose. The other types are arranged in
the order of increasing percentage.
This distribution of hair colour in relation to types of noses appears to make
it highly probable that two dark-haired races, one with the Roman or Jew nose and
the other with the straight nose, were among the parent race types of this mixed
population ; and also a fair-haired race with a concave nose.
120
J. GRAY AND J. F. TOCIIEE. — The Physical Characteristics
Frequency.
Breadth s.
Height
Standing.
Height
Sitting.
Hair Colour.
Eye Colour.
I.
i
II.
I.
II.
I.
II.
I.
II.
I.
11.
mm.
mm.
mm.
mm.
Yo.
N. Yo.
N.
X0.
N.
Xo. | N.
3
3
140
141
142
—
1,765
—
914
—
—
150
64
—
—
i
83
16
1,662
—
853
—
117
78
—
—
183
66
_-
—
1
3
143
1,829
1,774
907
931
150
64
83
89
50
—
183
66
2
7
144
1,711
1,714
891
897
100
83
164
62
20D
75
136
43
4
10
145
1,722
1,677
917
875
125
75
150
64
125
38
100
25
4
3
146
1,732
1,727
909
902
175
58
83
89
150
50
217
83
5
5
147
1,697
1,733
879
911
DO
87
130
73
70
10
230
90
5
10
148
1,737
1,706
909
889
210
47
180
57
110
30
120
35
5
5
149
1,750
1,651
911
864
90
87
170
60
150
50
90
20
20
19
150
1,726
1,699
894
892
182
56
155
65
134
42
116
33
18
18
151
1,716
1,715
906
946
145
68
106
81
139
44
133
41
4
13
152
1,707
1,713
899
891
100
83
127
74
150
50
134
42
11
12
153
1,718
1,730
904
915
195
52
167
61
132
41
125
38
18
14
154
1,735
1,724
914
902
172
59
100
83
128
39
179
63
23
12
155
1,745
1,705
913
900
133
72
175
58
124
37
114
32
14
14
156
1,746
1,705
908
899
129
74
126
75
143
46
179
64
9
10
157
1,744
1,714
916
911
139
70
135
72
139
44
150
50
4
10
158
1,760
1,662
931
861
150
64
130
73
150
50
120
35
4
6
159
1,743
1,730
903
909
125
75
67
94
150
&o
158
54
5
9
160
1,789
1,706
916
899
170
GO
150
64
150
50
117
33
8
4
161
1,707
1,730
902
895
117
78
225
42
117
33
125
38
1
2
162
1,746
1,643
930
847
150
64
200
50
50
—
150
50
—
4
163
—
1,713
—
914
—
—
50
100
—
—
200
75
—
2
164
—
1,765
—
946
—
—
200
50
—
—
150
50
—
—
165
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
—
166
1,829
—
953
—
150
64
—
—
50
—
—
—
2
—
167
1,752
904
150
64
100
i'.")
169
195
of Adults and School Children in E«*t Aberdeeiuhire. 121
CORRELATIONS.
The correlations between head breadths and heights standing and sitting,
and the colour of the hair and eyes, have been worked out for the Groups I
and II and are given in the following table. The average height of all persons of
a given head breadth has been calculated and is written in the proper column
after each breadth. The co-ordinates of the centre of pigmentation for all persons
of &, given head breadth has also been calculated, and is given under Y0 and X0.
From tYi<ase the equivalent percentages of dark hair and dark eyes have been
calculated and written under N. This may be called the percentage of nigrescence,
if we may be permitted to borrow the excellent term used by Dr. Beddoe though
in a somewhat different sense. The frequencies of each breadth is given in the
first two columns, since these would have to be taken into account in calculating
averages for two or three breadths. The stature and pigmentation varies so much
for single breadths that it appears to bo necessary to take averages of two or three
to discover any law of correlation that may exist. We have not yet had time to
investigate this thoroughly ; but there appears to be stature above the mean with
the highest and the lowest breadths, and stature below the mean at intermediate
breadths.
As to the hair colour, Group I shows maximum co-efficients of nigrescence
between breadths 150 and 154 and between 160 and 162. Group IE shows
maxima between 148 and 150 and between 160 and 162. We have not yet
calculated the maxima of the eye colours, but they can easily be determined from
the data in the table.
TYPES OR RACIAL ELEMENTS.
We have also calculated the mean heights and percentages of nigrescence for
persons grouped around the peaks on the cephalic charts, which we have described
above. Thes* are given in the following table. The peaks are marked with
circles on the charts and reference letters A, B, C, etc. These are placed in first
column and marked I and II to indicate the group. Group III has not been
dealt with as the numbers are too small. The numbers in Type I. F. are also
rather small to give a reliable result. As a rule, the persons enclosed in a 3 mm.
square round the peak have been taken, except when the number was too small,
when a larger area was taken.
The uniformity of the stature in Types A, B1, C in the two groups is
remarkable : in the remaining types the agreement is not good. The larger heads
are clearly associated with greater stature ; cf. A, B \ with C. The types in the
two groups do not agree at all well in pigmentation or in noses.
122
J. GRAY AND J. R TOCHER.— The Physical Characteristic*
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TYPES OR EACIAL ELEMENTS.
Mode
Height Height
Standing. Sitting.
Hair.
Eyes.
Noses. •
Type.
B
L
ft. in.
mm.
ft. in.
Mini.
N.
N. S. K.
1 1 i
C.
W.
J.
II. A ... j
155
T5 8
1.5 8
1,727
1,732
2 llf
2 llf
907
904
56
77
36
57
60 4
70 30
—
i A
—
195
I. B ... |
156
To 9J
1,756
3 0|
926
87 61
41
23
. .
18 18
II. B ... J
203
U 7*
1,713
3 0
910
58
43
25
37
—
37
I. B' ... I
160
|5 8£
1,740
2 ll£
901
80
60
60
20
— 20
II. B' ... J
200
[5 8J
1,742
2 ll£
904
45
33
66
—
—
34
—
LC ... 1
150
f5 6^
J
1,692
2 11|
895
74
28
57
22
14
7
-
II. C ...
192
15 6J
1,689
2 11
886
70
40
40
50
—
10
—
I.D... I
150
f5 8i
1,740
2 11|
898
39
66
67
11
11
11
__
II. D ... j
195
1 5 5|
1,668
2 10£
877
52
35
28
43
14
14
—
I. F ... 1
145
f5 8f
1,749
3 Ofc
927
67
50
50
50
. ^_
_
II. F ... J
185
1
U 6|
1,684
2 10£
878
67 50
76
12
—
12
—
152
11
5 8
1,725
2 11| 901 61
41
67
8
8
17
• —
192
Means for
whole group. 1
I.
II.
5 8J
5 7|
1,739
1,713
2 llj
2 1H
007
900
68
70
41
45
66
66
20
79
4
4
8
9
1
2
AFFINITIES.
In order to discover affinities to our types we have taken (chiefly from
Beddoe's Eaces of Britain} average head dimensions corresponding as nearly as
possible to the dimensions of our types. In cases where skulls only are available
they have been converted into heads by adding 8 mm. to the breadth and 10 mm.
to the length, these measurements of skin thickness being obtained from an actual
subject, and of course only approximately correct in some cases.
of Adults and
Child,-' « in East Aberdceiishire.
A ve rages of known heads.
Breadth
Types from Groups I
and II.
Bivadth
Length.
Length.
1
Skulls.
Heads.
>v Somerset ...
Danes
Hanoverians
W. Somerset and S. Wales...
Bronze age skull —
[Banffshire (Or. Brit.}] ...
Long Barrow men —
[mean of 27 (Cr. Brit.}] ..
157
151
Type C
Type A
Type H'
Type I)
150
192
157
1<>L'
155
195
159
195
160
•10 L
151
200
150
195
165
195
isr,
142
195
150
126
206
The stature of Bronze age men is given by Tliurman as 5 feet 9^ inches
and by Munro as 5 feet 8£ inches. This corresponds well with our Type B1, which
have also broad skulls.
The stature of the Neolithic or Long Barrow men is usually given as 5 feet
5| inches, rather less than our Type C. The breadth of Type C agrees with that of
the Long Barrow heads, but there are no heads on the charts having both the length
and breadth of the Long Barrow skulls. The same may be said about the Bronze
age heads, but their length, 195, forms one of the principal peaks in the frequency
diagrams of lengths.
CONCLUSIONS.
Far more complete statistics of the physical characteristics of the people of
the British Isles are necessary before we can arrive at any certain conclusions as to
the affinities and origin of the people dealt with in this paper. As to neighbouring
countries, general treatises on the anthropology of Europe generally supply us only
with cephalic indices. What measurements we have got show that there is very
little difference in the cephalic indices of the racial elements of our population, but
there is a very considerable difference in the absolute dimensions or their product.
Comparisons will, therefore, have to be made on the ahsolute system. This we have
not yet been able to do by examining original memoirs.
It is interesting to note that the head breadth of the Neolithic men, 150 mm.,
and the length of the Mron/e age men. 10."» mm., are still dimensions of maximum
124 J. GRAY AND J. F. TOCHER. — The, Physical Characteristics, etc.
frequency among the people of East Aberdeenshire, though there are no heads
corresponding in Loth dimensions to these prehistoric types. Does this indicate
that our population contains intermediate types evolved from their intermixture ?
One pretty certain conclusion can be drawn from a comparison of the
pigmentation of our school children with those of North Germany, namely, that we
have a very much smaller percentage of this blonde element than has been
generally supposed. The excess of brown hair over brown eyes in our case appears
to be also a significant distinction. When a pigmentation survey of the school
children has been carried out over the whole kingdom, we shall know a great deal
better what these differences mean.
Jcitrna.1 GflKeAntkrcpolooica,lIn.3lilu.le.Vol.Xn.(N.3.11l).PlaU II.
BRUNETTE TYPE.
1 Dritiih Isles after Deddoe,
Military Schedules.
Jo-urna.1 cflhe Art-tkropological Insiitute.VoLUK (MS. III). Plate XII.
I'ER CENT
^] Below the mean (46)
46-53
54-61
62—69
70-76 .•••;•••-'•». v.
77-86
*. ,-"-• - / ^
EAST ABERDEENSH1RI-;;,""" •",^.-<
-of ike Anthropological l7i3littute.Vol.MJL (MS. III). Plate. -Z27.
CEPHALIC CHART.
SCOTLAND, Aberdeenshire, E.
Table I. 169 Persons.
180 185 190 1
170
175
195 200
Lengths.
Jcvrna.1 oflKeJLnthropologiva.1 InsUlute.VolXXZ (N.S. III). Plain, XIV.
CEPHALIC CHART.
SCOTLAND, Aberdeenshire, E.
Table II. 195 Persons.
oflKeJbithropoloQiccCl Inslilu,l&.Vol}ULL (N.S.llIi.Plale XV.
CEPHALIC CHART.
SCOTLAND, Aberdeenshire, E.
38 Fishermen. Table III.
175
180
185
190 195
Lengths.
200
205
Z10
Jcvrna.1 vflKe Anthropological Instilu.te.Vol. XXX (NS. III). Hale XVI.
CEPHALIC CHART.
SCOTLAND.
57 Highlanders. IV.
95 200
Lengths
A CONTRIBUTION TO ESKIMO CRANIOLOGY.
BY W. L. H. DUCKWORTH, M.A., AND B. H. PAIN, B.A.
(from the Anthropological Laboratory, Cambridge.)
[READ JCXK 12m, 1900. WITH PLATES XVII AND XVIII.]
IN the course of the winter of 1899-1900, a number of Eskimo were exhibited in
London at Olympia, and owing to the kindness of Mr. Taber, the manager of this
part of the exhibition, we were enabled to obtain measurements of the individuals
of the party.
A description of these Eskimo and of the tables of the measurements was
communicated by us to the Cambridge Philosophical Society, in the Proceedings of
which (March, 1900) the account will be found.
The measurements afforded us the means of drawing to scale a diagrammatic
figure representing the average male adult Eskimo, and this figure was then
sufficiently reduced to bring it into line with those published by Professor
Thomson, of Oxford, in Knowkdyc, June 1st, 1899. In Fig. 1, our diagram for
the adult male Eskimo (a), will be found compared with corresponding diagrams
for adult males of (6) Anglo-Saxon, (c) Negro and (d) of aboriginal Australian origin.
a.
d.
FIG. 1.
The remainder of the former communication consists of notes on the
conditions of Eskimo life in Labrador, the native land of the individuals in
question, and of comments on the general results of our observations in the
light of records published by earlier workers (especially Virchow and Boas).
It would be superfluous to recapitulate the conclusions arrived at, and in the
present communication an attempt is made to determine the relations subsisting
between the head and skull of the Eskimo, so as to obtain some idea of the
126 W. L. H. DucKWOirrn AND 1>. H. PAIN. — A Contribution
modifying effect on cranial form and contour to be attributed to the overlying
soft tissues. In the second place, we have summarised observations on a large
number of Eskimo crania which were studied by one of us in several European
museums. Lastly, we propose to record without comment notes furnished by
Mr. Taber on the Eskimo of Labrador which are not specially of the nature
of observations on their physical conformation.
COMPARISON OF THE FORM OF THE HEAD WITH THAT OF THE SKULL OF THE
ESKIMO.
Dealing in the first instance, then, with the comparison of the forms
of the head and of the skull respectively, we naturally turn to the tables of
measurements, and in the first place it is convenient to consider some absolute
linear dimensions, without reference to the indices which are derived from them.
Number of Subjects measured. — From our measurements of the heads of the
Labrador Eskimo, we obtained averages resulting from observations and records of
eleven of the chief dimensions ; and the material on which the observations were
made consisted of eleven adult males and ten adult females, the measurements in
the two sexes being treated of independently. (Table I.)
Number of Crania available. — In determining the corresponding dimensions of
the Eskimo skull, we selected as many skulls of Labrador Eskimo as possible,
supplementing the limited number of these by skulls of Greenland Eskimo. In
this way we obtained averages based on observations of a number of crania of
Eastern Eskimo varying from twenty and seventeen in the case of adult males, and
from eight to eleven adult females {it was not possible at the time to obtain more
undoubted female skulls than these).
The most important points in the accompanying Table (No. I), to which
attention should be drawn, are as follows: — Firstly, the length of the head is
absolutely great both in males and females ; and the same holds good with
regard to the breadth of the head in the males, in whom also the facial
dimensions are of absolutely great size, both as regards the uasi-alveolar length
and the bizygomatic breadth. The great size of the head is indicated also by
the large figure representing the average horizontal circumference. Other
comments on the dimensions recorded in Table I will be made in connection
with the indices, and it is now necessary to note the results of a comparison of the
average dimensions of the head and of the skull respectively in the two sexes.
(Table IA.)
The Head and the Skull compared in respect of Maximum Length. — As the
Table IA shows, great approximation is observed in the case of the maximum
lengths of head and skull among the males, the average length of the head being
19115 mm., and that of the skull 190 mm. From these figures it follows that the
thickness of the soft parts overlying the skull of the living subject is but 115 mm.,
or -575 mm. in front and an equal amount at the occiput, supposing the thickness
to be the same in each case (which is not, of course, actually true). But such a
A- AW. -inn) Craniology. 127
margin as 1*15 mm. is quite inadequate, and the only conclusion is that there is an
error in the determinations. It may be that the figure 190 mm. is too high for a
correct representation of the average skull-length, or that 191-15 mm. is too low to
serve as a proper representative of the head-length, or else, what is probably the
case here, both these contingencies coexist. We are led to this conclusion from
the consideration of the records made by Virchow (Zeitschrift fur Ethnologic, Bd. xii),
for on combining with our figures those recorded by Virchow, we are enabled to
calculate the average head-length of fourteen adult Labrador Eskimo, and this is
found to be 1924 mm. in place of 19T15. So that had we as many heads available
for study as we had skulls (i.e., 20), the difference between the average head-length
and the average skull-length would probably be still greater. Moreover, two
of the Labrador skulls measured were weathered to a considerable degree and
to some extent had been flattened ; these skulls yielded figures which denote a
greater horizontal length than the skulls originally possessed, and therefore helped,
no doubt, to raise the value of the average skull-length to the high figure which
actually represents it.
In the case of the collection of data referring to female heads and skulls
(Table IA) a very much greater discrepancy between these two dimensions will be
found to obtain on .the average. Herein the head-length is probably too great, and
indeed we were conscious at the time of making the measurements that this was
the case, for the thick growth of hair and the manner of plaiting and of arranging
it generally interfered to a considerable extent with the attempts to record the
head-length with accuracy.
Nasi-aheolar (or Upper Facial} Letigth. — A noteworthy approximation is
observed in the case of the nasi-alveolar length as measured on the head, when it
is compared with the corresponding dimension of the skull. In the living
subject the alveolar point, being superficial, is not hard to determine, but
there is generally some difficulty in ascertaining the exact situation of the nasion.
This difficulty is particularly great in the Mongolian races and their allies, in which
category we may provisionally place the Eskimo, and the difficulty is not always
overcome even by close attention to the careful instructions of Topinard.
Tin1 Orbit. — Close approximation is observed in the case of the orbital
diameters in the males, though this is not the case in the females so far as
orbital width is concerned. The effect of this upon the orbital index will be
realised subsequently. The modifying cause is probably a greater thickness of the
subcutaneous tissues and a greater adipose deposit in this region in the female.
Horizontal Circumference. — The figures representing the horizontal circum-
ference of head and skull require mention solely in order to indicate that the
great excess of this dimension of the head over the corresponding measurement of
the skull in the females is almost certainly due to the same influence as was
mentioned with reference to the length of the head in females, viz., the amount
and the mode of dressing the hair. It follows that the figure relating to the
ht-ad is rather too great.
128 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH AKD B. H. PAIX. — A
The Nose. — The nose and its dimensions next claim o'ur attention. In both
sexes the nasal height measured on the living subject approximates closely to the
corresponding dimension as measured on the skull ; but in respect of nasal width
a most remarkable difference exists, and is attributable not only to the expansion
of the aloe nasi in the case of the head, but also and more characteristically to the
narrowness of the apertura pyriformis nasi of the skull. (As will be mentioned in
another connection, a nasal index of 32'7 has been observed by one of us in a
Greenlander skull.) We have supplemented the foregoing discussion of the
measurements by diagrams drawn to scale on quadrille paper, and embodying all
the dimensions observed by us which can be studied in norma facialis (Figs. 2, 3).
In preparing the diagrams, which are half the actual size of the originals, the
average values of the maximum breadth of head and skull for the two sexes
respectively were first marked. Outlines from photographs of male and female
Eskimo skulls were then used as guides in the completion of the contours, which
are thus those of the photographs mentioned, but modified in accordance with the
values obtained for the several dimensions. It must be noted that the average
value of the bigonial breadth has been made use of, but as this was determined on
the living persons only and not on crania, no discussion on this part of the subject
is possible.
Indices. — "We may now pass on to the subject of cranial -indices, and we must
in the first place compare those based on the average dimensions of the Eskimo
head with those which are derived from the average dimensions of the skull in
this race. And inasmuch as our own observations relate to two series of skulls,
one being the Cambridge series, and the other that of the museum of the Royal
College of Surgeons in London, we have combined data from both these
collections in order to arrive at an average value for each dimension based on a
sufficiently large number of individual records. But it is necessary to state very
explicitly that three sets of data are to be kept quite apart and distinct for the
very sufficient reason that in this combined series of indices (based on the stud}'
of male and female crania in both collections), the data relating to each sex
are kept entirely apart; whereas in two other series of averages, referred to
hereinafter as the College of Surgeons series and the Cambridge series respectively,
the average figures are derived from observations on males and females without
distinction. We will therefore first take Table No. II, where the data for male
skulls are kept distinct from those relating to female crania. Our measurements
enabled us to determine the indices of the averages in five sets of dimensions,
so as to afford average figures for five indices. It is perhaps hardly necessary
to mention that this gives a slightly different result from a simple determination
of the average of the indices. The indices are as follow : — The cephalic or
breadth index (the maximum length and not the ophryo-occipital length of the
head or skull being employed), the facial index of Kollmann (nasi-alveolar
facial length and bizygomatic facial breadth), the naso-malar index of Oldfield
Thomas (jugo-nasal arc and chord), the orbital and the nasal indices (of Broca).
to Eskimo Craniology. 129
Correspondence of Indices of Head ivith Skull in Males, compared with corrc-
s/><i/i<fence of the same Indices in Females. — We find a slight difference between the
sexes when we compare the correspondences and the divergences of the indices in
the head and skull respectively. For instance, the sexes differ when the breadth
index is in question, but they agree in respect of the orbital and the nasal indices,
and on the whole the agreements are greatef than the differences.
The Males alone. — If we consider the males alone, we shall find that the facial
and the naso-malar indices reveal, by their similarity in head and skull, a close
agreement as regards the proportions expressed by those indices, from which we
argue that these indices, when obtained from measurements of crania, afford
relatively reliable information as to the proportions of the face in the particular
race under consideration (the Eskimo). Especially is this the case with
Kollmann's facial index. It must not, however, be forgotten that these remarks
refer to the case of the average and not to that of the individual example. In
the next place, but always treating of the males alone, the breadth, the orbital, and
the nasal indices yield average values more or less different in the head and the skull
respectively, the greatest divergence being presented by the nasal index. Reverting
to the breadth index, we see that the figure for the Eskimo head (77), differs from
that of the skull (7T5) by no less than 5'5 units. The difference is estimated by
Boas (Zeitschrift fur Ethnologic, 1895, Band xxvii) at 2%2 units for the Eastern
Eskimo, arid though this figure appears to us to be too low, yet we think that 5-5
is undoubtedly too high. In fact, this difference is influenced by the two factors
mentioned previously in discussing the relation of the maximum length of the
head to the maximum length measured upon the skull. We there saw that our
observations in the case of the head yielded a figure (191*15 mm.) probably below
the true average, whereas the corresponding measurements on the skull gave (in
consequence of two weathered skulls being admitted) too high an average figure
(190 mm.). Both influences determine the magnitude of the difference of
5 '5 whicli we are now discussing, but the study of the indices shows us that
inasmuch as the average breadth index of the skull obtained by us agrees closely
with those obtained by earlier observers,1 we should therefore attribute a more
prominent part to the former (viz., the measurement of the length of the head in
the living) than to the latter (viz., the measurement of the length of the skull) in
producing the discrepancy in question, and Bordier's record (Topinard, op. tit.,
p. 409, average index of four Eskimo heads 73'7) supports this conclusion. In
other words, the difference observed between the cephalic indices of the average head
and of the average skull is greater than is probably the case in reality ; and it is
probably due to the fact ' that the figure (77) representing this index for the
average head is too great, and not so much to the fact that the figure (71*5) which
is the index for the average skull is too small.
1 Cf. Topinard, Elements cFAnthropologie Generate, p. 357, De Quatrefages and Hamy
(Crania Ethnica, average breadth index of two Eskimo skulls from Labrador in the Blumen-
bach collection, 70'5), also Boas, loc. cit., and Schenk (Bulletin de la Soc. Neuchdtcl: de
(Je'oyraphie, 1899).
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). K
l:U) W. L. H. DUCKWORTH AND F>. H. PAIN. — A Contribution
Orbital Index. — In the two remaining indices, differences of considerable
degree are also found to exist when the figures relating to the average head are
compared with those yielded by the average skull. This difference in the case
of the orbital index is probably determined by the slight inaccuracy in determining
the width or horizontal diameter of the orbit in the living subject. As a rule it is
almost impossible to determine this diameter in a way strictly comparable to that
employed when the skull is being measured. Males and females are alike in
respect of this difference in the orbital index, and the disturbing cause is probably
the same in both.
Nasal Index. — As regards the nasal index, we find here, as we should expect,
the greatest difference between the cephalic and the cranial figures, amounting to
nearly 19 units. As was previously remarked, there is a great difference between
the nasal width as measured on the living subject and the width of the apertura
pyriformis nasi, known as the nasal width of the skull.
Female Examples. — The preceding remarks refer to male subjects. When we
pass to the consideration of the female crania, we find in respect of the cephalic
or breadth index a much closer agreement between the average head and skull
than in the male. It must be remembered that we are dealing with very small
numbers of specimens here, as undoubted female Eskimo skulls, especially from
Labrador, are scarce. Carr's figures, quoted by Topinard (op. cit., p. 376), give a
figure (70'9) considerably below ours (73'1), so that we cannot suppose that the
sexual factor is accountable for the difference between the average male and the
average female skull in respect of the breadth index as shown in our table. "We
think that further discussion will be more profitable when a larger number of
female heads and of female crania have been measured, and the results will almost
certainly show that the correction necessary to obtain the cephalic index of the
living individual from the index yielded by the skull will be different in the two
sexes. Such an allowance for the sexual factor is made in other instances by Mies
(see Eipley, L'Anthropologie, 1896, and Topinard, op. cit., list of references, p. 374).
With regard to the facial index, it is equally hard to explain the discrepancy
that exists between the average female head and skull. Most probably the
determination of the nasi-alveolar length in the living is the disturbing factor.
The remarks already made with respect to the naso-malar, to the orbital, and
to the nasal indices in the males apply equally to the females and need no
supplement in this place.
Other Series of Measurements and Records. — It remains to mention the results
of our measurements of the Eskimo crania in the museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons and of those in the Cambridge Anatomical Museum. We may repeat
the warning that the figures we are now considering relate to all Eskimo crania,
male and female alike, in each of those collections, whereas up to this point we
have kept the data based on observations on male crania apart from those yielded
by female skulls. We have, moreover, in the case of the series at the museum
of the College of Surgeons, a larger number of individuals than was available
/" Exldmo Cranial < ><///. 1 •"• 1
for the construction of Table IA, on which to base our conclusions ; and at
Cambridge skulls from Labrador form a very large proportion of the whole series.
The data enable us to calculate the five average indices already spoken of in
connection with the measurements of the head (viz., the cephalic or breadth
index, the facial index of Kollmann, the naso-malar index of Oldfield Thomas,
the orbital index of Broca, and the nasal index of Broca). We will first
institute comparisons of the cephalic or breadth index of the skulls in the
museum of the Royal College of Surgeons comprising males and females,
with the same index derived from the study of male skulls alone (from the
College of Surgeons and from Cambridge). We see (Table III) that when
male skulls alone are considered the index of the average (71 '5) is slightly
lower than the average of all the Cambridge skulls (eleven in number) measured ;
while it is distinctly below that (72'03) of the males and females measured
at the College of Surgeons (twenty-four in number). In the whole series of
comparisons the differences do not exceed 2'5 units, except in the case of the
facial index of Kollmann, where the difference amounts to 3'18 units. But the
disturbing series is that at Cambridge, and the modifying factor is almost certainly
the index given by an adult female skull (1872) which amounts to the unusually
high figure of 62'3 ; and since only six skulls of this series were available for the
determination of this particular index, the influence of a single index of* such high
value is brought out very strongly in the average. On the whole, then, we conclude
that the records of Table II amount to a very close approximation to the actual
state of cranial proportions in the Eastern group of the Eskimo. We have also
analysed the cranial characters of the Labrador Eskimo as represented by the
specimens presented by Dr. Curwen to the Cambridge Anatomical Museum ; we
have carefully revised the measurements of these skulls (published by one of us in
1895 in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute) and the indices derived from the
measurements, and in working out the averages of the indices obtained, it became
apparent that the greatest divergences from the averages were met with in the
skulls of the Labrador Eskimo, and not among the skulls of the Greenland Eskimo.
Not only was the greatest divergence in the averages found in the cephalic,
vertical, and nasal indices, and also in the horizontal circumference of the
Labrador Eskimo skull, but in the ten specimens which comprise the series,
the Labrador skulls were the most divergent from one another. In the cephalic
index this was most striking, the highest index of all the ten skulls being provided
by a Labrador skull with an index of 75*4, and the lowest of all the ten skulls
being that of a Labrador skull with an index of only 65*8. Again, considering the
horizontal circumference in the series of ten skulls, the largest circumference (of
550 mm.) is that of a Labrador skull, and the smallest circumference (476 mm.) is
also that of a skull from Labrador. A similar variation was found in the faciaJ
index of Kollmann — the average was 54*36, but the greatest index above this
number was that of a Labrador Eskimo skull (index = 62'3). So the point
which seems to be worth emphasising is this : that in comparing Labrador and
K 2
132 W. L. H. DUCKWOKTH AND B. H. PAIN. — A Contribution
Greenland Eskimo, the greatest divergences are to be met with in the crania
of Labrador Eskimo, and that the crania of the Greenland Eskimo are more
constant in the particular features observed.
The actual figures and the average indices will be found in Table IV (q.v.).
CERTAIN CRANIOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF THE ESKIMO.
The second part of our communication deals, as has been previously
intimated, with certain craniological features of the Eskimo as viewed in the
light of observations incidentally made in the course of the foregoing investiga-
tions. The following are those to which special attention has been paid : —
The scaphocephalic character of the Eskimo cranium ;
The frequency of a persistent infra-orbital suture ;
The asymmetry of the foramen magnum ;
The usage of the teeth, especially of the incisors ;
The thickening of the body of the mandible ;
The characters of the skull of the Eskimo child ;
and the percentage frequency of several of these will be found in Table V.
Scaphoid Skulls and Obliteration of Sutures. — It is well known that a scaphoid
appearance of the cranium (most easily perceptible when the view is that of norma
facialis or occipitalis) is very common in Eskimo crania ; and whereas such a degree
of scaphocephaly is very commonly (but by no means invariably) associated with
obliteration, either partial or complete, of the sagittal suture in the skulls of other
races, such synostotic fusion of the two parietal bones is in the Eskimo crania
not nearly so common as in those of other races. An extreme degree of
development of the scaphoid character is to be seen in the skull labelled A.B., 8,
15, 141, of the collection in the Anatomy School at Copenhagen, and this skull
presents 110 sign of even incipient obliteration of the sagittal suture. We have
tested the accuracy of the statement, as regards Eskimo crania in general, by
observations on twenty-eight crania of Eskimo in the museum of the College of
Surgeons in London. In eleven of these the scaphoid character was strongly
marked, but only in one of the eleven was there anything more than quite a
negligible amount of sagittal synostosis. Other very good examples of the degree
of scaphocephaly which may be attained before the sagittal suture has become
obliterated is to be observed in the cranium No. 48 A of the Anatomical Museum at
Kiel, and in an Eskimo skull at Halle. In this Eskimo cranium, obliteration of
the sagittal suture is incipient only. The other three crania on the same negative
(Fig! 4), though not Eskimo, are not without interest, as showing the absence of
the scaphoid character of the cranial vault in specimens in which the sagittal
suture had become obliterated at an early (and in one case at an almost infantile)
period.1 This is a convenient place to mention that in contrast to the foregoing
condition, where the sagittal suture remains unclosed, and also to the next subject
1 We thus have evidence that Virchow's well-known generalisation on this subject is not
without exceptions.
to Eskimo Cranioloyy. 133
of consideration, vi/., the persistence of the infra-orbital suture on the facial
aspect of the cranium, there may occur in aged individuals a very complete
syuostosis even among the Eskimo. Such an aged skull is to be seen in the
Stuttgart Museum. In this specimen synostosis has occurred even in the maxillo-
malar suture, which has been obliterated thereby.
Infra-orbital Suture. — The comparatively great frequency witli which the facial
part of the infra-orbital suture persists in adults seems to be another characteristic
of Eskimo crania. The following data have been collected by us in illustration of
the frequency of this occurrence : —
In the very large collection of skulls of the Greenland Eskimo in the
anatomical museum of the University at Copenhagen, one hundred and eighty-
five examples were examined, and the suture found in eighty-one skulls on one or
the other side of the face. Of the collection of Eskimo crania in the museum of
the Eoyal College of Surgeons in London, twenty-four were examined, and
nineteen showed persistence of the suture, in fifteen of which the persistence was
bilateral, the suture remaining on one side only in the other four specimens.
Combining the two sets of observations, we may say that the suture persisted in
one hundred out of two hundred and nine crania of Eskimo adults.
It would seem from observations on crania of the gorilla that persistence of
the suture may be associated with great lateral expansion of the upper maxilla,
for in the crania of gorillas the suture persists for a considerable time: the
well-known characteristic of Eskimo skulls, viz., great bi-malar width, would thus
be explained. But this is not an entirely satisfactory explanation, for in the
orang-utan, an ape in which there is at least as great a development of the upper
maxilla in the lateral direction, as in the gorilla, the infra-orbital suture is closed
comparatively very early.
The Contour of the Foramen Magnum. — The foramen magnum and its surround-
ings next claim attention. The pyriform shape due to imperfect ossification
at the posterior margin is a very frequent character, though it is perhaps hardly
correct to speak of it as an anomaly, for it is apparently a retention of the
infantile character of this foramen. It was observed in nine out of twenty -four
skulls in the museum of the Eoyal College of Surgeons, and in four out of
eleven cases at Cambridge. Asymmetry of the marginal contour is also not
uncommon ; sometimes the condyles are associated, involved in the distortion.
At Copenhagen two hundred and nine Eskimo crania were examined with reference .
to the occurrence of asymmetry in the margin of the foramen magnum, and three
instances of this condition occurred. At the museum of the Eoyal College of
Surgeons the frequency of this asymmetry in Eskimo skulls was much greater,
viz., four cases among twenty-eight crania. Combining the two sets of data, the
frequency observed is seven in tw<> hundred and thirty-seven crania.
Additional Fn<ri ,,„ mi'tyi'ii of Foramen M<t<j ni/m. — As regards the frequency
of occurrence of an additional articular facet on the anterior margin of
the foramen magnum, this was presented by three skulls only out of one
134 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH AND B. H. PAIN. — A Contribution
hundred and eighty-five crania of Greenland Eskimo (Copenhagen collection)
examined.
Eustachian Processes. — It is convenient to mention in this place that two out
of fifty-five Eskimo skulls (at Copenhagen) bear large Eustachian processes on the
petrous hones on either side (such processes being commoner in the lower than in
the higher races, and not infrequent in gorilla skulls).
The Teeth. — The following notes refer to the condition of the teeth : — Among the
Eskimo skulls in the Copenhagen collection, the appearance described long ago
(1861, Nat. Hist. Review) by Lord Avebury as characteristic of Greenlanders is
not met with very frequently. The Copenhagen skulls are mentioned separately
as being those of Greenlanders, but the appearance referred to (the incisors
meeting edge to edge and the surface becoming much worn) is not frequent
among the Eskimo crania in the collections in London and Cambridge, including
crania from Labrador. In one skull at Copenhagen the lateral incisors had not
been developed, although the skull was that of an adult. The palate in this
specimen is wide and the teeth large. In three crania of the same Eskimo
series, and also (and especially) in the Eskimo skull No. 48A of the anatomical
collection at Kiel (the specimen figured in connection with synostosis and scapho-
cephaly), the same curious dislocation of the molars so frequent among Maori and
Mori-ori skulls (where there is great usage of the lateral surface of the crown and
of the exposed root or roots) is observed (cf. Scott, Trans. N. Zealand Institute,
1893 ; and W. L. H. Duckworth, this Journal).
Thickening' of the Mandible. — The next point to which we must refer is a
remarkable thickening of the body of the mandible, not exclusively confined
to, but very common in, Eskimo and Greenland crania. The thickening is
most marked about the level of the second molar tooth, and is due to a
subperiostial deposit, the exciting cause of which is uncertain. This thickening
was observed in six out of twenty-four Eskimo crania in the museum of the
Koyal College of Surgeons, and in four mandibles out of eight at Cambridge.
Nasal Skeleton. — Several points in connection with the nasal skeleton deserve
special mention. Thus in two skulls out of fifty-six at Copenhagen well marked
pre-nasal fossrc were observed ; again, in the Anatomical Museum at Kiel, where
there is a collection of some ten skulls from Greenland, excessively attenuated
nasal bones are seen in specimen No. 11, while No. 19 of the same series has the
lowest nasal index (viz., 32*7) with which we have yet met.
Crania of Children. — The Kiel series, moreover, contains three crania of
Eskimo children, which are of special interest, for they enable us to learn which of
the striking characters of the adult Eskimo cranium have been early acquired, and
which are assumed comparatively late in the period of growth from childhood.
Other crank were carefully observed with this object in view, and the opportunity
was taken of similarly observing some crania of Eskimo children at Copenhagen.
Though the support of numerical data cannot yet be appealed to, it is submitted
that the following characters of the adult Eskimo crania appear very early, and
to Eskimo Cmnioloyy. 135
therefore may be regarded in the adult as retentions of infantile characters.
These are : —
1. The dolichocephalic character. (Two mesaticephalic Eskimo crania were
seen at Copenhagen, but these were not crania of children and were
possibly not pure Eskimo.)
2. A megasemic orbital aperture.
3. A pyriform contour of the foramen magnum.
4. A flattened nasal skeleton.
5. Prominence of the chin. (This prominence is perhaps more apparent, in
consequence of the condition referred to in No. 4, than real.)
6. Small mastoid processes.
7. A longitudinal palatine torus.
8. Persistence of the infra-orbital suture.
Whereas the following characters have been acquired by the skull in the course
of growth : —
1. A low nasal index depending on relative narrowness of the apertura
pyriformis nasi.
2. A scaphocephalic cranium without sagittal synostosis.
3. Greater prominence of the malar bones.
In concluding this paper, we wish to refer to two other specimens at
Copenhagen, viz., A.B., a, 56, a Greenland cranium remarkable for being atypical in
its facial though typical in its cranial features, and thus constituting a transitional
type ; and No. 159, where the external pterygoid plate is most curiously per-
forated and a reduplication of Civinini's foramen may be seen (the question of
weathering is excluded). Finally, we have to reserve the consideration of the brain
of the Eskimo, though the accounts of Chudzinski and Hrdlicka are not quite in
accord on this subject, and the subject is one of great interest.
References to and explanations of the accompanying tables will be found in
the text ; but further, we have added a series of notes provided by Mr. Taber,
and it should be understood that they are recorded without comment and
as nearly as possible in the form in which they were communicated to us, for
they belong to rather a different aspect of anthropology from that to which we
have endeavoured to confine ourselves in the foregoing communication.
136
W. L. H. DUCKWOUTH AND B. H. IJAIN. — A Contribution
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Maximum breadth of head....
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to Eskimo Craniology.
137
TABLE I.
NOTE I. — It is to be noticed that in four cases the figures here given differ slightly from those
published in the Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. The four figures
are marked thus x , as in the case of the facial breadth. An error in the measurement
of this dimension in one of the men, " John," was detected in revising the averages, and
raises this average by '5 mm., and in the case of the women an alteration of '1 mm. is
needed ; the other two are altered, i.e., slightly increased, by the inclusion of the
measurements of another individual, so that these averages are now based on data from
five instead of four individuals.
TABLE IA.
NOTE I. — The above dimensions, with the exception of the maximum length and the horizontal cir-
cumference, are reproduced in the diagrams (see Figs. 2 and 3).
NOTE II. — The average value for the maximum length of the head when the records made by
Virchow are combined with our data is 192*4 mm. (fourteen heads). Virchow's other
data have not been worked up into combination with ours. Cf. Virchow, Zeitschrift
fiir Ethnologie, Band xii, 1880.
NOTE III.— See also Schenk, Bull, de la Soc. Neuchdt. de Geographic ; abstracted in the Centralblatt
fiir Anthropologie, 1900. Two skulls of Labrador Eskimo in the Lausanne Museum are
described, and among other measurements we find : Hor. circ. 540 and 533, average
536'0(-), which with our figures gives an average of 526 for nineteen skulls, supposing
the Lausanne skulls to be those of males. Facial breadth, 137 and 134, average
135'5— with our figures gives 138'6(1D) as the average. But our figures are only very
slightly altered thereby.
TABLE 11.
TABLE ill.
Males.
Males and
Males.
Females.
Females.
Indices based on data
Data provided
provided in Table IA.
Indices.
in Table IA.
E.C.S.
C.
Head.
Skull.
Head.
Skull.
Head.
Skull.
Skull.
Skull.
Cephalic or breadth ....
77
71-5
74-5
731
Cephalic or breadth ....
77
71-5
72-03
71-8
Facial (Kollmann) ....
51-4
51-8
50-7
54-2
Facial (Kollmann) ....
51-4
51-8
51-18
54-36
Naso-malar (Thomas)
109-6
107
108-3
106-1
Naso-malar (Thomas)
109-6
107
106
107-9
Orbital
81-9
87-5
85-7
90-1
Orbital
81-9
87-5
88-5
88-65
Nasal
64-1
45-3
62-4
44
Nasal
64-1
45-3
42-8
45-55
R.C.S. Museum of Eoyal College of Surgeons.
C. Cambridge Anatomical Museum.
TABLE IV. — AVERAGES OF MEASUREMENTS OF THE TEN SKULLS OF ESKIMO IN
THE ANATOMICAL MUSEUM AT CAMBRIDGE.
[. Average Cephalic Index = 71'8. 10 skulls (Labrador and Greenland).
/Greatest div. above = 75'4 \ Both Labrador
\ „ „ below = 65 -8 / skulls.
4 Greenland skulls. Average Cephalic Index = 72'5.
6 Labrador - 79-ns.f Greatest div. above = 75'4\ Both Labrador
°l „ below = 65-8 / skulls.
138
W. L. H. DUCKWORTH AND B. H. PAIN. — A Contribution
II. Average Vertical Index = 73*5. 9 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = ^\both Labrador- skulls.
„ „ below = o9'3J
III. Average Orbital Index = 88'65. 8 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 94'7 — a Labrador skull.
„ „ below = 78'6
IV. Average Nasal Index = 45*55. 7 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 2 of 50 — one was a Labrador skull.
„ ,, below = 40'3— a Labrador skull.
V. Average Facial (Kollmann) Index = 54'36. 6 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 62'3 — a Labrador skull.
„ „ below = 49-3
VI. Average Naso-Malar Index = 107'9. 7 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 113'6 — a Greenland skull.
„ ,, below = 105'3 „
Average of Labrador skulls = 107*5 — (more constant).
VII. Average Gonio-zygomatic Index = 80'5. 7 skulls. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 89 — a Greenland skull.
„ ,, below = 72 3 „
Average Labrador skull = 8T07 — (most constant).
VIII. Average Stephano-zygomatic Index = 80'9. Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 91"5— a Labrador skull,
below = 74'6 — a Greenland skull
IX. Average Palato-maxillary Index = 112'1.
Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 120 — a Greenland skull,
below = 105'3 — a Labrador skull.
X. Average Horizontal Circumference = 513'5.
Labrador and Greenland.
Greatest divergence above = 550 — a Labrador skull,
below = 476 — a Labrador skull
TABLE OF VARIATIONS IN TEN ESKIMO SKULLS AT CAMBRIDGE.
Labrador 01
L- Greenland.
,Eange
nf
Index or Character.
OI
Variation.
Highest.
Lowest.
I. Cephalic
71-8
9-6
75-4—65-8
Labrador
Labrador.
II. Vertical
73-5
9-9
79-2—69-3
„
„
III. Orbital
88-65
16-1
94-7—78-6
„
Greenland.
IV. Nasal
45-55
9-7
50-0—40-3
„
Labrador.
V. Facial (Kollmann) ....
54-36
13-0
62-3—49-3
V
Greenland.
VI. Naso-malar
107-9
8-3
113-6—105-3
Greenland
„
VII. Gonio-zygomatic ....
VIII. Stephano-zygomatic
IX. Palato-maxillary ....
80-5
80-9
112-1
6-7
16-9
14-7
89-0—72-3
91-5—74-6
120—105-3
Labrador
Greenland
Labrador.
X. Horizontal circum-
ference
513-5
74-0
550 -476
Labrador
Labrador.
to Eskimo Cranioloyy.
TABLE V.
139
Frequency of occurrence of certain anomalies.
Per cent,
(figures in
brackets
indicate the
absolute
number
examined).
Aboriginal
Australians.
Per cent.
Gorillas.
Per cent.
Persistence of pars facialis of the infra-orbital suture
47-84 (2Mi)
43-4
18-8
Pyriform shape of the foramen magnum
Asymmetry of the foramen magnum ....
40 (»)
2'95 (*S7)
—
—
Third articular facet on margin of foramen magnum
1-61 (iss)
15-15
1
Eustachian spines on basal surface of petrous bones ....
3-63 (•>•'')
—
—
Thickening of the body of the mandible
30 ('-')
—
—
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FURNISHED BY MR. R G. TABER.
I. Names. — No family names. Tribal names derived from district, e.g., Nackvack
tribe, etc.
II. Religion.— These Eskimo are all Christians. The Moravians, who are missionaries and
traders, have had a station at Hebron for nearly 80 years. " Wise men " or
"Conjurors" disappear when a tribe becomes Christianised. One of Taber's
Eskimo was formerly a " wise man," but since becoming a Christian has retired
from that profession.
III. Marriage. — This is celebrated according to the Moravian rite among the Christianised
Eskimo, one of the missionaries officiating ; should the services of a missionary not
be available, marriage would probably not be postponed on this account. Polygamy
has ceased among the Christianised Eskimo. One of Taber's Eskimo had two wives
formerly.
IV. Intermarriage, and Half-breeds. — As a general rule half-breeds are uncommon. The
Eskimo never, so far as is known, intermarry with Indians in Labrador, so the
parentage of the half-breeds, as in the case of the child Nancy in Taber's party, is
generally European and Eskimo. So great is the dislike of the Eskimo for the
Indian, that when two parties meet at a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company,
they invariably camp far apart, in some cases on different banks of a river.
V. Movements. — In summer the Eskimo of Labrador wander considerable distances along
the coast and over the islands ; the Indians in summer also invade Labrador,
retiring in winter, though in summer they may travel as far north as Cape
Chudleigh.
VI. Climate of 'Labrador. — Taber has written a detailed account of this in an American
periodical called Outing. In winter there is daylight between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The general appearance of the environs of Hebron is, to judge from photographs,
desolate in the extreme.
VII. Decrease in the Eskimo Population is ascribed by Taber to the following influences : —
Use of European dwelling-places. Cooked food ; the Eskimo cook almost all food
now, except certain small fish, which are eaten raw. Admixture by marriage.
General changes in mode of life owing to European influence.
VIII. General Folklore. — Taber is about to publish the accounts furnished by the Labrador
Eskimo of the origin of the seal ; of the origin of the ': Northern Lights " ;
also a legend of a great flood.
IX. Knjaks. — The Labrador model is identical, even in details, with that in use in Greenland
and figured by Nansen (Eskimo Life). One of Taber's Eskimo, "John," said that
balancing by means of the paddle was not necessary for a good kajak man, who
would be quite independent of such an use of the paddle.
140 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH AND B. H. PAIN. — A Contribution to Eskimo Craniology,
DISCUSSION.
Mr. SHRUBSALL remarked that the papers just read raised questions of con-
siderable interest from several points of view. Physical measurements are of
value as aids to the interpretation of other evidence as to the past history of the
Eskimo, who are contrasted by different observers with certain of the inhabi-
tants of Southern France in the early stone age as represented by the skeletal
remains found at Chancelade, in the Dordogne, with the Fuegians and other
dolichocephalic tribes of South America, and with the peoples of North-eastern
Asia. To these the Eskimo present certain resemblances, most closely to the
latter, the balance of evidence being in favour of their Asiatic origin.
Dr. J. DENIKER, Librarian of the Jardin des PI antes, and Honorary Fellow of
the Anthropological Institute, complimented the authors of the papers on the
results of their investigation, and regretted that the rarity of observations hitherto
makes it difficult to arrive at a definite conclusion in regard to the affinities of the
Eskimo. In regard to the theory of an Asiatic origin, it should be remembered
that though there are representatives of the Eskimo in Siberia, they cannot be
traced back in Asia more than three or four centuries, and are therefore probably
themselves of American origin. In regard to their South American affinities, he
referred to the valuable work of Dr. G arson on the Fuegians, and to his own
memoirs on the same people published in collaboration with Dr. Hyacles,1 and
pointed out the probability that the dolichocephalic stocks of the more northerly and
southerly regions of the New World, which, however, their other characters show
not to have been identical with them, might at one time have been driven apart
from one another into their present habitats. Referring to the works of Dr. Boas
and Dr. RinTc, he said that the original home of Eskimo seems to be the land between
Hudson's Bay and Southern Alaska. From these regions they migrated to the
east, west, and north. In this way the Labrador Eskimo of the vicinity of- Hudson
Bay may be very pure representatives of the Eskimo race, which is distinct from
other American races, and displays some characteristics of the Ugrian race, such as
short stature, dolichocephaly, the peculiar shape of the eyes, and the like.
Mission Stientifique du Cap Horn, vii. Par P. Hyades et J. Deniker. Paris, 1891.
Joicrnail ^flKe Anthropological Insii lute. Vo I %XJL (N.3. 111). Plale XVJ1
o*.
o
2
5
a*
o*
iZ
Journal of the Anthropological Iiitlitutt-, Vol. XXX (=S.S. Ill), Plate AT'///.
VIEWS IN NORMA FACIALIS (NOS. 1-4) AND NORMA LAfERALIS (NOS. 5-8) OF FOUR
SKULLS FROM THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF HUMAN ANATOMY AT KIEL.
The Eskimo cranium (Nos. 4 and 8) is very scaphoid, yet synostosis in the sagittal suture
is not complete. In the three European crania (Nos. 1-5, 2-6, 3-7) the smallest of which
(Nos. 2-6) is a very young skull, complete obliteration of the sagittal suture through premature
synostosis is seen to have occurred without any accompanying scaphocephalic appearance. In
two of the European crania (Nos. 1-5, 2-6) practically no deformation has occurred, though in
the smaller of these, synostosis was very complete in all the cranial sutures. In the largest
European cranium (Nos. 3-7), some distortion has been produced in the direction of
acrocephaly.
These specimens afford examples of exceptions to the general rule enunciated by
Virchow as to the relation between cranial growth, and synostosis of cranial sutures.
I
ON A COLLECTION OF CRANIA, WITH TWO SKELETONS, OF THE
MORI-ORI, OR ABORIGINES OF THE CHATHAM ISLANDS. WITH
A NOTE ON SOME CRANIA. FROM THE SAME ISLANDS NOW
IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.
BY W. L. H. DUCKWORTH, M.A., Jesus College, Lecturer on Physical Anthropology
in the University of Cambridge.
[READ JUNE 12-ra, 1900.]
THE following notes are descriptive of ten crania, with two skeletons, which have
been recently added to the Anatomical Collection at Cambridge. The only
information that is available respecting their provenance is to the effect that they
were sent to this country by Mr. H. A. Travers, of Wellington, New Zealand.
Mr. Travers's collection is mentioned by Professor Turner in the Challenger reports,
and it is believed that the specimens now under consideration are certainly
genuine. Eight appear to be male skulls, and two (with the skeletons) are
probably those of females.
The description will fall into two subdivisions, in the first of which the most im-
portant characters of the specimens will be enumerated ; and this will be succeeded
by a brief discussion on the kind and degree of resemblance of the crania to those
already treated of by others under the description of Mori-ori or Chatham Island
skulls. In the first place, whereas the members of this series of ten skulls
are very generally alike, they agree particularly in presenting a combination of
features much more suggestive of an affinity with a Polynesian than with a
Melanesian physical type. Thus the breadth of the cranium is distinctly greater
(relatively) and the parietal eminences are more outstanding than is the case in
typical Melanesian crania ; the cranial capacity, however, does not afford a means
of discrimination, though it is slightly in excess of the average value obtained from
Melanesian series, the crania being in fact of moderate size. A striking feature
which they share with typical Polynesian crania is a rounding off of the angle of
the mandible, whereby the estimation of the value of that character in degrees is
rendered more difficult than usual. The glabellar prominence is in few cases well
developed, and herein, again, the affinity is with crania of Polynesian rather than
of Melanesian origin. Symmetrical flattening on either side of the sagittal suture
gives rise to a very distinctly pentagonal appearance in norma occipitalis ; this has
already been recorded as a characteristic of a Mori-ori skull described by Hyrtl
(quoted by Turner). There is no case of a fronto-squamous articulation at the
pterion, although in several cases epipteric ossicles are seen.
Finally, we may mention two classes of abnormalities, the first of which might
be described as adaptive, though its real significance is not quite clear, It consists
142 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH. — On a Collection of Crania, with Two Skeletons,
in a tendency, which is quite marked among these skulls, to the production of bony
paracondylar processes on the occipital bone. In the second class the variations
are pathological and consist in extreme attrition of the teeth together with a sort
of dislocation, so that the surface of the roots comes into play in the alveolar
plane. Many cases of alveolar abscess were indicated by the condition of the tooth
sockets. And finally, the frequency of the ravages of osteo-arthritis in the
bones of the skeleton is very marked ; Dr. H. A. Forbes, of Liverpool, confirms this
observation from the inspection of skeletons actually in the Chatham Islands, and
the skeleton of a Chatham Islander in the Dresden Anthropological Collection
presents unequivocal evidence of the existence of this condition.
With the above exceptions, comparatively few abnormalities have to be
noticed.
The following notes refer to the individual features of the several
crania : —
No. 1. Skull of an adult female with nearly complete skeleton. General
preservation good. Few teeth remain, and these are much worn down. At
the root of the left upper median incisor is a cavity, looking as if a cyst
or abscess had existed here. The only other remarkable point is the
conformation of the occipito-atlantic joint, which presents a rare
abnormality. Paracoudylar processes are present on each side, and of
such a size that they articulate laterally with the articular surfaces of
the atlas. Moreover, on the right side, the tip of the paracondylar
process articulates with the extremity of the transverse process of
the atlas. The left styloid process is perforated at its base by a foramen
in addition to the normal foramen styloideum. Many signs of osteo-
arthritis are seen about the pelvis and the lumbar section . of the
vertebral column, rendering the measurements of the bodies of lumbar
vertebrae of comparatively little value.
No. 2. Sex doubtful. Aged individual. Teeth much worn. Sagittal suture
completely closed. Two parietal foramina. Small paracondylar processes
present. Mastoid processes (especially the right) very small. Posterior
palatine spine bifid.
No. 3. Large male skull. A good deal weathered. The teeth are much
worn. On the margin of the foramen magnum there is situate anteriorly
a depression (probably for articulation with the odontoid process of the
axis). The carotid canals are imperfectly closed in at the apices of the
petrous bones.
No. 4. Adolescent individual, probably a female. The third molars not yet
evident. The sagittal suture is, however, almost completely closed by
synostosis, but there is no trace of scaphocephaly. One large parietal
foramen. The teeth are of excellent quality. On the anterior margin of
the foramen magnum is a small pit, possibly for the reception of the tip
of the odontoid process of the axis.
of the Mori-ori, or Aborigines of the Chatham Islands. 143
No. 5. Skull of an adult male. The teeth in good preservation. The nasal
bones are extremely reduced in size, especially in breadth. Large wormian
bones at the pterion on either side.
No. 6. Massive skull of an adult male. The mandible is thickened anteriorly
to the ascending ramus so as to resemble the condition present in many
mandibles of Eskimaux. There are paracondylar processes, that on the
right side being small. The occipital condyles throw out projections
anteriorly (cf. Poirier ; TraiU d" Anatomic humaine, Tome ler, p. 384).
No. 7. Massive skull of an adult male. Teeth much worn down. The
posterior palatine spine is bifid. The occipital condyles send forward
processes on to the basilar process of the occipital bone.
No. 8. Skull of an aged male. Slightly weathered. Teeth much worn and signs
of an abscess cavity conterminous with the antrum of Highmore on the
right. There is also a cavity of doubtful nature in connection with the
socket of the left upper median incisor. The posterior palatine spine is
bifid. Large paracondylar process on the right side.
No. 9. Skull of an adult male. Weathered and platybasic. Most of facial
skeleton destroyed. Many teeth lost. The chief features are the flattened
areas on either side of the sagittal suture, the ruggedness of the temporal
crests in that region, and the high degree of prominence of a well-marked
transverse occipital torus, the latter character resembling that described
by Miklouho-Maclay in an Australian cranium (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. W.,
vol. viii).
No. 10. Skull of an adult female with complete skeleton. Teeth much worn.
Cavity in connection with socket of left upper lateral incisor. Signs of
alveolar abscesses in margins of mandible in the region of the molar
teeth. The posterior palatine spine is bifid. There is a wormian bone
(epipteric ossicle) at each pterion. Incipient development of paracondylar
processes is observed.
We may now turn to the second portion of the present communication and
herewith inquire how far these characters and dimensions accord with accounts
previously published of genuine Mori-ori crania.
Of such accounts, that written by Professor Sir William Turner in the
Challenger reports is of first-class importance, as constituting the earliest summary
of the osteological characters of these Pacific Islanders. But not less important,
owing to the quantity of material dealt with and the minuteness of the
investigations by which it is characterised, is the work of Dr. Scott, of Otago, on
the osteology of the Maori and the Mori-ori (Transactions of the New Zealand
Institute, vol. xxvi, 1893). In this exhaustive report the skulls of nearly fifty
Mori-ori natives are described, and the resulting indices compared with those
published earlier by Turner. The latter observer had at his disposal only about
half the number of skulls mentioned in reference to Scott's work.
144 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH. — On a Collection of Crania, with Two Skeletons,
Most of the measurements made by Scott have been adopted in the present
paper, and in consideration of the comparatively small number (ten) of the crania
at Cambridge, comparisons will be herein instituted in the main with Scott's
results, without bringing into line in every case the results of Turner unless there
is a particular reason for so doing. As a matter of fact, we may sum up the matter
by saying that the present crania differ in no important respects from those at the
disposal of the above-mentioned authors, whose own accounts will be seen, from
Scott's monograph, to be remarkably consistent. Finally, the study of the
hitherto undescribed Mori-ori crania in the Museum of the Eoyal College of
Surgeons tends to exactly the same conclusion.
For comparison of results, the table on p. 145 has been devised as the most
convenient means of enabling the figures to be compared with the minimum of
cross-references.
Adopting the order of arrangement followed by Scott, the cranial capacity will
be the first subject of comparison. From the table it appears that in both series
the average value for specimens of both sexes would be designated as meso-
cephalic, but that when males alone are considered, the designation must be
megacephalic in Scott's series and mesocephalic in the Cambridge collection. The
difference, in the case of males alone, is not great (19 c.c.), and in the combined data
for skulls of both sexes there is practically identity in the results. The range of
variation is represented by the figure 395(10) in the Cambridge series, as against
365(29) for males and 465(38) for both sexes in Scott's records. Finally, the
Cambridge series contains one specimen of exceptionally high capacity similar to
those mentioned by Scott, as having been recorded by De Quatrefages and Hamy
(average of three male skulls 1,600 c.c.); this specimen at Cambridge has a
capacity of 1,685 c.c, (No. 3). The small number (two) of the female skulls
at Cambridge scarcely justifies detailed comparison of the averages obtained
from their measurements with the more extensive series recorded by Scott.
In the succeeding indices the agreement between the two sets of figures is
quite remarkable ; in three indices, viz., nasal, gnathic (alveolar), and
palatom axillary, the accordance would have been probably even greater than is
actually the case were it not for the weathering of the bones, which has for
one of its results to render accurate measurements unusually hard to obtain.
At the same time, the difference might almost be accounted for by the difference
in number of the specimens. Such agreement affords strong evidence in favour of
the authenticity of the Cambridge specimens.
One or two indices and measurements mentioned by Scott have not been
included in the table, and are more conveniently referred to here. In the first place,
the index of the foramen magnum yielded Scott the following figures: —
Average 87'3(48) for the sexes taken togother; with this we can compare the
corresponding figure for the Cambridge skulls, viz., 90'5(lO) with a range of 35'8
units, as against 23'5 in Scott's observations. Secondly, the ophryo-spino-auricular
angle gives the results. (See p. 146.)
of the J/.//7-0/1/, Hi- sl/HH'ir/iiK-* of the Chatham
145
In this table the
figures within the
small brackets
denote the num-
ber of skulls
available for sta-
tistical purposes.
All available
data.
Skulls of
both
sext-s.
Skulls (lf
males.
Skulls of lx>th sexes.
Distribution into groups.
Totals!
Per
cent.
Totals.
Per
cent.
Totals.
Per
cent.
Character.
Cranial capacity.
Megacephalic.
Mesocephalic.
Microcephalic.
So >t t 's series
Cambridge series
1460(i7) .
1452-1 (»)*
1416(38)
1415(i<»)
1455( »)
1436(»)
,5
3
39-5
30
13
2
34-2
20
10
5
26-3
50
Character. Cephalic Index.
Brachycephalic.
Mesaticephalic.
Dol ichocephalic.
Scott's series
< 'a in bridge series
76'1(»)
76-4(8<)*
76-3(")
78(io)
76-3(3")
78-1(8)
1
2
2-5
20
31
N
77-5
70
8
1
20
10
< 'haracter.
Vertical Index.
A krocephalic.
Metriocephalic.
Tapeinocephalic.
Scott's series
( 'ainbridge series
?
72-6(5')*
72-7(«)
72-5(i )
72-6(si)
72-2(8)
2
0
4-9
0
21
7
512
70
18
3
43-9
30
Character.
Orbital Index.
Megasemic.
Mesosemic.
Microsemic.
Scott's series
Cambridge series
90-1(«)
89-8(72)*
89(«) 88-6(32)
87-8(«) 877(7)
20
4
47-6
44-5
18
4
42-9
44-5
4
1
9-5
11
Character.
Nasal Index.
46-1(32)
44-3(7)
Platyrrhine.
Mesorrhine.
Leptorrhine.
Scott's series
Cambridge series
46 -8(<»)
46-5(72)*
46'8(«)
44-6(o)
0
0
0
0
15
2
35-7
22-4
27
7
64-3
77-6
Character.
Gnathic Index.
Prognathic.
Mesognathic. Orthognathic.
Sr-itt s serit-s
97-6(M)
97-7(*i)
97-8(3i)
0
0
22
53-7
19
46-3
Cambridge series
97-3(«)*
96(»)
96-4(7)
0
0
2
22-4
7
77-6
< 'haracter.
Palatomaxillary Index.
Brachyuranic.
Mesuranic.
Dolichurauic.
Scott's series
119-5(47)
120-8(3»)
120-8(»o)
35
89-7
4
10-3
0
0
( 'amlirioVe serie>
118-9(57)*
116-3(io)
115-4(8)
8
80
0
0
2(?)
30(1)
* It must be noticed that the figures thus marked refer to data collected from all available sources, i.e.,
S.-ott's results from all sources combined with those yielded by the Cambridge specimens : for economy of
spare it was thought permissible to place these figures in the positions they now occupy, although, as will be
seen, those particular lines are otherwise exclusively devoted to the Cambridge specimen^.
Vor, XXX (N.S. III). L
140 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH. — On a Collection of Gran in, n-llk Tn-n
Male.
Both sexes.
Scott's observations
No.
Average.
No.
Average.
32
»T
67°
42
n
67° 30
The nearness of these average results is the more striking when it is
remembered that Scott's measurements were made with the aid of Broca's
goniometer, while in the case of the Cambridge specimens the angles were
measured after the including lines had been drawn through the several points
projected by means of Broca's stereograph.
In considering the relation of the basi-nasal length to the mesial vertical
circumference, we find that the former dimension is in the Cambridge specimens
25 '3 per cent, of the curve over the vertex from basion to nasion, as compared
with 24'7 per cent., which is recorded by Scott as the corresponding figure in his
series.
The data resulting from the measurements of the several segments of the
median sagittal arc may be summarised in the following table : —
Approximate
Approximate
correspond -
Whole
correspond-
Cambridge
Description of
Males ing frequency
Cambridge
Males
ing frequency
series (males
Specimens.
(Scott), in the whole
series, actual (Scott).
in the Cam-
only), actual
Cambridge
data.
bridge series
data.
series.
(males only).
F > O
22(32)
26(M)
8('o)
22(82)
28(32)
7(8)
F > For O
ao(w)
22(82)
7(io)
20('2)
' 20(3*)
5(8)
P > F „ 0 ....
5(30
6(32) 20o)
5(32)
8(B)
2(8)
P < F „ 0 ....
13(32)
16(»2) 5('C)
13(82)
16(32)
4(8)
0 F „ P ....
5(30
3(32)
1(10)
5(32)
4(32)
1(8)
0 F „ P
16(9)
10(8-2)
300
16(32)
12(32)
3(8)
EXPLANATORY NOTE. — F, P, and O indicate the respective lengths of the frontal, parietal,
and occipital arcs. In modifying the data yielded by the Cambridge specimens, in order to
make a closer comparison with Scott's figures, fractions have been ignored, and the nearest
whole number has been recorded. This will explain what might otherwise be considered as
errors.
From which one concludes that the two series are extremely alike.
From the measurements, we may now turn to a number of points of descrip-
tive anatomy dealt with by Scott, the first whereof to be considered is the
general shape of the cranial vault. Herein the Cambridge specimens entirely agree
with the description provided by Scott ; the same remark applies to the sutures,
<;/'///<• Mtifi-ni'i. nr Aborigines of the ('ImtJmiii /.s/^//'/s-. 147
but no case of an interparietal bone occurred (among Scott's forty-nine skulls). As
regards the region of the ptei ion, the new series presents five ossicles in this situation
in the ten skulls examined (Scott: twenty-six in nineteen skulls). Other worini;ui
bones are slightly less frequent than in Scott's series. Scott mentions the occurrence
of paramastoid processes on one side or both in each of four skulls (? out of forty-nine).
It may be possible that the term paramastoid includes processes that we should call
paracondylar. However this may be, we noticed no unusual paramastoid processes,
but in five skulls unusually well developed paracondylar processes are seen (see
especially No. 10), and we may now allude to the splendid collection of nearly seventy
Mori-ori crania in the Museum of the lioyal College of Surgeons ; among these a
long paracondylar process occurred once and on one side only. Aural exostoses
are not to be seen in the Cambridge series, but one specimen at the College of
Surgeons presents this condition. Out of seven of the (ten) Cambridge specimens,
there are four with absence or closure of the postcondylar foramen on both sides,
and in the other three this foramen exists on one side only. Scott gives its
frequency of occurrence as twenty-three (? out of forty-nine skulls), on one side
only, and complete absence in eight cases. In two male skulls at Cambridge the
massive transverse occipital torus noted by Scott is present. The position of
equilibrium of the Cambridge crania may be summarised as : anterior mastoid, four
out of ten (Scott : one in forty-nine) ; posterior mastoid, four out of ten (Scott :
eleven out of forty-nine) ; anterior condylar, two out of ten (Scott : four out of
forty-nine). The pterygo-spinons foramen of Civinini is not seen in one of the
Cambridge specimens, even in an incomplete form (Scott met with it — incompletely
developed, however — in six cases).
The nasal bones conform precisely to Scott's description. Out of the ten
Cambridge skulls, four are oxy-craspedote, and five bothro-craspedote (Scott says
that the nasal margin is " rounded off'" in twenty out of forty-nine skulls). As
regards the so-called third occipital condyle, a faint marking in one of the Cambridge
specimens suggests that an articulation may have existed in the situation of this
process. Much more distinct are the facets shown by two skulls out of the sixty-
five at the College of Surgeons. Of the lacrymal bone, it can only be said that
while two (in. the same skull) are fenestrated, this tendency, as well as that to
the formation of a fronto-maxillary articulation within the orbit, is less marked
in the ten Cambridge specimens than in Scott's series. The mandible has already
lieen commented on.
It remains to notice the usage of the teeth, and we may mention that Scott
remarks that the Mori-ori and Maori crania agree closely in this particular. Without
quoting his description in detail, we may say that the curious usage and partial
dislocation referred to by Scott and mentioned in the earlier part of this communica-
tion was observed by Scott in Maori as well as Mori-ori crania, and can also be seen
in sixteen out of sixty-eight specimens in the College of Surgeons (the Mori-ori
crania of the Barnard-Davis collection are here included). So, too, signs of
alveolar abscesses, similar to those noted in the Cambridge specimens, were seen by
i. 1'
148 W. L. H. DUCKWORTH. — On a Collection of Crania, with Tivo Skeletons,
Scott in the crania of his collection. One of the Cambridge skulls shows a curious
pit behind the third upper molar on both sides, which may have contained an
additional tooth, but no trace of such a supernumerary structure remains.1 In one
adult skull at the College of Surgeons (No. 765N) the third molar is diminutive.
Finally, it may be mentioned that an asymmetrical condition of the
foramen magnum, and a tendency to the production of exostoses in the form of
processes and bony bars (cf. Grunbaum, Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,
vol. .xxv), near its posterior and lateral margins, characterise the specimens at
Cambridge as well as those at the College of Surgeons.
To sum up, then, the chief value of the new series of Mori-ori crania will
be based on the corroborative evidence they afford of the generalisations so often
referred to in the course of this paper. At the same time, we are now in a
position to regard them as quite typical specimens of the Mori-ori race, the
difference of whose cranial characteristics from the Maori have been thus
summed up by Scott, in speaking of the Mori-ori skull : — " It differs from the
Maori skull mainly in its lesser height, both absolute and relative to length and
breadth, the greater excess of the parietal over the frontal width, the higher
orbits, and the narrower nasal opening. The depressed and retreating forehead
is also a very marked feature of many Mori-ori skulls. It is slightly broader
relatively to its length, and somewhat more prognathous. The cranial capacity is
also somewhat less. But, as already pointed out, there is often a very close
resemblance between Maori and Mori-ori skulls. The variation of the indices,
though somewhat more restricted than with the Maoris, is still considerable, and
points, like the traditions of the people, to an origin from the two great Pacific
stocks. The different types of Mori-ori skull have been already sufficiently
described."
From the study of the skulls we must now turn to that of the other bones of
the skeleton, and the following notes embody the results obtained from observation
of the two skeletons now at Cambridge : —
The Scapular Indices are represented by figures higher than those yielded by
scapulae of Europeans or Polynesians, but on the other hand are respectively lesser
and greater than the average index afforded by Melanesian scapula?.
The Clavicular Index. — Comparative data are still scanty, but it may be
mentioned that these indices exceed those of European females and even of
negresses by a good deal.
Platycnemia. — The skeleton No. 10 shows a distinct degree of platycnemia.
The other skeleton, however, does not possess this character, so that no reliance
can be placed on this indication.
Platymeria. — These indices show an extreme degree of platymeria.
In comparing the foregoing data with the records provided by Scott, it may be
1 A similar pit occurs in the upper maxilla of an orang-utan cranium in the Anthropological
Institute at Munich : it is thc^ more remarkable since this orang cranium possesses already
two supernumerary molar teeth immediately in front of the pit referred to.
of the Mori-ori, or Aboriyim-x of the Chatham Island*. 149
noticed that the scapulte of the Cambridge skeletons are broader and therefore of
an inferior type to those measured by Scott ; that the degree of platycnemia, on
the other hand, is less marked in the Cambridge specimens than in Scott's series ;
and that the differences that may exist between the right and left limbs of the
same individual are so considerable as to seriously discount the value of conclusions
drawn from any but very large series of measurements.
Stature. — The indication here is of extremely small stature — 1,470 mm. and
1,441 mm. respectively. Allowance being duly made for the sex, the indication
is rather against the skeletons having belonged to the ordinary or unmixed Poly-
nesian type.
In conclusion, the evidence from the skeletons possesses little value in
determining the race to which the individuals belonged. At least, however, ono
can note the general absence of signs of inferiority (or what are usually regarded as
possessing such a significance), while the extremely diminutive stature of these
females might possibly be cited as an exception to such a general indication.
Tlie jtc/cic indices place the specimens in the mesatipellic group of Turner.
It should be remarked that whereas the female pelvis in any case affords but
little evidence of weight in assigning to any particular race a given skeleton, the
indication here is still further obscured in the case of No. 1 (A) owing to the
occurrence of osteo-arthritis. It remains to be said that Turner is inclined to
place Melanesians in the mesatipellic group, while he supposed that Polynesians
would probably come within the dolichopellic division. The fact that this index
brings the Chatham Islands skeletons into relation with the Melanesians, while
their cranial characters are those of Polynesians, need not be regarded as of great
moment in the present state of our knowledge of the subject. On the other hand,
Scott records the indices of two male and one female Mori-ori pelves, and these
are all platypellic.
The proportions of the sacra place these in the platyhieric group, the influence
of sex being felt herein. The index of B is very high and only surpassed in
Turner's records by that of the sacrum of a Hindu female, viz., 127. Scott
remarks that of three sacra measured by him, one (a male) was platyhieric ; the
two others (male and female respectively) were at the upper limit of the subplaty-
hieric group.
As regards the lumbar indices, disease has much modified the shapes of the
lumbar centra of No. 1, hence no doubt the figure 1064, which falls in with those
found in non-pathological spines of some Australians and Tasinanians. On the
other hand, the 93*2 for No. 10 is practically identical with the average figure
deduced from observations on twenty-three Irish females (Cunningham, quoted by
Turner).
The radio-humeral and tibio-femoral ind'u-ex may be considered together.
They would place the skeletons either actually or almost in the same group as
Polynesians or Melanesians, according to Turner. No conformation indicating
inferiority is denoted by such an association.
lf>0 W. L. H. DITKWOKTH.— On n Collection of €/•"/>!", //•////. 7V,- ,S'/r/W»,/x,
tc
I
tc
rH 0 I-H 0
'— 1>— |r-HrHl-^MSvIOCOr-lrHC5OC<5
1 1 III
ipip lOG^S^CO^O^O^Cpipt^^ip^CpOC'p W"P0 CO Th •* <>1 C5 ^PP
73
be
15 J
Tin inlifnK 'i/ilirtil iiif/i-., slmws that No. I (A) has similar proportions t<> tin-
average Kuropcan, the index of No. 10 (IV) being a little higher (/>., with slightly
and «>nly very slightly longer upper extremity). The ctTcct of stature may lie
responsible for the difference.
A* n-ijnnl* the femoro-hvmerol iinlc.^ both skeletons show figures (73*5 and
717) but little removed from the average ligure (72'2) given for Europeans (Broca).
Little more can thus be added to the remarks of Scott, who from the
observation of five skeletons concludes that these "show in most instances a very
close correspondence with what we find among the Maoris."
M'ori-ori Crania.
Tallies 1, II and III present the principal dimensions, etc., of the crania and
skeletons. Table I, on p. 150, gives those of the crania.
TABLE II. — MOKI-ORI SKELETONS. TABLE III. — THE SAMK.
A. With Cranium Xo. 1. A. "With Cranium No. 1.
15. With Cranium No. 10.
B. With Cranium No. 10.
Dimension whence Indices
arc calculated.
A.
'
Indices.
A.
B.
Lengtli : humerus
„ radius
„ humerus and radius
„ femur....
285
211
496
388
271
217
488
378
Pelvic (Brim)
Sacral ....
92-5
116-8
91-4
126-9
„ tibia ....
322
307
Lumbar
106'4
93'2
„ temur and tibia
„ clavicle
Scapula :
lieight....
no
141
145
685
138
131
Radio-humeral
74
76-4
breadth
99
94
Tibio-femoial
83
81-2
length ...
107
89
Intermembral
69-8
71-2
breadth
125
113
Pelvic brim :
conjugate
J •':>
118
Humero-femoral
73-5
71-7
1 .)( i
Scapular
68-2
71-7
Tibia :
Clavicular
49-4
50-9
j, f antero-posterior
' 1 transverse
y /antero-posterior
'' \ transverse
Femur :
T, f antero-posterior
t- \ transverse
j f antero-posterior
J' \ transverse
Lumbar \ ertelme :
sum of anterior diameters ....
•2i
27
21
21
29
21
:50
i L>:>
27
18
30
18
21
30
21
30
133*
Tibia (platycnemia)
f
Femur platymeiia ....
Stature, from femur
Total pelvic . ..
77'7
72-4 R.
and
70 L.
1,470
72'5
66-6
(60 L.)
1 70 If.
>• and
J L.
1,441
76-6
sum of posterior diameters ...
T'ltal height of pelvis ....
Total breadth of pelvis
Pubo-ischiatic length ..
e i
133
is:, >
266
94
124*
182?
237
90
Scapular, infraspinous :
Right
91*7
90'4
Scapula :
infraspinous length: right side
108
104
Left
90-8
90't
infraspinous length : left side
Middle of shaft of femur :
sagittal diameter on R
sagittal diameter on L
Transverse diameter on R
Transverse diameter on L
109
23
24
24
24
1C4
23
23
24
24
Index of cavity of pelvis ...
Index of femur at middle ~l
of the shaft ... J
09-6
95
100
69-7
100
100
* B, pathological.
152
W. L. H. DUCKWORTH.— On a Collection of Crania.
TABLE IV.
To indicate some characters presented by Mori-ori crania in the Museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons. The total number examined was sixty-five.
Character.
No. of
examples.
Catalogue Nos. of specimens presenting
the character.
Percent-
age.
Asymmetry of foramen magnurn
5
761—762—763—765 E— 765 Zh.
7-69
Third occipital articular surface....
Scaphocephaly without synostosis
in sagittal suture.
Aural exostoses
Paracondylar process as in No.
10 Cambridge.
Excessive wear (with partial dis-
location) of molar teeth.
2
1
1
1
13
765 Zm— 765 Zq.
765 K.
Very Melanesian in appearance....
Strong resemblance to Maori | 1
skull at Cambridge.
765 N
765 E
765 L . . M . . U . . Zb . . Zc . . Zg . .
Zh . . Zv . . Zw . . Zx . . Zy . . Zz and
three others from the Barnard Davis
collection.
765 Zs.
765 C.
3-07
1-53
1-53
1-53
•20
1-53
1-53
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT expressed his interest in hearing that the physical evidence
was in favour of a Polynesian origin for the Mori-ori, for the reason that their
arms and implements were distinctly Polynesian in type. Unfortunately, however,
there was no greater certainty as to the true Mori-ori origin of these implements
than existed in the case of the skulls. It was clearly possible that, although found
in the Chatham Islands, the former might be the work of invading Maoris. It
must be confessed, however, that the implements from the Chatham Islands had
a different style from those found in New Zealand.
Mr. SHRUBSALL observed that the study of Mori-ori remains is most interesting
and constitutes a very essential contribution towards a complete physical history of
the races of the Pacific islands. The task is rendered the more difficult by two
factors ; firstly, by the intrinsic resemblances between the Mori-ori and Maori tribes,
both being members of the same Polynesian stock ; and secondly, by overrunning
of the Chatham Islands in 1835 by Maori invaders from the Taranaki district of
New Zealand, with the result that it is now no easy matter to decide for certain
as to the origin of any given skeletal remains which may be discovered.
( 158
THE SYSTEM OF WKITING IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
BY F. LL. GRIFFITH.
THE general appearance of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is very well known,
and the nature of it has often been explained. But it is a subject of some
importance, and one which still repays close investigation. On seeing a well
cut or painted inscription, even those who are not Egyptologists often feel a
desire to know the meaning of its signs and groups, and to understand how the
little pictures convey that meaning. If pressed for explanations, the specialist
has to avow that in a vast number of cases he cannot give sound and exhaustive
reasons for his interpretations ; he knows that the Egyptians attached such and
such meaning or significance to a sign, but often he does not understand the
connection between the picture and the sense, nor does he know what the sign
represents pictorially. In the last few years Egyptologists, each of them fol-
lowing his own bent, have endeavoured to grapple more closely with the problems
that confront them, to trace, for instance, the history of the arts and crafts
in Egypt by means of scientific excavations, or by working on the materials
in museums, and to ascertain the principles which underlie the Egyptian language
and its development, and so at length to obtain facts in place of the vague
approximations or serious misconceptions of their predecessors. In short, they
have already begun to crown the labours of Champollion, de Eouge, Brugsch,
and Lepsius — to mention only the leading names among a crowd of scientific
or enthusiastic workers — by putting the subject of Egyptology on a scientific
basis so sure that labourers in other fields may begin to employ its results
without fear that these will quickly be contradicted by the progress of further
research. In 1802 a Swede, Akerblad, commenced the decipherment of Egyptian;
now, at the commencement of the twentieth century, the subject and the study
are rapidly transforming themselves from uncertainties and guess work to precise
knowledge and exact investigation.
One branch of Egyptology requiring such investigation is the history of
lln ir/'i/tn;/. Professor Petrie has shown how finely detailed hieroglyphs of the
Old Empire tombs can instruct us as to the material civilisation of the con-
temporary Egyptians, though the artist who drew them had intended them to
ivroid in decorative style only dry names and formula'. Organised endeavours
arc now 1 icing made (especially through the agency of the Archaeological Survey
of the Egvpt Exploration Fund) to collect materials for a thorough investi.ua-
ir>4 F. LL. GuiFi'Tfii. — The >S//-s'/<'"' of Writing in Awli nt. E;ji/]>l.
tion of the hieroglyphic writing, and some of the main results at present
attained form the subject of the present paper.
The writing is made up of ideographic and phonetic elements ; in other
words, the pictures appeal in a sense both to the eye and to the ear. They
are employed as word-signs to express whole words, as phonograms to express
sounds as parts of words, and as determinatives. (A determinative, it may
be explained, is written after a word to indicate its meaning pictorially when
that might be otherwise uncertain.)
Before dealing further with these three functions of hieroglyphs, we will
notice one particular form of phonogram from which much might have been
expected, that is, the phonogram representing a single sound — the ALPHABETIC
sign. The Egyptians never took full advantage of this great discovery. At
a very early period they developed a practice of representing single sounds by
means of an alphabet of twenty-five letters, which would have enabled them,
had they so chosen, to write solely in these alphabetic signs, with a determinative
added at the end of each \vord. Large numbers of words are actually found
alphabetically spelled, especially in early times. The use of alphabetic signs
probably originated in the desire to express separately the formative and flexional
consonants that modified the meaning of words, and the signs being found useful,
their employment rapidly extended. But no advance was ever made towards
exclusive alphabetic spelling ; its adoption would have meant a complete change
in the old system, and this was not to be expected from so conservative a people
as the ancient Egyptians, who attributed their writing to the invention of the
god Thoth himself. Moreover, the artist-scribes fully appreciated the decorative
effect of hieroglyphic writing ; to have limited their choice of signs by alphabetic
spelling would have constituted a serious loss to that highly important body.
On the other hand, the abbreviation of writing towards a cursive form employed
for the longer text seems, as a matter of fact, to have led the scribes into greater
and greater complications. They sought clearness and definition, not in sim-
plicity, but by multiplying checks on error ; and more or less they achieved
their purpose. But the results were extremely cumbersome ; for example, hs
n T -O
" praise," is written \ \ QA h-hs-s, i.e., with three phonetic signs followed by
the determinative of speech. And, to take an extreme instance, the syllable nn\
/WWSA
in ordinary hieroglyphics of the middle period, is often written {k n-nw-nw-w,
i.e., with four phonetic signs. Any single sign in abbreviated or cursive writing
might easily be mistaken for some other in the immense signary, and as long
as the recognition of a word depended on the precise recognition of a single sign
rapid writing would easily be misread. But when words were spelled by a
number of signs, so grouped as to be unmistakable however clumsily drawn,
the scribe could wield his pen freely, and was satisfied.
The alphabet rendered only consonants and semi-consonants. The nature
K. L!.. (ilMl'TITII. — Tin- X//*/''"' <V ll'i'idi'!/ it
K'.IHI'1-
of llic language was such that the inflexions were produced partly liy internal
vowel changes, partly by additions of consonants and vowels at the beginning
or end of the root. When a word-sign only was employed to represent a word,
it would lie very difficult to indicate the internal vowel changes. In times
bevond our ken, presumably no changes whatever were shown, the simple word-
sign being employed for all forms of a root; but in course of time it became
customary to mark the flexional and other additional consonants by separate
signs. These consonants were the feminine ending f, a noun-formative in —
prefixed, — and *, the causative prefix to verbs, all three being of great
importance for pronunciation and the expression of meaning. Similarly, the
pronominal suffixes had to be expressed by alphabetic signs. Internal changes
of vocalization were so much more difficult to indicate than external additions
of consonants that no attempt seems ever to have been made in that direction.
It may be imagined that external vowel changes would, however, be shown, and
indeed there is evidence of it. A prefixed vowel, though generally not marked
at all, was in some texts — both early and late — indicated by l|, which here has
the function of the Arabic hamza. Whether the endings ^o, l|>(](|,\\ represent
vowel endings u, i, or whether they retain their usual semi-consonantal values,
w, y, is at present uncertain. It is probable that when serving in certain positions
as radicals, these letters were pronounced as vowels, and hence the development
of their use as vowel-endings would easily arise.
To return to the classes of the signs. Primarily WOKD-SIGNS represent the
name of the objects or actions pictured by them. By transference word-signs can
come to represent any word having the same consonantal root.
PHONOGRAMS representing sounds which are used as parts of words are
derived from word-signs ; until a very late period these were limited in number.
They fall into two groups: 1st, phonograms representing single sounds, which
we may call alphabetic or unilateral; 2ndly, those representing two sounds,
which we may call bilitcral or " syllabic." To take instances of each : the
arm o is the name for "arm," or rather "hand"('); it is also transferred
as word-sign for ' "district" ; as an alphabetic phonogram it stands for ' (Heb. y)
in a multitude of words. As an instance of the second class of phonograms
we have the draughtboard f^^ set with its pieces ; this pictures the idea of
" being set," mn, and is the word-sign for " firm," " established," also by trans-
ference, it is used as the name mn, a kind of measure, and for the word inn
meaning "a certain person," "quidam," etc., etc., words having each the same
radical consonants (m, n) as mn, "established." As a phonogram i""1^ enteis
i i.u i ' * ^ rv ij.i_i-iii o.
into the spelling of hundreds of words, e.(j.,mnli n "chisel," (1 cjf, the
/wwv\ Y 1 /wwv\ JLLJ
name of the god Ainon.
DBTEBMINATITES may be either specific or general e.g., the determinative
• if the word for the African horizontal-horned sheep (Oris tniycluphm) mav lie
156 F. LL. GRIFFITH. — The System of Writing in Ancient Egypt.
the specific figure of that sheep ^^ or the general figure of the hide of an
9
animal A, which serves as determinative for quadrupeds of all kinds, and even
for four-footed reptiles. Of course, most of the common determinatives are
specific or general according to their use. The following examples are very
i ^?> 9\
frequent : W determinative of proper names of men ; J4 ditto of women ;
determinative of peoples ; Q|\ of eating ; ^& of speaking ; Aft of sitting ;
of falling ; *=$ of violence.
A single sign may combine all the functions of word-signs, phonograms, and
determinatives.
As regards word-signs, in general the connection of the meaning of the word
with the picture is obvious enough once it is pointed out ; but there are often
difficulties in discovering it, the first being to identify the action or object
depicted ; the second, to find the word which formed the connecting link between
the picture and its word-sign value. For instance, the sign ^37 is pretty clearly
a basket when depicted in colour with the detail of woven rushes ; its word-sign
value nb, signifying " master," " all," " swim," " melt," has long been recognised, but
out of all the long miles of hieroglyphic and hieratic writing that are known
to us, the key to this value is preserved only in a single passage of the Pyramid
texts, and it is simply this : the name of a rush basket is nb . t. As for the t
in lib . t, it is only the feminine termination of the word, not a radical letter,
and so can be neglected.
As a general rule it is the root of a name, and that in its shortest form, which
determines the phonetic value of the sign representing it. Hence, flexional
consonants are disregarded in the matter. Not only so, but when a consonant
is doubled in the root it is reduced to a single consonant in the derived word-
sign, at any rate when the latter is used (by transference) as a phonogram. Very
often also the weak consonants and semi-vowels are thrown out. Tims, e.g., the
simple wooden hoe, ^n, ft /WWWA/WWV hnn, is word-sign for its name, but as a
A
p ^^r n
phonogram has the value hn — cf. x V hnb, " land," etc. z==!>, a rope
/\ /WAAAA T^J
handle, probably 06 or yOd, originally meaning " pull," " seize," is alphabetic
for simply 6. d, q", a slope of ground, from the root q' or qy " be high," is
alphabetic simply for q.
It has often been supposed that the Egyptian alphabet was acrophonic in
origin, i.e., that the first sound in the name of the pictured object or subject
was chosen as the alphabetic value of the sign. Some Coptic names seemed
to favour this theory, but a knowledge of the early language has overthrown
the few acrophonic derivations which had been proposed, and has already in
some cases revealed the true\ derivations, showing that the values of the alphabetic
signs were obtained in the same way as those of the biliterals. But the subject
is still obscure in many of its details.
F. LL. GRIFFITH. — The System of Writing in Ancient Egypt. \ 57
As the Egyptian vuot.s seldom exceed three letters, there was little need
for word-signs of more than three letters, and none for phonograms of more
than two. There is, however, one phonogram of obscure origin, used for a gram-
matical ending only, which possibly contains threo consonants, namely, the eagle,
tyw.
Having thus indicated the nature of the Egyptian writing and something
of the uses .and origins of the signs, let us consider briefly what changes took
place during the thirty or forty centuries for which we have monumental evidence
of its use. If we compare the short inscriptions of the First Dynasty, which
Professor Petrie has this year found in such numbers at Abydos, with inscrip-
tions of what may be called the classical period and onwards, ev^n to Roman
times, we recognise that the system upon which all are drawn up is essentially the
same. No new principle whatever has been introduced. The main noticeable
point of difference is that in the later writing the spelling is far ampler, and
consequently the writing is vastly more free ; and while in the First Dynasty, and
indeed throughout the Old Kingdom, determinatives were very sparingly used,
in late times they abounded. By the time of the Sixth Dynasty long texts
were commonly written and inscribed, and in the Middle Kingdom the Egyptian
hieroglyphic system had assumed its most perfect shape for clearness and neatness.
Apart from certain archaistic revivals or lapses into vulgar modes, this was the
form which henceforth served as the model for monumental spelling. There
were, of course, periods of decline, during which writing suffered much. Monu-
mental hieroglyphs being at a discount, the origins of the signs were forgotten ;
but periods of prosperity, by reviving the demand for decoration, restored the
art of hieroglyphic writing nearly to the height from which it had fallen. In
the great decline of taste under Ptolemaic and Boman rule the inscriptions are
crowded with fantastic inventions of new values and new signs.
As for cursive writing, this was practised as far back as the First Dynasty ;
by the end of the Old Kingdom it was freely used, and persisted for religious
texts into Ptolemaic times. It is known to us as HIERATIC. About 1000 B.C.
a small and highly developed cursive known as DEMOTIC began to be employed
and continued in use for business purposes until Egypt, under foreign rulers,
became bilingual. Then it became manifest that the simple Greek alphabet,
with its full notation of vowels and phonetic spelling, had great advantages over
the vowel-less and clumsy groups of the native script. In the second century
A.D. astrologers and others, who were probably not natives of Egypt, essayed
to render the Egyptian language in the Greek character with the aid of a few
signs borrowed from the demotic alphabet to express special Egyptian sounds,
such as dj, tsch, kh,f, and hard h. Thus the foundations of COPTIC writing were
laid. This change was significant of the waning power of the old religion, and
in the fourth century A.D. Christianity, triumphing over paganism, quickly
exterminated the ancient system of writing altogether, and Coptic became
universal.
1T.S F. LL. GRIFFITH. — The System of \Vriting in Ancient E<ji/i>l.
With the recent discoveries of Mr. Arthur Evans in mind, none would dare
to prophesy merely negative results from the archaeology of the future as regards
the history of writing ; but as yet we have no clear evidence that Egyptian
writing was either borrowed from or borrowed by any country outside the Nile
Valley. Conquest and commerce occasionally carried it into Syria, Asia Minor,
the Greek Islands and elsewhere, but we fail to find it established anywhere beyond
Egypt except in Ethiopia. In that country it acquired a special character,
and may have made an important advance in a form of demotic, long known
but as yet undeciphered. If the early stages of Egyptian writing were developed
in Egypt itself, it is curious that during the whole of the historic period it failed
to develop agy new features in the land of its birth ; yet it certainly has the
appearance of being entirely native to the valley of the Nile.
What its significance may be in the history of the world we cannot at
present tell. Some have thought that the Phoenicians borrowed its alphabet,
and that through them our books and our letters are recorded in signs which
are in origin Egyptian. But all such theories are as yet entirely hypothetical.
Nevertheless, Egyptian writing may be examined with interest as an unique
illustration of the history of writing in general. We find in it a well-developed
script fully preserving its pictorial origin. The decorative instinct of the
Egyptians, as well as their conservative nature, led them to retain the pictures
and to represent them with full detail in monumental inscriptions for thousands
of years after they had advanced to cursive writing. Iii the Chinese and
Mesopotamian systems traces of the pictorial origin of the signs are still fairly
clear, but it is doubtful whether those origins can ever be made out with
definiteness and certainty in more than a very few cases. The remains of the
Hittite system may indicate a history perhaps similar to that of the Egyptian.
Cretan hieroglyphics we hope will soon yield their key to the far-sighted dis-
coverer of them. While primitive writings are thus being recovered in quarters
hitherto unsuspected, it is safer for the Egyptologist to refrain from speculation
as to any foreign development of the system with which he is concerned. On
the other hand, he may well endeavour to ascertain and expound its principles,
so that workers in still newer fields of research may perchance derive from his
labours solutions of some of their own difficulties.
Eeference has been made to the change which is taking place in the position
of Egyptology. Berlin is the centre of the philological study of Egyptian, and
thanks to Erman, Steindorff, and Sethe, the Egyptian grammar has been worked
out from very unpromising materials with wonderful success. The most remark-
able result obtained by Sethe's great work on the Egyptian verb is to prove that
the roots of Egyptian words in the vast majority of instances were in early periods
triliteral. In this, as in other points, the structure of Egyptian, especially in
ancient times, has many analogies to Semitic, and the cautious Erman permits
himself to assert that at a period earlier than that of any inscribed monuments
at present known to us, Egyptian was a Semitic language. He considers that
!•'. l,i.. ( ;i;inTni. — ThcSyxf'nt <>/' Writing in Ancient Egypt. 159
it was imposed on an African people by a small body of conquerors, and that
ii changed so rapidly in pronunciation that few obvious connections with Semitic,
are now seen in its vocabulary, while the Semitic conjugational forms were general ly
replaced by periphrases. The accumulating proof of some such historical rela-
tionship of the Semitic and Egyptian tongues must greatly affect our ideas of the
early history of civilisation.
Having established the knowledge of Egyptian grammar, the great Berlin
School is now devoting its energies to the formation of an exhaustive verbal
index to the inscriptions and papyri — exclusive of demotic and Coptic. This
\\ork, now in its third year, is being carried out on a very ingenious plan, with
the view of ultimately publishing from it a complete dictionary. Besides the
(lei man stall', two English students, one Dane, and one American are now engaged
in the undertaking, and more workers will co-operate as time goes on. Already
some striking results have been obtained. "When this great task is completed,
Knyptian philology will indeed have been placed on a firm footing.
f 161 )
THE METRIC SYSTEM OF IDENTIFICATION OF CRIMINALS, AS
USED IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
BY J. G. GARSON, M.D.
[PRESENTED 5rn JUNE, 1900.]
Six years have elapsed since a Committee, appointed by the Home Secretary of
State to inquire into the best means available for identifying habitual criminals,
presented their report, and the recommendations they made were adopted by the
I British Government. During this period the system then inaugurated has been
steadily maturing, and the time has come when we may, with advantage, review
its progress and critically examine its efficacy.
Soon after the publication of the report of the Committee, the Home
Secretary did me the honour to appoint me scientific expert to organise the
introduction of the new system, and my duties in connection with it have
continued without interruption ever since.
As the report just mentioned formed the basis from which the system now in
use was started, it is necessary to recapitulate its salient outlines, in order to
complete the history of the introduction of the metric system of identification into
England.
The Committee consisted of Mr. C. E. Troup, C.B., then in the Criminal
Department of the Home Office, as Chairman; Major A. Griffiths, then one of
H.M. Inspectors of Prisons ; and Mr. M. E. Macnaghten, the Chief Constable
attached to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police,
with Mr. H. B. Simpson of the Home Office as Secretary. While the Committee
thus constituted did not include any scientific expert, it was composed of experts
of high standing in the various departments of the public service which have to
deal with crime and criminals.
The warrant appointing the Committee directed them to inquire (a) into the
method of registering and identifying habitual criminals then in use in England ;
(b) into the " Anthropometric " system of classified registration and identification
in use in France and other countries ; (c) into the suggested system of identifica-
tion by means of a record of finger-marks; to report whether the anthropometries
system or the finger-mark system could, with advantage, be adopted into England,
either in substitution for, or to supplement the then existing methods, and, if so,
what arrangements should be adopted for putting them into practice, and what
rules should be made under Section 8 of the Penal Servitude Act, 1891, for the
photographing and measuring of prisoners.
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). M
162 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
The terms of reference were thus amply wide enough to cover the whole field,
and a study of the report shows that the whole question was gone into by the
Committee and considered with the greatest care and thoroughness.
It is, perhaps, necessary to state the reason why it is important that habitual
criminals should be identified. In all civilised countries, it is a well-recognised
principle of justice that persons who make crime their calling or profession in life,
should be dealt with in a different manner from one who, for the first time,
commits a criminal offence. This being so, it is not only important to know the
antecedents of a prisoner about to be dealt with by law, but also that no
mistake shall be made as to his identity, and, above all, that an individual who is not
an habitual criminal, and innocent persons, shall not be by error identified as being
one who is an habitual criminal.
The method by which identity is proved in the criminal courts of this country
is dependent upon the personal recognition of the prisoner by police or prison
officers, and, till the introd'uction of the metric system, it was also the basis by
which identity was discovered. In country districts and in the smaller cities and
towns, local criminals are well known to the police, and information as to new
settlers is soon obtained. The case is quite different in large cities and towns
where individual knowledge of the in-dwellers becomes a matter of impossibility.
There are criminals also, who, after conducting operations in one district for a
time, find it advantageous to themselves to transfer the field of their labours to
some new place, almost invariably a large city, where they are unknown to the
police, and may ply their nefarious mode of life for a while with more or less
impunity.
To assist the police in identifying habitual criminals, a register was specially
established by Parliament, in 1869, for general use throughout the country, in
which are entered the names, description, crime, and other particulars, of every
convict, and " person convicted on indictment of crimes, a previous conviction of a
crime being proved against him," discharged from prison during the year, and a
copy of it is supplied to all police forces and prisons throughout the country. A
register of the distinctive marks on the persons of habitual criminals was also
instituted and distributed with the register. The various police forces have also
instituted registers of their own, printed descriptions of noted criminals, and the
like, to assist their officers in recognising persons who are habitually engaged in
crime. The photographs of such persons have likewise been collected for several
years, and, in the Metropolitan Police Office, may be numbered by tens of
thousands, if not by still higher figures. Systematic observations and inspections,
by police and prison officers, have been instituted of arrested persons, with a view
to the recognition of such of them as have been previously convicted, and inter-
communications between police forces have been freely resorted to with the same
object.
Notwithstanding the best efforts of the police and prison officers, mistakes
in identification have occasionally occurred, and a considerable number of old
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 163
ollcnders pass through the Courts unidentified. Of the accuracy of these state-
ments I have hud good evidence during the last few years. Almost immediately
after the introduction of the metric system into England, I was called to report
upon the identity of a man who had been convicted of larceny and sentenced to a
term of seven years' penal servitude. At his trial he had been identified as the
individual who committed the larceny, with which he was charged by the shop-
keeper who had been robbed, and by his assistant, and he was sworn to by prison
officers as an old offender who had been in prison in England during certain
periods. After conviction he stated, in a petition to the Home Secretary, that at
the time of the larceny and during the periods he was said to have been in prison
in England, he was undergoing a sentence of imprisonment in France. On
inquiry l>eing asked whether he had been measured before his discharge from the
French prison, he replied in the affirmative, and gave the name 'under which he
went at the time. His metric description having been taken here according to
M. Bertillon's system, and a copy of the metric description of the individual he
asserted himself to be having been obtained through the courtesy of M. Bertillon,
a comparison of the two descriptions showed most clearly and conclusively that
both referred to one and the same individual, and that consequently serious
mistakes had been made by witnesses at his trial as to his identity ; the conviction
and sentence were accordingly quashed. Another case may be mentioned of
mistaken identity occurring more recently, where a man convicted of robbery was
identified as an ex-convict, but from our own metric office the true identity of the
prisoner was found to be that of another convict who had been liberated on
licence. The fact that a considerable number of old offenders escape identifica-
tion at trial for subsequent offences is continually being demonstrated, as almost
every month several cases occur, especially in the metropolis, of persons sentenced
as first offenders, but who, on their metric description being sent to the Habitual
Criminal Registry by prison governors dubious of their previous freedom from
crime, or at the request of the police, are found very frequently to have not one
but several previous convictions recorded against them, a matter of considerable
importance under the First Offenders Act of 1897. The report of the Committee
contains particulars of several cases of mistaken identity and failure to identify
old offenders. 1 have, however, thought it well to mention the above incidents
which have come under my own observation subsequently, and which go to prove
the utility of our metric system and also its efficiency for the purpose for which it
has been established.
When a criminal always gives the same name every time he is arrested, it is
usually a comparatively easy task to trace his antecedents once he is on the
Register of Habitual Criminals, even though he may move from place lo place, but
when he gives a different name on each occasion and at each place he is
apprehended, the difficulty of identification under the old system from registers,
descriptions, photographs and the like is very great, in consequence of the absence
of any satisfactory classification of records being possible ; hence it has been no
M 2
164 J. G. GAUSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
uncommon occurrence for a police force to arrest a prisoner against whom many
previous convictions are recorded in the volumes of the Registers of Habitual
Criminals carefully preserved on the shelves of their own office and diligently
perused, without their being able to identify him from these registers. In the
cases where identifications are made by the old system, success is obtained in
many instances only after long and laborious search, and I cannot but think
that chance enters very largely into the result when the prisoner is successfully
traced ; in other words it is much more by good luck than good guidance that he
is recognised.
The Committee, as a result of their investigations, reported that the old system
of identification, then in use, was not satisfactory, and left much to be desired on
the grounds (a) of mistakes in identification, (6) failure to identify old offenders,
and (c) the labour involved in making identifications.
They then proceeded to formulate what should be the essential features
of any system suitable for purposes of identification of old offenders, and
to examine the various methods which scientific study of the question has
made available for this object.
The essential features required in such a system they define as " a means of
classifying the records of habitual criminals, such, that as soon as the particulars of
the personality of any prisoner (whether description, measurements, marks, or
photograph) are received, it may be possible to ascertain readily, and with
certainty, whether his case is already in the register, and, if so, who he is." Such a
system the Committee believed to be unattainable by further development of the
existing methods then in use, and that, if it is to be found at all, it must be found in
the application of some such scientific method as those on which they were
directed to report.
In proceeding to the consideration of the metric system, originated by
M. Bertillon in Paris, and the proposal of Mr. Francis Galton to utilise the
impressions of the fingers for purposes of identification, the Committee entered
upon the scientific part of their inquiry, and I cannot refrain from taking this
-opportunity of expressing my high appreciation of the thoroughness with which
they have mastered the details of these systems, and the principles whereon they
are founded, brought before them by the various scientific witnesses examined,
likewise on the soundness, from a scientific point of view, of the conclusions
arrived at regarding the respective merits of each system.
The Bertillon system of identification has been so much before public notice
of recent years, that I need not go into it here in detail, particularly as I shall
have to describe, later on, the arrangement of records followed in England under
the new system, which is, in its main features, the same as that used in France and
other countries. I may, however, state briefly that it consists in recording the
measurements of certain parts of the body which practically do not vary in
sjze after adult life has been reached, the exact colour of the eyes, the shape
of 'Certain features of the face, a photograph showing the full face and profile
as used in Great Britain find Irrlanfl. 165
exact details regarding scars, tattoo and birth marks, and other particulars as
to the individuality of the prisoner, ami his criminal record. More recently,
also, since the introduction in this country of the use of finger-prints,
M. Bertillon has added the impressions of the first four digits of the right hand
to his metric descriptions.
The cards bearing these records upon them are arranged on certain
mathematical principles, according as the size of the parts of the body measured
is small, medium or large, in what are termed "search cabinets," in a given order,
without any reference to the name of the individual to whom it relates. A
duplicate description of the prisoner is also classified alphabetically according to
his name, but it is the first-mentioned classification which is one of the
characteristic features of what is known as the " Bertillon System."
In order to find the card of any particular individual in the cabinets at any
subsequent period, all that is required is to take a fresh metric description of him,
and follow the same fixed line of procedure as was taken in storing the previous
one. The measurements of the different parts of the body enable the very exact
classification of the records requisite to be made, both in arranging them in the
first instance, and in searching them subsequently for the record of any particular
individual, while the other details as to the prisoner's personality place his
identity or non-identity beyond question. The tripartite division of all
measurements enables the search to be made with great rapidity, and the exact
position in the cabinet of any previous record of the same individual to be
determined with a minimum amount of labour in examining other records not
relating to him.
This system, then, as far as regards measurements, is a very considerable
advance towards fulfilling the requirements laid down by the Committee as
essential for purposes of identification if absolutely invariable and accurate
measurements could be obtained, but absolute perfection is not obtainable, all
measurements being subject to some degree of error, either inherently connected
with the parts measured, or from imperfection on the side of the measurer,
besides which there may be error made in the classification of records. In
practice, the amount of error arising from these different causes, if the system be
properly worked and the measurers carefully looked after, is, as I shall be able
to show, small and well within the margin required for efficiency.
The measurement of a part used in classification taken before the prisoner's
discharge from prison, may be near the margin of a division, say the upper limit
of the small, but being within the limits of that group, the record is placed in
that division. Supposing the same individual be subsequently arrested and
measured to ascertain if he is an old offender, and this time the measurer makes
the same part slightly larger, so that now it falls within the limits of the medium
division, search would be made in a different cabinet, or part of the cabinet, from
that where the first record is situated with a negative result. In such a case, before
we could say that a previous record of the prisoner is not in the collection, search
166 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
would have to be made in both the small and medium divisions. The same process
would have to he gone through, with respect to all the other measurements that fall
near the margins of divisions, so that a considerable number of searches may have
to be made to determine the existence or non-existence of previous records. These
double searches, as they are called, constitute the only difficulty in working this
system, but fortunately, as I will show, do not greatly impair its efficiency,
although they increase the labour in uging it to a greater or less extent. •
On the nature and variety of finger-prints, I. have little to say in this
Institute, where we have had on several occasions the benefit of Mr. Francis
Galton's demonstrations on the subject. The Committee were much impressed
with the efficacy of finger-impressions for purposes of establishing identity, as
may be judged from the following sentences in their report : — " It seems impossible
to insist too strongly on the absolute certainty of the criterion of identity
afforded by the finger-prints. Considered merely as a test of identity, and
not as a detective agency — there being no longer any question of classification—
their use becomes at once extremely simple, and, in the hands of an expert, free
from any danger of error. Apart altogether from their uses in tracing habitual
criminals, it would be a very easy matter to use them much more extensively as
a check to all identifications." By means of photographic enlargement, finger-
impressions can be made so clear as to bring the power of comparing different
sets with one another, and determining whether they are those of different
persons or of the same person, well within the comprehension of the, intellectually,
most poorly -gifted juryman. On this point the Committee state — " In tracing a
criminal the finger-prints would be of much assistance. For verifying identifica-
tions they would give a test, which, in the hands of a skilled person, would be
unimpeachable." With these statements I most fully concur, and desire to
emphasise the fact that they do not come from the pen of the scientific expert
who might in the eyes of some people be considered to be prejudiced, but from
a Committee of — may I say — laymen. To call special attention to this is the
more necessary, because I find that a good deal of scepticism on the point exists
in the minds of many persons who have to deal with evidence of identity as
afforded by this source, and to whom the words of the Committee may appeal
with some force of conviction.
When we come to deal with the use of finger-prints as a system of identi-
fication of criminals, including the classification of records and searching for
previous descriptions of the same persons by means of the finger-prints, we find
that serious difficulties arise, which, notwithstanding the labours of Mr. Galton
and Mr. Henry, and, to a smaller extent, my own endeavours in that direction,
have not been overcome, and which, I have reluctantly to admit, appear to me
to be of such a nature as to prevent a thoroughly satisfactory system workable
on the large scale we require in criminal work, without the assistance of measure-
ments, from ever being possible. The chief difficulties to my mind may be briefly
summarised as follows. The great number of intermediate forms of patterns on
<tx used in Gh'fat Britain and Ireland. 167
the fingers makes it almost impossible even for an expert to be sure that he will
always determine them as belonging to the same class and relegate them to
it on all occasions. This difficulty is greatly increased if the impressions be
not very clear and distinct — a desideratum not always attainable from a variety
of reasons. To get adequate data for classification by finger-prints alone, the
impressions of all the fingers have to be utilised, with the result that the chance
of some of the impressions being defective or of intermediate pattern, and con-
sequently of error in classification and subsequent search, is thereby greatly
increased. The inequality in size of the classes, rendering it necessary to resort
at once to a more or less intricate system of sub-classification of the more com-
monly occurring patterns, is distinctly a great drawback to convenient working
in the systems of classification, already proposed, and one which it is not
easy to see can, even by further research, be got over. Another difficulty,
not easy of solution, arises when there is resistance on the part of the prisoner
to having his finger-impressions taken. This last may be thought to apply
equally well to measurements, but, as a matter of practical experience, it is
found up till now that it is easier to get the latter with sufficient accuracy to
enable the prisoner to be traced, than to get the prints of all the different
fingers of both hands good enough for determining the location of the previous
records of the prisoner which invariably exist in such cases. Under these circum-
stances, it is sometimes all we " can do to decipher the impressions of one or
two fingers for the purpose of making certain of his identity or non-identity.
Again an acute criminal — and there are many of them—who cared to take the
trouble to learn a little about finger-prints, might soon find out that it is the central
portion or core which is of importance for identification purposes and essential
for the classification of records, and might, by the application of caustics or fire,
so scar that all-important spot in several fingers without detriment to the fingers
themselves as to render his identification from a subsequent set of impressions
impossible. It is true such a procedure would probably only serve him once.
This would be impossible with measurements as he could not tamper with his head,
or do more than attempt to trick the measurer while measuring the limbs, without
serious permanent damage to himself. The number of double searclies possibly
required when two or more impressions of certain of the fingers are undecipherable
from any causes in the most commonly occurring patterns is very great, owing to
the number of sub-classes into which these have to be broken up, and the number
of combinations of these latter which may have been present in the missing or
undecipherable finger impressions.
The metric description of a prisoner as taken in England includes the following
particulars: — (a) A general description of the individual; (&) Certain measurements
of his head and limbs together with his height ; (c) A photograph showing views of
his full face and profile ; (d) The principal scars and marks— natural and artificial—
on his body and limbs ; (e) The impressions of all the digits of both hands. These
details are in all cases taken by prison officers, in the prison where the prisoner is
1C8 J. G. G ARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of C
METKIC FORM.
Prison Register No.
FRONT.
H.C. Register No.
Name
Aliases
Age
Year of Birth
FHOTOOBAFH.
Place of Birth
Complexion
Hair
Occupation
*Sentenced at
„ *for
to
* Give offence in full, and If remanded only, substitute
"Remanded" for "Sentenced."
MEASUREMENT FORMULA.
MEASUREMENTS.
DISTINCTIVE MABKS, SCABS, INITIALS, ETC.
Head Length
Head Breadth
Face Breadth
Left Mid. Finger
Left Cubit
Left Foot
Height ft.
Remarks
I. — Left Arm and Hand.
II. — Right Arm and Hand.
III. — Face and Neck.
IV. -Chest.
V.— Back.
VI.— Eest of Body.
vsrd in Great Britain and 7?W//////.
169
METRIC FORM : BACK.
Name RIGHT FINOEBS.
Prison Register No.
Prison
Date of Measurements
Signature of Measurer
Governor's Signature
1.— Bight Thumb.
2.— B. Fore Finger.
3.— B. Middle Finger.
4.— B. Bing Finger.
5.— B. Little Finger.
LEFT
FlNGEBS. Directions: — Before taking the impressions of the fingers,
fold this Form exactly in two, and place the metal
sheet between the folds.
REMAEKS.
Finger Formula.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
1
JO.— L. Little Hnger.
9.— L. Bing Finger.
8.— L. Middle Finger.
7. — L. Fore Finger.
6.— L. Thumb.
/
170
J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
METRIC CARD:
FRONT.
MEASUREMENT FORMULA.
S3
r D
Head Length H. C E. No.
IS
*£
Head Brradth Prison No.
PHOTOGRAPH.
Face Breadth Height ft. in.
Left Mid. Finger Complexion
Left Cuhit Hair
Left Foot Eyes
Name
Aliases
Ago
Year of Birth
Place of Birth
Occupation
M SUHED B
Remarks
BACK.
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8.— L. Middle Finger. 7.— L. Fore Finger. 6.— L. Thumb.
l.-B. Thumb.
2.- R. Fore Finger. 3.- B. Middle Finger.
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 171
undergoing his sentence, or to which he lias been taken on remand, and are recorded
on a form 20'4 centimetres (8 inches) square, which is here reproduced, and also
on a card 20'4 centimetres long by 10'2 centimetres (4 inches) broad, which is
also shown. The essential difference between the two records is that on the
card the impressions of only the first three digits of each hand are shown and
no particulars regarding the prisoner's offence, hence its size is only one-half that
nf the form, a matter of considerable importance in storage.
The general description of the prisoner calls for few remarks or explanations.
The age, place of birth, and occupation depend upon the veracity of the prisoner,
which is most frequently not to be relied upon. The colour of eyes and hair and
the complexion are stated in general terms. In the Continental forms much
stress is laid upon the colour of the iris, which under the Bertillon system is
used for classification and is divided into seven classes based upon its general
colour when that is uniform, and that of its periphery and of the portion
lxmlering on the pupil called the areola when these vary. The circumstances
under which the metric descriptions are taken in tin's country in most cases
preclude the possibility of having such details recorded with sufficient accuracy
to render them of value. It was therefore wisely decided by the Committee
that it was not desirable to burden the records with details beyond the general
colour of the iris when viewed at a distance. The want of more information
on this point has never been felt. The descriptions of the various parts of
the face also recorded in detail by M. Bertillon are omitted in our English form,
and we trust to getting such of them as are wanted from examination of the
photograph.
The measurements of the head and limbs taken are all included in the
Bertillon system. They consist of the dimensions cf the following parts: — (1) The
length of the head measured from the notch at the upper part or root of the nose, a
point corresponding to the nation in the skull, to the most prominent point on the
back of the head, whether that point be situated on the median line or to one or
other side of it. This measurement, it will be observed, corresponds with Virchow's
length measurement of the skull. (2) The breadth of the head measured at right
angles to the median line of the head wherever it is greatest but not including
outer surface of the mastoid processes. (3) The breadth of the face between the
outer surfaces of the zygomatic arches wherever it is greatest. This measurement
was not formerly taken by M. Bertillon until after we had adopted it, but I am
glad that he has now realised its excellency for identification purposes, and has
substituted it on the French metric cards for the width of the ear which he
formerly took1 ; it is likewise included in the German and Austrian metric cards.
(4) The length of the left middle finger, Digit iii of the Anatomical Series,
1 This measurement is added as an Appendix in Signaletic Instruction, p. 259, an
American translation, published in 1896, from the latest French edition of M. Bertillon's
Instructions fiignaletiques, published in 1893 ; the latter does not, however, contain any allusion
to this measurement. It was adopted in our English system in 1894.
172 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
measured with the fingers bent at right angles to the metacarpal portion of the
hand. (5) The length of the left cubit, taken from the posterior surface of
the olecranon while that point is made prominent by bending the forearm on the
upper arm at an acute angle, to the distal end of the middle finger. (6) The length
of the left foot taken while the prisoner stands with the whole weight of his body
resting on that foot only, and with the knee joint somewhat bent. (7) The height
when standing erect.
In a general account of the system such as this is intended to be, it is
unnecessary to go into further details as to how these measurements are taken.
The photograph showing exact full face and profile views of the prisoner are
taken one-seventh of the natural size and according to the instructions of
M. Bertillon in the section " La Photographie Judiciaire " of his work Instructions
SignaUtigues, 1893 ed.
The scars and marks on the limbs and trunk are likewise described exactly in
the same manner as they are done in France, but the number of abbreviations used
in describing them are not quite so numerous as those used by M. Bertillon. The
particulars noted are («) the nature of the scar or distinctive mark ; (b) its form ;
(c) its size ; (d) its direction ; (c) its exact location. For facility of description the
body is marked out into six regions, and the space assigned to each on the form
and card is in proportion to the frequency with which marks occur upon them and
the readiness with which they can be detected when present. I may say that in
recording the marks and scars most attention is given to those which occur on the
arms and hands and the face, while only the grossest deformities are noted on the
lower half of the body, including the lower limbs, hence the small space assigned to
the " Rest of body " (see p. 168). To secure the better and more uniform description
of marks and scars, the details to be noted and the contractions to be used in so
doing have been reduced to tabular form for the guidance and direction of the
measurers, and will be found on the next page. The following illustrations will
be sufficient to show that much time and trouble as well as space are saved by
the descriptions of marks being taken in this abbreviated form : —
I. Left Arm and Hand. Sc re of 0'9 hz at 10 db elb ft ua. This written out
at length reads — scar rectilinear of 9 millimetres long, horizontal at 10 centimetres
above the elbow joint on the front of the upper arm.
II. Eight Arm and Hand. Sc ov of 2'2jlm3 si x at 6 bl elb bk fa— Scar oval
of 2'2 centimetres long by T3 centimetres broad slanting externally at 6
centimetres below the elbow joint on the back of the forearm.
III. Face and Neck. Nv hairy cir of I'O at $• ab i pt I e& = Nsevus or hairy
mole circular of 1 centimetre in diameter at 3 centimetres above the internal
point of the left eyebrow.
IV. Chest. Sc cv x of 3'5 vr at 15 bl frk & 6 to r md = Scar curved with the
hollow or concavity externally vertical in direction at 15 centimetres below fork
of breastbone and 6 centimetres to right of the median.
The Finger Impressions are taken on the back of the form and card directly
as used in Great Britain and Ireland.
173
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174 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
from the prisoner's hands. As it is the pattern on the palmar surface of the distal
section of the digit which is of importance, the impression of that portion only is
recorded. This is done by spreading a thin layer of printer's ink on a smooth
polished metallic plate with an ordinary printer's hand roller, and applying the
fingers lightly to the plate, so that the tops of the ridges on the surface of the
skin become covered with ink, while the sulci between them remain uninked. The
fingers are next gently laid on the paper for a moment and then removed with the
result that a series of black lines, corresponding to the tops of the ridges of the
skin and clear spaces corresponding to the sulci between each of them, remain
permanently recorded on the form or card. It has been found necessary to take
on the form a double set of impressions of the digits of each hand, except those of
the thumbs, namely, daubed prints of the outer four digits which are impressed
on the upper part of each half of the form, and rolled impressions which are
placed in the spaces indicated across the middle and lower edge. The reason for
this is two-fold. In the daubed impressions it is often found that owing to one or
more of the fingers not being quite straight or the core or centre of the pattern
not being always quite medianly placed, a portion of the surface which is necessary
in the decipherment of the pattern has not come in contact with the paper, and in
order to get the whole impression the finger has to be rolled from side to side as is
done in the second set of impressions taken. Those then are the more important
for determining the finger formula. But a mistake may easily be made by repeating
the impression of one finger twice, or placing the impression in the wrong space. The
daubed impressions afford a ready means of detecting errors of this kind, as it is
not possible to alter the sequence of the fingers when taken together in series.
Moreover, by having the two sets of impressions to compare with one another, it
is often possible to determine the pattern when it is defective in the one o>r the
other set. I have set forth the reasons for taking the double set of impressions on
the card because by some Continental authorities it has been said that in England
we devote too much space to the finger-prints and that the rolled impressions are
quite sufficient. On the card only the rolled impressions of the thumb and two
following digits of each hand are recorded, because having the impressions of all the
fingers doubly imprinted on the form, it is only necessary to have a few fingers
to compare when making search for previous records in order to determine
identity or non-identity, and so obviate having to refer to the earlier form, which
has been differently disposed of in the Central Office. Such then is the metric
description taken of prisoners. This part of the work is done entirely in the
prisons, of which there are 60 distributed over England and Wales.
The apparatus which is required in taking the metric descriptions, exclusive
of the photographic outfit, consists of two calipers or sliding compasses for
measuring the head and limbs ; a 30 centimetre rule for measuring marks ; a plate
of polished copper, a 15 cm. printer's hand roller, for taking finger-prints, a standard
rule and Set square for measuring the height. The special furniture for the room
consists of a stool for the foot measurement, which is also used as a seat while the
used in Great Britain and Ireland.
175
head measurements are being taken, and a trestle table for resting the forearm on,
while the cubit is being measured : it also serves as a table on which to place the
copper plate and form while the finger impressions are being taken. The apparatus
and furniture are exactly the same as those used by M. Bei-tillon and figured by
him, except the head instrument figured below, which is of my own design, and
regarding which it is desirable to say a few words in consequence of its being
different from the pattern adopted in France and some other countries. It is a
repetition of the instrument used for measuring the foot, cubit and finger, for
brevity called the limb calipers, except that while in the latter the cross arms are
straight, in the head measuring instrument they are curved. Measurements are
read off exactly at the same point and in the same manner on the two instruments,
each millimetre between the measuring points is indicated on the graduated scale
by the actual length of one millimetre. The Bertillon head calipers on the other
hand are of the compass type, with the free ends curved, and the graduations are
engraved on an arc of a circle attached to one of the limbs about midway between
each end. The result of this is that the distance between one millimetre and
another at the measuring ends is shown on the graduated arc where the measure-
" — y «i» -> iv Oi -J m <•
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ment is read, as only about Ivnlf a millimetre. This makes the instrument
somewhat difficult to read on account of the small space which intervenes between
graduation marks on the scale indicating millimetres at the free ends of the
instrument. Errors in reading are therefore much more prone to occur unless the
measurer be extra careful and has very good eyesight or uses a magnifying glass.
By careful attention to details of construction in the manufacture, between the
stem and the sliding arm of the head calipers which we have adopted in England
there is as little play as in the French instrument, and the former has the
great advantage of being more easily read. During the six years it has been in
practical use it has given me every satisfaction, and in several tests, instituted
with the object of comparing the relative merits of the two instruments when
placed in the hands of the officers who do the practical work of measuring,
I have i'ound that the results have been more accurate with the former, which
I think fully justify the departure I have made in not adopting the more
generally used instrument. But it may be suggested that the Indian modification
of M. Bertillon's head calipers, which causes it to be automatic in action, mi^ht have
176 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
been adopted with advantage. I thought so also until I had a number of them in
use, when I found that the device for procuring automatic action introduced a
new source of error, quite as great as that which it was invented to avoid. While
with a single instrument excellent and constant results are obtained, yet when
several are used for measuring the same head, one after the other, different
readings are shown by the various instruments according as the index is tighter or
slacker in its movement and according as there are irregularities in the arc, although
the pull of the spring which draws the limbs of the calipers together may have the
same strength in each instrument. No doubt irregularities on the arc could be
remedied by having it cut by machinery, but the cost of this would be quite out of
proportion to the number of instruments required, and the liability to errors in
reading which I have previously indicated to be present in the original instru-
ment would still remain. I was, however, so favourably impressed with the
automatic' idea, that I had made by way of an experiment an instrument in
which the compass legs were prolonged beyond the points of measurement, and
the graduated arc was placed at their extremities so as to give a reading on
the arc equal in length to 1*5 millimetres for every millimetre indicated at the
measuring points, and so make the instrument more sensitive. The experi-
mental instrument was not a success, however, as it was too large and clumsy
for practical use, although satisfactory as regards reading the measurement taken
by it.
The competency with which the metric descriptions are taken is a crucial
point in connection with the metric system of identification. Unless the measure-
ments are well and accurately taken it is inevitable that the system must break
down, however well organised it may otherwise be. The training of officers in the
work is therefore most important, and has been entirely done by myself. To train
a few and then let them teacli others at the respective prisons to which they are
attached would be to court failure, as the work requires to be done with far too
much exactitude to permit of such an arrangement being successful. The plan
adopted has been to form a school of instruction at one of the London prisons, and
bring officers from the various metropolitan and provincial prisons to it for
instruction. The classes are composed of from 14 to 18 officers selected chiefly
from the rank of assistant warders as young men of intelligence and good promise
in the prison service. The size of each class is fixed at the limits stated, as being
the number of pupils to whose instruction experience has shown me I can give
the personal attention they require to produce the best results. The course of
class instruction they receive lasts for three hours per day for a fortnight, and is
entirely practical with the exception of that given on two days, when the general
principles of the system, the use of the instruments and the method of taking
measurements, marks and finger-prints, are explained. The rest of the time they
are drilled till they are conversant with the various branches of the work, after
which they have each to pass a test examination on 18 cases. Anything over a
difference of 1 millimetre in the head length and breadth, the face-breadth and
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 177
the finger-length, of 3 millimetres in the cubit and foot lengths, and of half an
inch in the height, is counted as an error. That is to say, any deviation from the
exact size of the part of more than + *5 mm. in the first four measurements, of
+ 1'5 in the cubit and foot, and of + £ of an inch in the height are counted as
errors. The maximum number of errors a candidate may have and yet pass the test
is 18, on any greater number than that he is rejected as a measurer. After the officer
returns to the prison to which he is attached, he has to do a certain number of
metric descriptions for practice so that he may gain proficiency in his work, and
when he begins to take descriptions which are to be registered for permanent record,
he is set to work in conjunction with a more experienced officer than himself.
The number of male officers attached to each prison who have been qualified
for the work of taking the metric descriptions and are engaged in doing it, is not
less than two nor more than four according to the size of the prison. The total
number of male officers required for the metric service in the prisons of England
and Wales is about 150. Besides these, at the larger prisons, a certain number of
female officers have been instructed in the work for taking the metric descriptions
of female prisoners. They go through exactly the same course of training as the
male officers, and the work they do is thoroughly satisfactory. At the smaller
prisons, the measurements and finger-prints of female prisoners are taken by male
officers, while the marks are taken by female officers who have gone through a
course of instruction in this part of the work only. Altogether the metric staff in
the prison service numbers about 200 male and female officers distributed over
60 different centres, only four of which are situated in the metropolis.
It will be obvious that unless some supervision be exercised over the work of
so large a staff, spread over the whole country, their measurements would soon
degenerate in accuracy, and show variations much greater than the standard,
previously indicated, required for class work. Apart from actual errors some of
the staff will come to take the measurements more tightly than they should be
taken, while others will diverge in the opposite direction and take them too
loosely. That all the staff shall continue to work accurately and with the same
touch is most essential for the success of the metric system of identification.
Provision for this all-important detail has therefore to be made. As taking
metric descriptions is decidedly technical work requiring special knowledge, it
cannot be expected of the governors of prisons to be able to supervise it at their
respective prisons. It is essentially the province of the instructor or some person
specially skilled in anthropometric work to do so. I have accordingly done it
hitherto myself. For this purpose I have each year visited the prisons and
made each member of the measuring staff take the metric descriptions of two,
three, or more prisoners, independently, before me, after which I have tested their
work. Defects in method or accuracy thus brought to light are pointed out and
forthwith rectified. Whenever an officer is found to have any difficulties, these are
explained, and if his work is bad he is stopped altogether from taking any more
descriptions in future or at least until he has again become efficient by attending
Vou XXX (N.S. III). N
178 J. G. GAKSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
TABLE I. — RESULT OF EEMEASUBEMKNTS DLTJNG 1897.
Measurements.
0 mm.
1 mm.
2 mm.
3 mm.
4 mm.
5 mm.
6 mm.
Total
cases.
Head length
274
204
64
11
3
—
—
556
Head breadth
262
229
52
13
—
—
—
556
Face breadth
260
224
65
6
1
—
—
556
L. mid finger
240
220
80
16
—
—
—
556
Left cubit
208
178
119
35
7
6
3
556
Left foot
221
170
84
57
17
7
—
556
ABOVE RESULTS STATED IN PERCENTAGE.
Head length
49-3
36-7
11-5
2-0
•5
—
—
100
Head breadth
47-1
41-2
9'4
2-3
—
—
—
100
Face breadth
46-7
40-3
11-7
1-1
•2
—
--
100
L. mid finger
43-2
39-6
14-4
2-8
—
—
—
100
Left cubit
37-4
32-0
21-4
6'3
1-3
1-1
•5
100
Left foot
39-8
30'6
15-1
10-2
3-0
1-3
—
100
TABLE II. — AMOUNT OF VARIATION PER CENT.
Error.
•
Nominally
Total
Nominally
correct.
error.
correct.
.biroi.
1st deg.
2nd deg.
3rd deg.
Head length
86-0
11-5
2-0
•5
14-0
Head breadth
88-3
9'4
2'3
—
11-7
—
Face breadth
87-0
11-7
1-1
•2
13-0
—
—
L. mid finger ,
82-8
14-4
2'8
—
17-2
—
—
Left cubit
97-1
1-3
1-1
'5
2-9
90-8
9-2
Left foot....
95'7
3-0
1'3
4'3
85'5
14'5
hi Orcrif Britain and Ireland. 179
another class of instruction for a longer or shorter period. Besides this, a close
watch is kept at the Central Office on all metric descriptions of prisoners of whom
there are previous records, and the earlier measurements are compared with the
later ones, to ascertain how they agree, and if the latter disagree in any particulars
beyond the limits already mentioned the form is sent back to be checked and have
any error, if error there be in it, rectified. The tables on p. 178 show the degree of
accuracy and of error which was found in the descriptions received at the Central
Office during 1897, of prisoners of whom previous metric descriptions had been
registered there.
The first column of the upper half of Table I gives the exact number of cases
in which each of the several measurements agreed entirely with those previously
recorded of the same individual taken in almost every case by different measurers
and in different prisons. The number of instances in which there was a variation
of one millimetre is shown in the second column, of two millimetres in the third
column and so on till the variations are exhausted. In the lower half of the same
table these figures have been reduced to percentage. As the exact dimension of
any part of the body measured may lie half-way between one millimetre and the
next, and as no account is taken of fractions or decimals of a millimetre, that is
to say, they are not recorded, it necessarily follows that the tighter or slacker
measurement will be entered according to whether the higher or lower millimetre
is, in the judgment of the measurer, the more nearly correct ; hence a plus or
minus variation of -5 of a millimetre, equal to one millimetre, is permitted by M.
Bertillon as nominally correct in the head length and breadth and in the length of
the left middle finger. He has provisionally given the permissible error of the
face breadth as Hh one millimetre, that is equal to a variation of two millimetres.
I, however, consider that this dimension can be measured quite as exactly as the
other three mentioned parts, and have therefore allowed a variation of only one
millimetre for it (equal to + '5 millimetre) as permitted in them. The results
shown in the tables bear out, I think, the correctness of my contention, although I
am quite aware of the fact that occasionally a case occurs in practice where the face
is somewhat fleshy, or more correctly speaking fat, in which it is difficult to measure
exactly and where a variation of two millimetres might be permissible without
error; but these instances are quite exceptional. The cubit and foot cannot be
measured so exactly as the head, hence M. Bertillon allows a permissible Hh error
of 1 '5 millimetres giving a variation of three millimetres. I have accepted his
limits of permissible error in the cubit and foot, but I think that it is rather
a liberal allowance, particularly as compared to what is permitted in the other
measurements. A variation of two millimetres in the former would be more in
keeping with that permitted in the latter, as will be seen from the last two
columns of Table II. In Table I a thick black line has been inserted to separate
the nominally correct from the actual error in the several measurements, and
after the two millimetres variation of the cubit and foot I have shown by a
broken line where error may reasonably be considered to begin if the same
N 2
180 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
strictness is followed respecting these measurements as is done with the previous
ones. But the question may also be raised on the results of this table whether
a variation of one millimetre is not too strict for the head and finger measure-
ments. If M. Bertillon's idea be correct that two millimetres variation is the
nearest we can reasonably expect to arrive at in relation to the face breadth,
then I think it follows that a variation for the head length and breadth and the
finger length is rather too strict. On the whole, I am inclined to consider that a
variation of one millimetre in the first four measurements and of two millimetres
in the last two is a good standard of nominal correctness and that above these
limits preventable error begins.
The higher percentage in error in the measurement of the foot revealed in
this table has led me to modify somewhat the procedure M. Bertillon gives in
measuring it, or rather to make a slight preliminary addition to his method of
procedure. Those who are familiar with his plan will recollect that he directs the
prisoner to place his foot on the measuring stool, and stand with the whole weight
of the body on the left foot while the measurement is being taken, the left knee
being meanwhile bent somewhat, the right limb suspended in mid-air and the body
steadied by the right hand being rested on a handle attached to the trestle table.
In young persons there is usually not much difficulty in balancing the body and
keeping the left foot steady enough for the measurement to be taken with sufficient
accuracy, but in middle-aged and elderly persons and in cases where the limbs
have been affected by rheumatism or other malady it is not always possible for
the prisoner to keep himself steadily balanced on one foot in the position
indicated while its measurement is being taken. The preliminary procedure I
have introduced is to make the prisoner place his left foot on the stool and bend
the left knee till the front of it is vertically above the distal end of the great toe,
the heel meanwhile resting firmly on the stool and the right foot on the floor.
While in this position with the weight of the body supported by both limbs the
left foot is measured and its size noted. After this has been done the left foot is
then measured by the ordinary procedure of M. Bertillon, the result noted and
conipared with the former measurement obtained. The size of the foot should be
greater when the whole weight of the body is resting upon it in M. Bertillon's
method, but if the measurement first taken while the prisoner was standing with
his weight supported by both feet is the greater, the measurer has a sure
indication that he has not succeeded in getting the maximum length of the
foot by the regular method, and that it must be taken again till he gets it
properly. By the preliminary measurement he gains the important information
that the length of the foot is not less than a certain figure by which he can check
error in his regular measurement. Since I have introduced this procedure I have
found that the number of errors made in measuring the foot by pupils while
receiving class instruction has been diminished, and I trust that by its adoption
as an ordinary rdutine in practice greater accuracy in the foot measurement is
being obtained in the metric descriptions now being received.
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 181
The grosser errors shown by the tables are almost entirely due to mis-reading
of the instrument, the measurement of the part having been accurately taken or
with only a minor degree of error. This is clearly due to carelessness, and may I
hope become less as the officers gain greater experience in the work.
The nett result shown by the tables is that the error in taking the six measure-
ments amounts to 10 '6 per cent. This is, on the whole, I consider, very satisfactory,
seeing that in several prisons the officers had not had much experience in the work,
and that most of the previous measurements with which the later ones were compared
were taken by officers who were first instructed in the system and were generally
older men than those who are now employed on the work. My experience as an
instructor has been that the instruments are much more efficiently handled by
younger men than by the older officers, there are, of course, a few exceptions in
favour of the latter to this general rule. In younger men the joints of the arms
and hands are much more supple, and dexterity in the use of the instruments
comes much more easily than when the work is taken up for the first time during
middle life. This is especially noticeable when drilling men in the method of
measuring the head length, which is to the inexperienced perhaps the most
difficult of all the measurements to take correctly, in consequence o the point
of one arm of the calipers having to be held steadily against the root of the
nose while the other limb is being moved up and down on the back of the head
searching for its most prominent part.
The prisoners whose metric descriptions are taken in prison before their
discharge for registration at the Central Metric Office are (a) those who have been
sentenced to penal servitude ; (b) those who have been sentenced to a term of
imprisonment to be followed by a term of police supervision after their release ;
and (c) those who have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment after conviction
on indictment of crime, previous conviction of crime having been proved against
them at the trial. In other words those persons who come under («) the 5th ;
(6) the 8th ; and (c) the 7th sections of the Prevention of Crimes Act. Besides
those whose descriptions are registered as a matter of course, the registrar may
register the metric description of any other convicted criminal prisoner who, to
the best of his judgment, has probably embarked on a life of crime, and regarding
whom information may probably be wanted subsequently by the police.
We have now to consider how the metric descriptions of the above prisoners
are disposed after they have been received at the Central Office. To accumulate
records of any kind is of little use unless they be so arranged as make it
possible to refer to any one individual record whenever it is wanted. This is the
great merit of the system with which the name of Bertillon is so honourably
connected, and which places it before all other systems in that respect. Once the
record sought for has been found, identity can be proved or disproved perhaps
with greater certainty by other means than by the measurements.
The metric form has a serial number for each year impressed upon it, and is
stored according to that number in an ordinary drawer, a card index, arranged
182 J. G. G ARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
alphabetically according to prisoner's names, whereon is inscribed their register
number, is also made for easy reference and kept till the end of each year, when
a name index is compiled from it and printed of all persons registered during
the year. Thus if a person when subsequently arrested gives the same name
his metric form can at once be found by the card index, or if the year he was
discharged from prison and his register number is known one can go directly to
the metric form.
The metric card, after having the same serial number impressed upon it as
the form and any other papers relating to the same individual, is disposed of
differently. It is placed in a Search Cabinet according to a specific classification
by the measurements of the individual and can only be found by the measure-
ments on the form or measurements of the same person taken subsequently.
SMALL. MEDIUM. LAEGE.
SMALL. MEDIUM. LARGE. SMALL. MEDIUM. LARGE. SMALL. MEDIUM. LARGE.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
The construction of the Search Cabinet is as follows : — By two vertical
partitions of thicker material than those which separate the individual drawers, it
is divided into three main divisions each containing twenty-seven drawers ; each of
these main divisions is again sub-divided by two horizontal partitions of the same
thickness as the vertical ones into three sub-divisions consisting of nine drawers in
each. Again each of these three sab-divisions is further sub-divided first vertically
and then horizontally on the same plan by thinner partitions into sets of three
drawers. The cabinet is thus divided into eighty-one drawers. A final sub-division
is made by inserting two partitions in each drawer and so dividing it into three
compartments. There are thus five grades of divisions of the cabinet ; each grade
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 183
bears a certain relation to each of the first five measurements on the metric card.
Just as a tripartite system of division exists in the cabinet, so a tripartite division
of each of these measurements is followed according as it is large, medium, or
small. First then all cards in which the head length is small are assigned to one
or other of the twenty-seven drawers of the left third of the cabinet, those in
which the head length is large are disposed of in the twenty-seven drawers in the
right third, while those of medium head length go into the middle third. The
limits which determine under which of the categories a card falls, are fixed so as
to give to each third of the cabinet an approximately equal number of cards
namely, one-third of the total number it contains. Having determined to which
of the three main divisions of the cabinet a card is to be assigned by the head
length, we next take the head breadth. If this measurement be small the card
will be placed in one of the lowest sets of nine drawers, if large it goes into one
of the top sets of nine drawers, and if medium in one of the nine drawers of the
middle three sets. The limits of small, medium, and large as regards the head
breadth, are not the same for each of the three main divisions of the cabinet but
are fixed in relation to the head length. That is to say, the short heads are
divided up into three equal groups of small, medium, and large as regards their
breadth, quite irrespectively of the breadth of head in the other two divisions.
The same procedure is followed with each of the other two groups in turn.
Dealing now with each set of nine drawers. The face breadth is brought into
use to determine to which vertical row of three drawers the card belongs.
The row to the left contains the cards of small face breadth, that to the right those
of large face breadth, while those of medium face breadth are in the middle three
drawers. The limits of the three divisions of face breadth in each set of nine
drawers are fixed on the same principle as before, according to the head breadth
and have to be determined for each of the sets of nine drawers independently.
By the length of the left middle finger which is classified into small, medium, and
lin'tji- for each division of face breadth, the drawer into which the card is placed is
arrived at. If the finger be short the card goes into the lowest drawer of the
vertical row of three drawers, if of medium length into the middle, and if long
into the top drawer. Finally, the cubit lengths indicated on the cards assigned
to each drawer being divided into three degrees of sizes, short, medium, and large,
determines what cards are to be placed respectively in the front, middle or back
sub-division of the drawer.
According to this plan of construction of the cabinet each measurement
employed in classification gives three-fold powers of classifying records, and the
range of variation of each portion of the body measured is divided with great
exactitude into three degrees of size in relation to the size of the previous part,
beginning with the head length. That measurement, which is the first, gives
3 classes, the second measurement breaks each of these in 3, giving 9 classes, the
third measurement divides these 9 classes into 27, the fourth measurement
divides the 27 dashes into 81, the fifth mc-asureincMil split* these 81 classes into
184 J. G. G ARSON. — The Metric System of Identification, of Criminals,
243, and so it goes on, each additional measurement taken multiplying the
classification three times. By means of this system any number of records
could in theory be divided up till the ultimate sub-division contains only such a
number of cards as can be easily and quickly handled. In practice, however, there
is only a certain limit to which this sub-division by using more measurements
can be carried with advantage, in consequence of the variations which are liable
to occur in measuring the parts used in classification when the same individual
is measured at different times even though the work be done by the same
measurer, and still more is this the case when different measurers are engaged on
it, with the result that " double searches," already referred to at a previous part of
this paper, become more frequently needed to find any particular record from
another similar one.
The method by which the limits of the various groups are determined has
now to be considered, but before doing so it is desirable to point out some of the
anthropological factors which produce the range of variation met with in the parts
of the body measured for the purpose of obtaining the classification just explained.
The absence of absolute similarity in morphological development, which occurs in
all races of men, as in all animals, and is so important a factor in evolution, gives a
certain range of variation in actual size to every part of the body, even in what are
termed "pure races," that is to say, in communities which have for sufficiently
long periods been isolated from their fellow-men to have acquired, in consequence,
more or less similar morphological characteristics. The range of variation in such
a community may be less marked than in people who have not been so isolated.
In these so-called pure races, also, there is a greater tendency for one part of the
body to bear a more or less constant relation to another ; thus we find the cephalic
index, which expresses the percentage relation that the breadth of the head bears
to the length, varies comparatively little in such races. In mixed communities,
the range of variation of parts is considerable, and the co-relation of one part to
another though increased is but slight. The inhabitants of a country may be
"mixed" in different ways. They will show mixed characters as a whole, if two
or more so-called pure races, or races possessing definite characteristics of their
own, are settled in different parts of the country, and the metric descriptions of a
certain number of each race be collected and amalgamated, or if the different
races have been blended together by crossing with one another through several
generations. In this latter case the mixture would show itself not only by the
different parts of the body acquiring a mean form or size between the two ethnical
extremes crossed, but also by the reappearance of the peculiarities of each race in
different parts of the body, often of the same individual. To pass from abstract
statements like the preceding to the concrete by giving a practical illustration.
Let us suppose that different parts of England were occupied by two races (although
in fact it contains more than that number), and that one of these is characterised
by being tall and having round heads, while the other race is short in stature with
markedly oval or oblong heads, which for convenience we may term long heads on
as iLsed in Great Britain and Ireland. 185
account of the long narrow appearance they present. Metric statistics of each race
sorted out separately would show more or less uniformity of character, but at the
same time a degree of variation ranging above and below a certain centre which
would be different for each of the races. On amalgamating these statistics there
would be found to be a considerably greater range of variation in the actual
measurements of stature and of head length and breadth than obtained in any one
of the races taken separately, and indications of a mixed population would present
themselves. Another form of mixture would be obtained if for centuries these two
once more or less pure races had intermarried. Their descendants would show that
in some cases the characteristics of each of the ancient races were maintained, in
others that short stature was associated with a long head and short stature with a
round head ; an intermediate form of head, a mean between the round and the
long, and middle-sized stature would also occur. In the same family even there
might be found one member short, medium or tall with a head intermediate in
form between the round and the long, another member tall with a long head,
while a third was short and round-headed. This is precisely what has occurred
in England, and we have at the present day all the combinations mentioned. In
some parts of the country the long-headed short race are predominant, in other
parts the tall round-headed race are more numerous, and in every part of the
country there are modifications of the two races assuming the form of a com-
promise or of the old race characters of one race appearing in one part of the
body, while other parts of the body of the same individual give evidences of
characters derived from the other ancestral race. There have been also several
subsequent introductions of other mixed ethnic stocks such as Saxon, Norse,
Normans, French, Italians, Jews, Kussians, and Teutons from various parts of
the Continent. In the division of each measurement used in metric identification,
a true balance must be struck between the various race elements in different
parts of the country, the modifications caused by the admixture of these races
in various proportions, and the frequency with which one or other of the special
characteristics of each of the two early races reappear. The problem is a difficult
one, and the balance might be upset at any moment and require readjustment by
a marked increase of criminals from one or other part of the country, or by an
increase of criminals possessing the characteristics special to one or other race, or
of the resultant modification produced by admixture of races. The effects of town
life and of certain kinds of employment in producing degeneracy are also elements
of importance which must not be overlooked as causes liable to affect the balance.
The divisions which have been arrived at are as far as possible the resultant
of the various factors obtained from statistics received from all parts of the
country, including large towns as well as rural districts.
From what has been just stated it will be evident that it was impossible to
utilise the labours of other workers in the field of metric identification by
adopting their schemes of classification and applying them to our records. For
example, it was useless to attempt working with the various limits which have
186 J. G. GAKSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
been found applicable to the metric descriptions of criminals in France, the
ethnological composition of the inhabitants of that country being different from
that of England in the proportions of the admixtures which have taken place
through past ages. Nor do I think it likely that the various limits which have
been assigned to the sub-divisions in England would in all respects hold good
in the case of a metric bureau being established either in Scotland or Ireland,
or even for the north or the south of England itself.
I have already stated that in a mixed population such as we have to deal
with in England the correlation between the* different measurements used for the
classification of criminal records is slight. Still it is present to some extent, and
has to be provided for in fixing the limits of the different groups so as to obtain
equal distribution of the records in the various divisions and sub-divisions of the
cabinet, which is a matter of considerable importance. By correlation between
the different measurements I mean the tendency for a person of large size to have
the various parts of his body large and conversely for a small man to be of small
dimensions throughout his organism. This does not hold good universally, as it is
well known that a man of small size may have a large head or he may be small
in one of his head measurements and large in another. Inherited racial character-
istics in some respects modify this tendency to correlation in a mixed mass of
metrical statistics, and so assist in reducing it to the proportions in which it exists.
When we take a sufficiently large number of measurements of any part of the
body whether it be of stature, head length or any other dimension, and plot the
individual measurements out on paper ruled horizontally and vertically so as to
form small squares each one millimetre in diameter, we find that they form an
outline diagram in the shape of a curve or polygon more or less peaked to which
the name of Frequency curve is applied, and which may be dealt with by
mathematical theory. The most frequently occurring size will form the highest
point or apex of the curve, and from this the outline will more or less rapidly or
slowly recede till the maximum degree of divergence on either side of the mean
is reached, according as the range of variation in the dimension under examination
is small or great.
If the individual elements used in the formation of this frequency curve be
homogeneous the curve will appear to be simple and regular in outline, and it
would be a matter of no great difficulty to so divide the sum of the elements
entering into its formation a,t each millimetre of its extent into what, for purposes
of our classification, would be three equal groups, or at least near enough to be
considered equal groups. The fact that the frequency curve is not always
homogeneous has been noted by Bertillon and others and mathematical methods
of analysing it given by Professor Karl Pearson, where two elements occur in its
composition. In a mixed population such as I have shown we have to deal with in
England, and in which there are various kinds of mixtures and other influencing
factors, the frequency curve of any measurement often shows its composite character
by irregularities of outline ; especially is this the case when the metrical statistics of
".s used in Great Britain <>,i<! ftr/mnl. ]87
which it is composed are not very numerous. The predominance or the reverse
of any one or other of the various ethnical factors previously mentioned at the
timr tiic d;tla are being dealt with, and at other times, introduces an element of
uiKvrtainty which must be provided for as far as possible, so as to prevent the
necessity of having always to be modifying and altering the limits of the various
groups. The probable error has therefore to be calculated and irregularities in the
curves allowed for. I need not here go into the details of the various mathematical
proceedings by which the several factors involved may be dealt with to obtain
the desired result. I may, however, remark that an attempt was made, in the
first instance, to fix the limits of the divisions directly without applying any of
these mathematical processes, beyond that of sorting out the records into three
equal groups, and then proceeding to deal with the divisions so arrived at by the
next measurements and so on ; but it proved a failure, and more scientific though
more intricate means had to be resorted to which have given much more satisfactory
results. The first of these tried was that of working upon the lines applied by
Mr. Francis Galton to his laboratory statistics, which, at various times, he has
brought before this Institute for determining the mean between different
percentiles, probable errors and the like. I found as regards the first, that it was
not quite exact enough for the purposes of these divisions, as by the formula he
uses, viz., KQ3~~Qi) + Qi = M or Q2, it is assumed that from the two first mentioned
quartiles, the value of any one or both of which may be subject to a plus or minus
variation, better data for fixing Q2 are obtained than from the observed Q.,. More
satisfactory results were obtained by the use of Professor Edgeworth's modification
of this formula, whereby the influence of all three quartiles are called into action
in determining the mean value of Q2. This may be shortly stated by the formula,
;1, or —^ — — 2, as the one or other factor is the larger. I am,
O'£ ij Ll
however, indebted to the various publications of Professor Karl Pearson for much
valuable assistance in this work. The practical outcome has been that for the
purposes of primary classification, I have now got limits which I think are fairly
reliable, determined for the first four measurements on the metric form and card,
and those of the fifth measurement — the cubit — provisionally arranged. Progress
lia.s also been made towards secondary classification, as I have also got certain sub-
divisions by some of the finger impressions in process of being worked out ; as,
however, these latter are still in the experimental stage I do not, as I stated at an
earlier period, intend to discuss them on this occasion, but will content myself
with mentioning that they are intended to take the place of the secondary
measurements, colour of eyes, etc., used by M. Bertillon as a subsidiary means of
classification of the French metric records.
The description of the arrangement of the metric records in the metric
cabinet just given applies only to those of males who have reached adult size.
The metric descriptions of women are separately dealt with. Being comparatively
few iii numbi-r as compared to the records uf males, one cabinet witli twenty-seven
188 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
drawers has been ample for their accommodation. The same plan of sub-division
has been adopted for this cabinet as for that of the males, but fewer measurements
have been requisitioned for the purpose of primary classification, and different
limits fixed for the several classes.
The metric descriptions of growing youths up to twenty years of age are dealt
with separately from the records of adults, and for the classification of the former
finger impressions only have been employed as recommended by the Committee
in their report, it being obvious that earlier records would in many instances be
missed if search for them were made from metric descriptions taken a year or
even less subsequently, in consequence of the growth during the interval of the
parts measured.
The system of recording the metric descriptions of prisoners used in England
differs from that of the French system, which has been adopted by the continental
nations of Europe, chiefly in particulars of secondary importance. If a metric
description be sent to the Central Office here from Erance, Germany, Austria,
or any of the other countries which has adopted the metric system of identifi-
cation for its criminals, search can be made for the prisoner by it, because all the
information required for search by our system is contained on such foreign metric
card. If on the other hand the metric description of any person arrested or
in prison in England is applied for by a continental nation or we desire to have
search made for him in some continental metric bureau, I am able to get the
various additional particulars and measurements taken in our prisons which are
required by the Identification Bureau so applying or applied to for information
to enable search to be made for the prisoner by the Bertillon system.
Hitherto I have dealt with the processes of recording and classifying metric
descriptions so as to form a register which will enable us to lay our hands upon
any particular record contained therein with the minimum amount of labour and
in the shortest possible time. We have now to consider how this metric register
is to be used in order to realise the main object for which it has been established,
namely, the identification of criminals. In doing so I have first to describe what
steps have to be taken by Police Forces throughout the country, desirous of
obtaining information as to the criminal history of anyone it may contain, and
secondly, what has to be done by the staff of the Metric Office when a request
for information regarding any person thought likely to be registered in the
Central Office, is received.
When a person is arrested on a charge of having committed an offence and he
is unknown to the police by whom he is arrested, it is usual to ask the magistrate
before whom he is brought in the first instance to remand him to enable inquiries
to be made regarding him, or the magistrate may of his own initiative remand the
prisoner for that purpose. If the magistrate grants the application for a remand
or himself remands the prisoner, the following blank form, which has been
approved of for the purpose by the Home Secretary, is filled up by the police in
charge of the case, asking for the metric description of the prisoner to be taken
as used in Gh-eat Britain and Ireland. 189
by the governor of the prison in which he is kept during the time for which ho
is remanded.
The Chief Constable of.
hereby makes application that the measurements, description, finger
impressions and photograph of .
charged at
with
and remanded till
shall be taken and forwarded to the Registrar of Habitual Criminals,
New Scotland Yard, London, for the purpose of obtaining information
as to h... antecedents, as in consequence of the nature of the offence
with which ...he is charged, there are grounds for suspecting that ...he
has been previously convicted, or has been engaged in crime.
_ day of _ 189
To The Governor,
R.M. Prison ...
j p
Rank
N.B. — The Officer of Police signing this application must be of not lower
rank than Superintendent.
* Other reasons, If any, to be here stated.
This form is submitted to the magistrate or to a Justice of the Peace for his
approval. If he approves of the metric description of the prisoner being taken,
he signs the form, and it is forwarded with the commitment warrant and the
prisoner, or subsequently, to the Governor of the prison. In the metropolis
the approval of the Commissioner of Police or of an Assistant Commissioner
is sufficient, they being ex qfficio Justices of the Peace. With the delivery
to the prison officials of the form bearing the magistrate's approval the duty
of the police ends, till a reply has been received from the Metric Office.
The Governor of the prison has forthwith, on the receipt of the prisoner and
the application, to have the metric description and photograph of the prisoner
taken and forwarded to the Metric Office for search. This may seem a
somewhat long and roundabout procedure, but were the various circum-
stances which led to its adoption taken into account, I think it would be
regarded in a more favourable light than it appears in at first sight. The
question may naturally be asked, Why do not the police take the measure-
ments of a prisoner on his arrest ? The Governor of a prison is the only one
who is authorised by Act of Parliament to measure and photograph a prisoner.
To extend the power to the Police Forces we would have had to wait for an
Act empowering them to do so, to be passed before the system could have
been introduced. Again, supposing such an Act to have been passed, there are
190 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric, System of Identification of Criminals,
in England and Wales no less than about 200 Police Forces independent of each
other, for each of which, at least, two measuring officers would have had to be
trained, and in several forces four to six officers would be required, so that the
total staff to be trained and looked after would have amounted to from 500 to
600, a number which it would almost be impossible to keep efficient at the work.
On receipt of the application and metric description at the Metric Office tlie
pattern of the finger impressions have to be deciphered and noted on the metric
form in the space assigned on it for the finger formula, likewise the measurement
formula is made out and noted on it from a key to the cabinet, containing the
limits of the different divisions and sub-divisions. By this means the exact
drawer, and sub-division of the drawer is arrived at where any previous record
of the prisoner should be, if there be a previous record of him. The searcher is
thus able to go directly to the exact series of records, and turn over the few cards
it contains till he finds the previous description of the prisoner. The time occupied
in noting the measurement and finger ^formula?, and searching for the previous
record in ordinary cases occupies from three to five minutes. If no previous record
be found of the prisoner in the set of cards indicated by the measurement and
finger formulae, the searcher has to see whether any of the measurements are close
to one or other margin of the tripartite division of any measurement, and if
so, repeat the search in the other division or divisions in which it might be
before he can say that no previous record of the prisoner exists in the cabinet,
because on a previous occasion when the prisoner may have been measured, the
measurer may have made the measurement of the part near the margin of the
division tighter or slacker, as previously mentioned. The result of the search,
whether it be positive or negative, is then forthwith communicated to the police
force applying for the information regarding the prisoner, and if a previous
record be found, the list of previous convictions recorded against him are
forwarded with the answer. Unless the measurements be bad, which they
seldom are to the extent of making the search ineffectual, it so rarely happens
for a prisoner to be missed on careful search being made, that it may be accepted
when a previous record of him is not found, that he has not been liberated from
prison on the expiration of a sentence of imprisonment for serious crime during
the time the metric system of identification has been in force, which of itself is
strong evidence in favour of his not being an habitual criminal.
The number of searches which have to be made before a prisoner is found is
important in determining the usefulness of the system, the weak point of which,
as I have previously mentioned, is the occurrence of marginal measurements
requiring searches to be made in more than one division of the cabinet.
Naturally, when a previous record is not found where the metric form indicates
it should be, the searcher, desirous of making sure that the*e is really no
previous record of the prisoner in the cabinet and so prevent his being " scored
off," on it being subsequently discovered that such a record did exist and had
been missed by him, is led to .allow freely for possible errors of measurement.
ow used in Gr«it />/•/////// mul L-ihi,i,l. 191
It is therefore desirable to ascertain how far such multiple searches may ho
pushed with advantage and with what prospect of success.
The following tahle compiled from the number of searches made in cases
where previous records were found and the prisoners identified as old offenders
may he useful, though the percentages therein given are only put forward
tentatively in consequence of being based upon too few data to be entirely reliable.
but may be considered as it were the "first fruits" of the metric system in
England.
Identifications made on —
1 search ... ... ... ... 6 TO percent.
2 searches... ... ... ... 17'1 :, „
3 „ 11-0 „ „
4 „ 2-7 „ „
5 „ ... ••• ••• 3-6 „ „
6 „ and upwards 4'6 ,, „
From the above table it will be seen that to find the previous records of
about 90 per cent, of the prisoners already registered, not more than three searches
were required, and of that percentage two-thirds were found on the first search ;
after the fifth search the number found rapidly decreases. No doubt by making
so many searches the bad effects of errors in measurement have been counteracted,
but as time goes on and the measuring staff becomes more expert at the work I
hope better results may be looked for.
The first two-and-a-half years after the metric system was introduced were
occupied in training a staff of measurers for the various prisons, and in recording
metric descriptions of prisoners before their discharge from prison. It was not
until about 6,000 descriptions had been classified in the metric cabinet that the
actual work of making identifications by means of the system was begun and then
but gradually. I have therefore only the results of three years to show and
compare with those obtained under the old system. Starting with only a small
proportion of records as compared to the number of criminals, and of criminal
records on which the Metropolitan Police had to draw for their identifications, and
there being still not more than 18,000 metric descriptions classified in the
cabinets, it will be obvious that the best numerical results obtainable by the metric
system have not nearly been reached yet. The percentage of identifications by
this system has, however, shown a steady increase from the beginning, and I feel
sure that as the descriptions of the criminal population are obtained and
classified, this increase will continue in the number of identifications effected by
means of it. The results obtained during the last three years from the beginning
of June, 1897, to the end of May, 1900, show that of the total number of
applications received at the Metric Office requesting information as to the
antecedents of prisoners and accompanied by metric descriptions, exactly 30 per
cent, were identified as former offenders. In many cases I have reason to know
that the metric system was only resorted to after other means of discovering the
192 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
identity of these persons (numbering in all over 2,000) had failed. The mere
number of identifications made by the metric system is but a single factor in
estimating its value, and the large amount of time that has been saved to the
Police Forces who have used it is equally important. The officers who would have
been detailed to make investigations under the old system have been employed at
other work, and the identifications have been made with a certainty and accuracy
which under the old system were wanting, and most probably in many instances
where no connection with previous convictions would have been traced.
Turning to the Eeport of the Committee for 1894 once more, I find a
valuable table of statistics of the search forms received and the identifications
made from the records at the Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police during
the years 1891, 1892 and 1893, under the old system of identification. By adding
together the searches received from the various Divisions of that Police Force
and the route-inquiry forms received by it from Provincial Police Forces during
these years, we have a total number of 23,110 searches; adding the identifica-
tions made from records during the same years, we find they amount to 3,922,
which gives a percentage of almost 17'0 identifications from the previously
mentioned number of searches.
Comparing the results of the searches made by the metric system with the
above made under the old system together, we have the following result: —
Identifications by metric system ... ... ... ... 30'0 per cent.
„ from records by the old system ... ... 17*0 „ „
Increase of identifications by metric system ... 13'0 „ „
As regards the time taken in searching by the old system, I find a
significant note under the table referred to which is as follows: — "On the
1st day of March, 1893, 21 officers attended to search for 27 prisoners, taking
in all 57f hours to search ; resulting in 7 identifications." Giving a liberal
allowance of time for searching by the metric system the same work could be
done by one officer in four hours.
The benefit to be derived from the use of the metric system to Police
Forces in aiding them in their work of identifying criminals has not yet been
fully realised except by a few Forces. As it becomes better known I have
no doubt it will become much more extensively employed than hitherto, and
the reliability which can be placed on the identifications made by means of
it will be appreciated not only by the Police Forces of the country, but also by
those who have to administer the law, in the persons of magistrates and the
judges of the higher courts. The state of organisation of the system is such
as to enable any increased demands which may be made upon it to be met with
ease. Sufficient proof of its utility has already been forthcoming to show
that it has passed successfully through the experimental stage, and that it is
capable of fulfilling all that may be required of it in future, provided that it is
carried on with due regard to the scientific bases on which it depends for its
/y.s vstd in Great Britain and Ireland. 193
existence. But it is necessary to emphasise this proviso. The metric system of
i'lrntification is not like a machine such as a steam engine or a watch which will
work satisfactorily on being supplied with the motive force it requires under the
hands of those not skilled in its construction. In other words it cannot be carried
on successfully as an ordinary branch of a government or police office. To be
successful it must ever be considered and treated as a scientific laboratory to be
carried on under the immediate supervision and personal direction of a scientific
expert at the work, one who has a good knowledge of human morphology and also
of mathematics as applied to statistics, and medical jurisprudence. There
is no finality in the arrangements of any part of the system; modifications
and improvements must ever take place if it is to progress and keep up
with the calls upon it. I have heard the complaint made that M. Bertillon
was ever making changes and alterations in the arrangements of the
Paris Anthropometrical Bureau. This instead of being a ground of complaint is
a sign that the system there is being maintained in an efficient condition. In
this country the need of expert direction is still more necessary than in Paris,
seeing that here none of the work of measuring prisoners is done at the Central
Office whereas in Paris a great part of it is done under M. Bertillon's own eye.
Here the work of the measuring staff at the Prisons and of the searching staff
at the Central Office though entirely separate has to be kept in harmonious touch
the one with the other. The disregard of scientific direction has proved disastrous
to the success of the metric system of identification in some countries where it
has been started and carried on for a time by police officers who have had only a
little instruction in it, and cannot be expected to be proficient in the sciences on
which it is based. I have been constrained to dwell upon these points because of
the apparent simplicity and ease with which the practical results of the system
seem to be obtained to those who are not versed in the underlying principles and
work upon which the practical results depend, and which if not attended to must
inevitably cause it to break down. I have no hesitation in stating that unless
adequate provision is made for carrying it on. in the way which is essential to
its very existence, it is far better not to attempt identification by this system.
Inquirers have sometimes said to me, " We do not want the scientific part of the
system, only show us how it is to be worked in practice." My reply is, " You
may as well try to play Hamlet without anyone to take the part of Prince of
Denmark, as to attempt to do without the scientific part of the system." But
I do not wish it to be inferred from anything I have just said that there are
inherent difficulties in administering this system. All I mean to state is that
adequate knowledge of and training in the sciences on which it is founded are
essential to carry out the system satisfactorily. No one would think of entrusting
the medical or surgical treatment of the patients in a hospital to the civil governor
and his clerks, however capable he might be in his own sphere. By a person
possessing the necessary knowledge the metric system of identification can be as
easily directed, and the various contingencies which occur provided for, as the work
VOL XXX (N.S. III). 0
194 J. G. GARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
of a physiological laboratory can be directed by a physiologist, or as a chemist
can direct his laboratory. The metric laboratory has the advantage that it only
requires the head of it to possess scientific knowledge, the actual work of it can
be well carried out by prison and police officers, after a certain amount of training,
under his direction.
If in the future the metric system be conducted in this country on the lines
I have indicated, which are those on which it was started, I have no hesitation
in predicting that its progress in the future will be thoroughly satisfactory, and
that it will realise the utmost expectations of the Committee which recom-
mended its adoption.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. D. MAC!VER said : — Dr. Garson, in his capacity as scientific expert at
Scotland Yard, is trying by means of anthropometry to discover the differences
which characterise individuals, but when he writes the instructions in Notes and
Queries on Anthropology he is describing measurements which aim at eliminating
individual variations and obtaining the characteristics of race. Obviously, therefore,
it might be expected that different points of measurement . would be selected for
the attainment of diametrically different ends. But to our surprise we find that it
is precisely the measurements employed by the ethnologist, e.g., head-length, head-
breadth, face-breadth, which figure in the forefront of Dr. Garson's list of prison
measurements. There is therefore a dilemma. The measurements referred to
must either show racial characteristics and be of use to the ethnologist, or they
must show individual peculiarities and therefore be of value to the prison expert.
They certainly cannot do both at once.
Colonel GARSIA said : — The system of identification explained by Dr. Garson
has recommended itself to me by reason of its being based on something approach-
ing to certainty, for in my long experience in connection with criminals I have
realised the uncertainty of the former system, which was based entirely on recollec-
tion by a prison officer or policeman of the features of a criminal. How unreliable
was that system of identification jnay be gathered when I mention how on one
occasion I complimented an old and trusted prison officer on his memory, which
enabled him, as sessions officer, to identify as old criminals persons he had not seen for
a great number of years, to which he replied, " Sir, I swears to what the police tells
me ; they knows best." I was completely converted to the system of identification
by measurements when, as Dr. Garson has mentioned, the release of an innocent
person, shortly after the system was introduced in England, was brought about by
it. That was the case of a prisoner in Beading Prison who had been tried and
convicted of a fraud said to have been committed by him some months before his
arrest. The accused had been duly identified as the thief and an old criminal. He
petitioned, after being sentenced, declaring that he was not the thief, and that it
was mistaken identity, as he was in prison in France when the fraud was com-
mitted. The measurements and other particulars of the person he represented
himself to be were then applied for and obtained from Monsieur Bertillon in Paris,
and they proved to be identical in every particular with the prisoner's measure-
ments taken at Reading, and the truth of the prisoner's statement being so fully
as used in Great Britain and Ireland. 1 0.">
established, he was released. Not being a scientist, I do not attempt to criticise the
science of the system of measurement and finger-prints so ably explained by
Dr. Garson. I can only say, I so thoroughly believe in the system that I have
recommended the Secretary of State for War to adopt it for preventing fraudulent
enlistment in the army, and for checking desertion. I have recommended that
every person discharged from the army for any cause, except on termination of
( 'ii^igement, and every returned deserter, shall be so measured, and a register
similar to the criminal register be kept, and on a doubtful person offering to enlist
he shall be measured and his measurement be checked before he is attested. I
believe such a system would be a much more effective way of stopping desertion
and fraudulent enlistment than imprisonment. The system is still, I think, in its
infancy; but it seems to me far better than that in use in France and other
countries, seeing that it is a combination of the methods of Monsieur Bertillon and
Mr. Francis Gal ton, and I feel that we are much indebted to Dr. Garson for the
instructive and interesting address he has given us.
Major E. G. CLAYTON said he could only endorse all that Colonel Garsia had
said concerning the advantages the present system of identification possesses over
the old system ; these advantages he considered to be undeniable.
Mr. GALTON said he had not experienced the difficulty that Dr. Garson
mentioned in the consistent classification of intermediate forms of finger-print
patterns. There were not many of them, and a small standard collection sufficed
for reference. The essential point was that the doubtful cases should be decided at
first with scrupulous care, and in strict accordance with the standards ; then, after
a short time, a right decision would be rapidly formed. Neither could he think that
much difficulty need arise from a refractory prisoner. It did not seem to require
great ingenuity to contrive an arrangement which might be a sort of gauntlet with
finger-stalls, and which, without brutal treatment, should prevent the flexure of
the hand and yet leave the bulbs of the fingers exposed. The method of
measurement was unfortunately impracticable in some of the countries where
identification was often called for. In India it had been tried and then entirely
suppressed, because it was found impossible to exercise that constant supervision
over widely distant stations which was needed to ensure the measurers doing their
work accurately. Between 150,000 and 200,000 cards referring to as many
criminals had been quite recently done away with, and cards of finger-prints are
being substituted for them as fast as possible. He regretted that Mr. Henry, under
whose administration this great change had been effected, was not present at the
meeting to relate his experiences, which were entirely favourable to the finger-
print method. On the other hand, he (Mr. Galton) felt surprised that the power
of that method was as great as Mr. Henry found it to be. There was one very
common pattern, that in which every finger showed an ulnar loop, 6 out of every
100 sets being of this kind. Consequently in a collection of 200,000 sets there
would be no less than 12,000 of these, yet Mr. Henry seemed to use no method for
sub-classifying them that differed in principle from those he (Mr. Galton) had
employed. He wished to refer briefly to a visit recently made by himself to the
Bureau of Identification at Cairo, organised within the last three years by Colonel
Harvey Pasha. It was carried on in strict accordance with the recommendations
of the Committee of which Dr. Garson had spoken, and it seemed to him as well
o 2
196 J. G. GARSON. — The. Metric System of Identification of Criminals,
managed as could be. The difficulty arising from all measurements in the same
individual tending to be alike large, if one of them was, or conversely, all small
if one was small, had been ingeniously overcome by one of the officials entirely
by himself, the number of cards, or rather papers, in each of the drawers being
now nearly the same. The rapidity was surprising with which cards were hunted
out from the collection in Cairo of between 18,000 and 19,000 of them, referring
to as many different male adults. The women were dealt with by finger-prints
alone, there being social prejudices in the past that interfere with their measure-
ment. Similarly as regards minors, for it is obviously of no use to measure a
growing boy.
He thought that every separate Identification Bureau would be likely to have
something to teach to the rest, and much to learn from them, and he looked
forward to a time, perhaps some few years hence, when a conference of executive
officers might properly meet to interchange views and arrange as far as might be
for a similarity of method.
Sir JAMES CRICHTON-BKOWNE said he had listened to Dr. Garson's paper with
great interest, and with high appreciation of the ingenuity and labour that had
been expended on the investigation it described. The system of identification
which Dr. Garson had inaugurated in this country would have important practical
results. Certainty of detection was much more deterrent in the case of crime
than severity of punishment, and it was possible that some of the criminals
subjected to this mysterious process would, on their discharge from prison, go
and sin no more, convinced that an alias would no longer afford any protection.
Then, the data collected, when classified and arranged, would throw light on some
racial, social, and pathological questions, and would be of special value, when
comparison was possible between them and similar data, referring to other classes
in the community besides criminals. Sir James desired strongly to insist on the
importance of what Dr. Garson had said, that observations of this kind could only
be efficiently carried out under the immediate supervision of a scientific expert.
No matter how well trained, or how painstaking the prison officers might be, they
would require to be supervised and checked, from time to time, in making
measurements in which the utmost exactitude was essential. He recalled some
observations on weight, made on the patients of a large lunatic hospital of which he
had charge twenty-five years ago. There were 1,500 patients, and they were
weighed monthly with a view to the early detection of pulmonary consumption,
the symptoms of which are often masked in the insane, so that it may advance far
without detection. All patients who had lost more than three pounds in the
month were reported to the medical officers for special physical examination. The
weighing was carried out, not by ordinary nurses and attendants, but by special
officers. Well, on one occasion the medical officers tested the monthly records,
going over all the weighing themselves, and they found about 75 per cent,
of error, the human bias vitiating such investigations being revealed in the fact
that there was a general exaggeration of weight. When patients were reputed to
have lost weight there were special inquiries, and a good deal of trouble was
imposed on all concerned. Sir James inquired whether the conformateur had ever
been employed for the identification of criminals.
In reply Dr. GARSON said that the dilemma in which Mr. Maclver found
as used in Great Uritain and Ireland. 197
himself was the result of a deduction he had made for himself from incorrect
premises. There existed no such incompatibility as Mr. Maclver had stated, in
the use of the measurements of the head mentioned, for showing racial as well as
individual characteristics. In all races of people these measurements have a con-
siderable range of variation, and in mixed races they are but slightly correlated; for
these reasons they are admirably adapted to demonstrate the individuality of
persons measured and likewise for purposes of classification, the special desiderata
in criminal anthropology. They are equally well adapted for indicating race
characters, because in different races they vary proportionately to one another
very considerably, but in persons of the same race, if the race be what we term
pure, their proportionate variation is small or has a nearly similar ratio. The
absolute head-lengths of two persons may differ considerably, and yet the heads
may have identically the same morphological formation if the breadth of the
longer one be sufficiently great to make both proportionately alike — in other words,
if the measurements of length and breadth in each give the same cephalic index,
or place them together in any scheme by which the relative proportions of the two
measurements are shown. In criminal work the direct linear dimensions of parts
are used, while for distinguishing race characters it is relative proportion which is
sought for and used, the actual size of the head being usually expressed by cubic
dimension or by some empirical formula worked out from the linear dimensions.
From the same set of measurements, therefore, the two kinds of information
required for totally different purposes may be equally well ascertained. The real
determining cause of the selection of the same measurements for both purposes,
apart from their intrinsic suitability for each, is no doubt due to the fact that, of
all measurements which may be taken of the head, these are the ones which can be
obtained with the greatest degree of accuracy, a matter of vital importance in
criminal identification, and no less important in ascertaining race characters.
The opinion Colonel Garsia has expressed regarding the new system of iden-
tification is indeed high testimony in its favour, as no one is better able than he
is, from practical experience of both it and the old system, to form a comparative
estimate of their relative efficiency. When the new system was introduced Colonel
Garsia was Secretary to the Prison Commissioners, and it is due in great measure to
him that the portion of it which is done in the prisons was begun and carried on by
the prison officials with the greatest good-will and zeal. The introduction of some-
thing new, entailing additional work without corresponding pecuniary advantages,
is in any organised service usually beset with many difficulties. In this case nothing
of the kind was experienced, and he coultl not speak in too high terms of the loyal
support and co-operation he had had throughout in the work from one and all of
the prison officials. He was also greatly indebted to Colonel Garsia, and to his
successor, Major Clayton, for the assistance they had at all times given him in
connection with his duties.
In reply to Mr. Gal ton, lie desired it to be clearly understood that his own
remarks on classification by finger-prints apply to their use for this purpose on a
large scale without the aid of measurements ; as is being attempted in India. He
himself used a sub-classification by means of them, in conjunction with measure-
ments, and was contemplating still further developments in this direction, but was
not going to say more on the subject that night, as lie hoped to make it the
198 J. G. G ARSON. — The Metric System of Identification of Criminals.
subject of a subsequent paper. The formula of the finger impressions has been
for the last two years the means by which individual cards are picked out, after
the drawer or division of the drawer, wherein the card sought for should be, has
been determined by the measurements. It was very interesting to have from Mr.
Galton an account of his personal visit to the Identification Laboratory at Cairo,
and of the very excellent work which the speaker knew was being done in Egypt
by his friend Colonel Harvey.
M. Bertillon claims that in Paris the use of his system has been a deterrent
to crime such as Sir James Crichton-Browne has anticipated: certainly it has
been followed by a diminution in the use of aliases. Before anything can be
said as to the deterrent effect of the system in this country it will require, to
be more extensively used than at present. The conformateur has not been used
in the identification of criminals, and whether there is any scope for its use in
this field is extremely doubtful, it being only in part an instrument of precision.
The same difficulty as occurs in classifying photographs would hold good with
respect to the classification of the outlines of the head obtained by means of it.
The PRESIDENT complimented Dr. Garson on his lucid explanation of a
difficult and complicated subject ; and while he agreed with him that the system
was effective in its working, he regretted at the same time the absence of Mr.
Henry, who, after trying the Bertillon system in India, had abandoned it for
finger-prints alone. Committees had sat in India and in London on the compara-
tive merits of the two methods of identification of criminals, and had come to
opposite conclusions ; so that in India the finger-prints were considered sufficient,
while the English committee rejected the finger-prints except as an accessory, and
adopted the more complicated metric system. On these grounds he thought there
was still room for further argument.
( 199
MYCEN^AN CYPRUS AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM
EXCAVATIONS.
BY ARTHUR J. EVANS.
THANKS to the excavations made in Cyprus on behalf of the British Museum by
means of the Turner Bequest, it has been for the first time possible to obtain a
clear insight into a distinct arid highly important phase of the insular civilisation.
Hitherto, though abundant materials existed relating to the Earlier Bronze and
Copper Age of Cyprus and again to the form of Early Iron Age culture to which the
name of Greco-Phoenician has been given, the evidences of Mycenaean influence
were but sparsely attested. In Mr. J. L. Myres's comprehensive introduction to
the early Cypriote remains in the recently published Catalogue of the Cyprus
Museum, it was only possible to deal with this section of the subject in the most
general terms. But with the results before us of the fruitful excavations
conducted by Dr. Murray and his colleagues at Amathus, Curium, and Old
Salamis, the Mycenaean factor in the unwritten history of Cyprus assumes a
wholly new importance. The impress of this ^Egean element is so strong that
we find ourselves in presence not of sporadic influences or isolated importations
of objects, but of a distinct period in the insular civilisation to which the name
Cypro-Mycenaean must henceforward be given.
Dr. Murray and his colleagues must certainly be congratulated on the wealth
of illustration with which these results are set forth in their recent publication,1
including fourteen photographic process plates and a number of figures in the text.
Many of these figures, it may be added, have a special value from the fact that
they represent, in a collective form, groups of vases found together in the same
tomb.
The finds at Enkomi or Old Salamis were extraordinarily rich in gold objects
belonging to the Mycenaean Age. Indeed, since Schliemann's excavation of the
Akropolis graves at Mycenae, there has been, if we except the JEgina Treasure, no
such a discovery of gold objects belonging to the prehistoric period of Greece.
Both these, the carved ivories, and the vases in a naturalistic indigenous style
imitating Egyptian porcelain, combine to throw a wholly new light on the art of
this interesting period.
Considering the generally conservative character of Cypriote art, it might be
tempting to believe that we have here the record of a survival of the Mycenaean
1 Excavations in Cyprus (Bequest of Miss E. T. Turner to the British Museum). By A. S.
Murray, LL.D., F.S.A., Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, A. H. Smith, M.A., F.S.A.,
and H. B. Walters, M.A., F.S.A., Assistants in the Department of Greek and Roman
Antiquities.
200 A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cypms as illustrated
style belonging to a considerably later date than the Mycenaean remains of
Greece proper. Groups on some of the ivories, such as the man fighting with
a griffin, show a certain community with the designs on later Cypro-Phoeuician
silver bowls and on scarabs and ivories found by Layard in the Palace of Nimroud
and dating from about 850 to 700 B.C. Dr. Murray himself has consistently stood
out for a chronology which brings the pure Mycenaean style down to the " Age of
the Tyrants " and makes it " the immediate predecessor of the Ionian Greek art
of the seventh century B.C." In the present publication he has endeavoured
to draw new arguments in support of his thesis from such approximations as
the above between Cypro-Mycenaean and later works. The present work, set
forth under official auspices, is so full of suggested chronological deductions
and — if its authors will pardon the expression — archaeological insinuations, all
pointing in the same direction, that it is time to inquire whether there is any
real warrant for these highly revolutionary conclusions.
Nothing is clearer than that " Ionian " art in many respects represents the
continuity of Mycenaean tradition. But it is also none the less evident that its
designs do not as a whole fit on directly to those of the great days of Mycenae.
There are missing links in the chain which must be supplied from some inter-
mediate quarter. A whole series of new winged creations — Harpies, Gorgons,
Pegasi — have come into being. New ornamental motives, such as the Assyrian
rope pattern or guilloche, have obtained a vogue. Here and there types remain
practically unchanged. Here and there has been an actual revival — especially
conspicuous in the Melian class of gems and in some of the oldest coin types — of
designs belonging to the great Mycenaean Age, but in this case executed with
inferior skill on softer materials. There is a real renaissance, and there is also an
unbroken tradition. But wherever in Greece proper this survival of Mycenaean
forms is most clearly traceable — as, for instance, in Crete — it is found in combina-
tion with entirely new elements, due in Greece itself to the invasion of the old
Mycenaean area by " geometrical " forms. In Cyprus itself the same mixed style
is visible, due largely to the borrowing of Egyptian and Assyrian elements under
the influence of the eclectic Phoenician taste. It is this hybrid culture, and
not the pure Mycenaean type, that stands immediately behind the so-called
" Ionian " civilisation of the seventh century B.C.
But if we examine the relics of Mycenaean Salamis as revealed to us by these
excavations what do we find ? Cyprus is Cyprus, and the geographical affinities
of the island naturally make themselves felt. There are certainly here more
traces of Mesopotamia!! and Egyptian influence than would be found in the
contemporary deposits of the ^Egean lands. But the vitality of the local genius
is still sufficient to assimilate into its own being the borrowed elements. The
prevailing type of seal, for instance, is the Oriental cylinder, and among the
most frequent of the engraver's designs is a native adaptation of the Egyptian
floral pillar as seen on the porcelain ornaments and beads of Tell-el-Amarna.
But the whole together forms a new sphragistic style of a specifically Cypro-
in the British Museum Excavations. 201
Mycenaean class — a class about which much might he written, but the very
existence of which has been passed unnoticed by the authors of the work before
us. The ivory groups of the man struggling with the griffin, though they
represent the taking over of a familiar Chaldaean scheme, reproduce it never-
theless in an indigenous garb. For the groups on the casket and mirror handles
are homogeneous in their character. There is here no impertinent juxtaposition
of undigested elements borrowed from various foreign sources, as when we see
upon a Cypro-Pho2iiician bowl a winged Assyrian figure beside a hawk-headed
Egyptian divinity.
For my own part I was quite prepared, nevertheless, to believe that the relics
from these Cypriote tombs would enable archaeologists to trace a living Mycenaean
style in the island to a distinctly later date than that which is now generally
taken as the latest approximate limit of the period. It seemed on the face of it
extremely probable that a part of these remains might come down after 1100 B.C.
I was, indeed, the more inclined to accept such a conclusion, from the fact that
in the case of the vEgina Treasure, the jewellery of whicli presents certain points
of affinity to some of the Enkomi specimens, I had committed myself to the
suggestion that the date when these Late Mycenaean objects were deposited might
come down as low as 800 B.C.1
But a careful examination of the new Cypriote finds has convinced me that
there is no sufficient evidence for assigning to any of the Mycenaean relics found
a later chronology than that which lies within the limits generally claimed for that
civilisation. The affinities traceable among them to the Treasure from ^Egina
must, moreover, be rather taken as showing that the Late Mycenaean phase
there represented belongs to a distinctly earlier date than I had myself been
formerly led to assign to it. No doubt there are among the objects from the
Mycenaean tombs of Old Salamis and the other Cypriote sites at present in
question a few objects of later fabric. Some of the tombs, as results from
information supplied by the principal scavatore, showed evidence of secondary use,
and the fact that from May to July the excavations at Eukomi were by the
circumstances of the case conducted without the presence of an expert
archaeologist2 makes it unnecessary to attach any great importance to small
individual discrepancies in the character of some of the finds. On the whole,
however, this intrusive element is extremely small, and the tomb-groups present a
very homogeneous Cypro-Mycenrean character.
So many questionable conclusions have been drawn from these finds by the
authors of the present publication that it seems desirable to examine them some-
what in detail, especially in regard to the chronological indications that they afford.
The irruption en masse of ceramic and other types of ^Egean origin on the
1 Journal of Hellenic Studies, xiii, p. 224.
2 Dr. Murray states in the preface to his work that " from May to July the excavations
were superintended by Mr. Percy Christian, who made a careful record of the contents and
shape of each tomb." But, for the delicate questions connected with secondary interments,
the constant presence of a trained archteologilt is necessary.
202
A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cypnis as illustrated
traditional products of Cyprus itself is of special interest in its probable relation
to the early Achaean colonisation of the island of which its later quasi- Arcadian
dialect was an abiding record. In this connexion the new materials now before
us yield at least one important negative result. The earlier Mycenaean elements,
such as we see them in the Akropolis tombs at Mycenae itself, in Thera, in Crete,
and elsewhere are here conspicuous by their absence. It was not therefore till
Mycenaean civilisation had attained its mature development that it asserted
a dominant position in Cyprus. The earliest period represented in these finds
corresponds with that which a variety of discoveries of Egyptian objects witli
^Egean finds and of Mycenaean objects in Egyptian deposits approximately indicate
as the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries B.C. In other words, these earliest
Cypro-Mycenaean fabrics belong to the same age as the Vapheio tomb, and the
most typical graves of the lower town of Mycenae and of lalysos.
The internal evidences of date supplied by these Cypriote finds fully
corroborate this general conclusion. Together with the new intrusive class of
vEgean wares which predominated in the early tombs of this period at Enkomi,
Curium, and elsewhere, there came to light a certain proportion of painted
vessels answering to the Bronze Age ware of Cyprus itself. Besides these were
found many specimens of types of pottery belonging neither to the .^Egean nor to
the indigenous Cypriote class. One of these extraneous types is that of the black
clay bottles1 (Fig. 1) with punctuated decoration, a class which occurs as a foreign
O03 1304.
FIG. 1. — BLACK PUNCTURED WARE FROM ENKOMI.
1306
ingredient in Egyptian tombs as early as the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties
and continues to be found there in the succeeding Eighteenth Dynasty period.
Another, probably imported class of pottery found in these Mycenaean tombs
consists of flask-like vessels of brown bucchero apparently imitating leathern
forms.2 These vessels have been found at Lachish and other Palestinian
1 See p. 6, Figs. 1303, 1304, 1306. This and other figures are here reproduced with the
kind permission of the Trustees of the British Museum. This ware is referred to by
Mr. J. L. Myres, Cyprus Museum Catalogue, pp. 36, 37, as "black ware," and he rightly
indicates its early associations.
2 This is referred to by Dr. Murray as " moulded ware " (see p. 6 and Fig. 7, and other
examples in the tomb-groups given under Figs. 62, 66, and 69). Mr. Myres, op. cit., p. 36, calls
it " base-ring ware," but some of the most characteristic flasks have no ring at the base.
iii the British Museum Excavations.
203
sites, a fact which seems to point to that quarter as their place of fabric. What,
however, is of special importance in relation to the frequent appearance of these
foreign flasks in the Enkomi tombs is the fact that they are almost equally
frequent in Egyptian tomb-groups of the Eighteenth Dynasty.1
The Mycenrean vases found in the Enkomi graves fully bear out this
chronological equation. Apart from certain local varieties, such as those with
chariots and others with bull-fights (cf. Fig 4, No. 1205) these are of the fully
developed class answering to the fragments found in the Tell-el-Amarna mounds
representing the waste-heaps of the Palace of Akhenaten (B.C. 1383-1365) as well
as in closed tombs of the same Eighteenth Dynasty period. The pomegranate-like
glass vessels (Fig. 4, No. 1218) found with them resemble, as Dr. Murray himself
admits, examples found by Professor Petrie at Gurob in deposits ranging from
about 1450 to 1200 B.C.
In the same Egyptian deposits occurred a form of bronze pin with a central
eye which closely corresponds with a typical form of gold pin found in the Enkomi
graves (Fig. 2). The type itself is of old Cypriote derivation, and early varieties
of it have been found in
pra? -Mycenaean interments
of the island, such as those
of Aya Paraskeve. It seems,
moreover, to stand in an
intimate relation to certain
perforated pins found in the
Italian Terremare and con-
temporary tombs and Lake-
Dwellings, which may in
turn be connected with the
earliest fibula-types of the
Scandinavian Bronze Age.
But Dr. Murray, neglecting
the obvious comparisons
supplied from these sources,
and especially the Gurob
finds, seizes on the fact
that some of the Enkomi
pins are surmounted by
ribbed beads of blue paste
as an argument for bring-
ing down their date some
seven centuries later than FIG. 2.— GOLD PINS FUOM ENKOMI.
1 Several groups of this kind, from the excavations of Professor IVtrie and others, arc in
the Ashnioleau Museum at Oxford.
204
A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus as illustrated
the parallels above cited would naturally imply.1 As a matter of fact, the use
of glass paste imitations of lapis lazuli for beads and inlaying is a thoroughly
Mycenaean characteristic, while such a practice among the later Greeks is at any
rate extremely rare. But Dr. Murray is so far carried away by this argument
that he does not hesitate to compare the Enkomi pins with those that fasten the
chitons on the shoulders of the Fates on the Franqois vase, dating from the
seventh century B.C. It is sufficient to observe that the pins on the vase are of an
essentially different type, with the loop or eye at the head instead of the middle.
Of fibulas or safety-pins proper, only two examples2 were found in
the Enkomi cemetery (Fig. 3). Both of these represent a very slight
788
I5H
FIG. 3. — BRONZE FIBULAE FROM EKKOMI.
development of the earliest " fiddle-bow " form. They are of much the same
type as some of those found in the tombs of the lower town of Mycenae, except
that what may be called the " stilt " at the catch end is somewhat higher. But
they are less developed than two examples from the Curium cemetery (Figs. 92,
93, p. 68), one of them found in a tomb still belonging to the pure Mycenaean
period and containing characteristic pottery and implements of bronze. This
latter type is represented by two gold fibulas now in the Ashmolean Museum,
found with a biigelkanne of the latest Mycenaean style at Old Paphos, and by
another similar from Kition belonging to the Cesnola Collection. This slightly
more advanced type, however, itself supplies the. antecedent stage to the earliest
fibulas of the Geometrical Period. Dr. Murray contents himself with the
observation that " it may be remembered that at first one of the arguments in
favour of a very early date for the antiquities of Mycenae was the absence of
bronze fibulae." The argument, which still holds good, was applied to the contents
of the Akropolis shaft-graves, which are generally recognised as earlier than the
1 Dr. Murray quotes, in support of this, a comparison instituted by myself between the
cut paste inlaying of the eyes and brows of some embossed heads on a gold ornament of the
^Egina Treasure with the inlaid work applied in the same manner to eyes and eyebrows on
ivories from the N.W. Palace at Nineveh. But the inlaid work in that case was of lapis
lazuli and not of glass paste, as he erroneously quotes me as saying (p. 19). The particular
application of the inlaying on the Nimroud ivories to the eyes and eyebrows is a parallel that
must still hold. But I based no chronological conclusions on the use of glass paste itself. I
was, indeed, careful to point out that sliced lapis lazuli inlayings, analogous to the blue paste of
the Mycemeans, are seen in the cloisons of Egyptian jewels from the Seventeenth Dynasty
onwards.
» Fig. 27, p. 21.
in the British Museum Eoccavations. 205
tombs di' the lower city, where fibulie of this primitive type were found. It is
quite sufficient for our present purpose that at Enkomi, where the mature stage of
Mycenn an art was represented, fibulie occurred of a type certainly not later than
the twelfth century B.C.
Amongst the other ornaments found in the Enkomi tombs was a fine gold
collar or pectoral inlaid with glass paste. Of this collar Professor Petrie observes
that it presents " nine different patterns of gold pendants, and eight of the nine
are well-known designs of the time of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), but are not
found a century later. . . . Even the lotus, which is one of those forms and
is so common in Egypt in all ages, has here the very narrow petals which are exactly
like the lotus inlay of this reign." He further observes that in the same cemetery
was found a metal ring of Amenhotep IV, probably before his change of religion,
as the God Ptah is named upon it and many scarabs of this king name the Gods,
before his conversion to monotheistic sun-worship. The occurrence of this ring is
specially important, since for obvious reasons the heretic Amenhotep IV was not a
Pharaoh whose cartouches were imitated at later periods.
Tomb 93, in which the gold collar occurred, supplied another valuable
indication of date in the shape of a porcelain scarab with the name of Queen Tyi,
the consort of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten. The great importance
of this find is that it fits on to a series of four earlier discoveries of scarabs and
glazed ware, with the name of Amenhotep III or his queen, in tombs and
buildings at Mycenre itself and at lalysos, demonstrating peculiarly intimate
relations with Egypt in the first half of the fourteenth century B.C.
But Tomb 93, the chronological place of which is thus clearly defined by
evidence which can hardly be called in question, contains not only the richest and
most typical group of gold ornaments found in Enkomi (see Plates V, VI, and VII),
but Myccnrean pottery of a characteristic indigenous style, including vases
exhibiting spotted bulls and a fragment representing pugilists on either side of
the rayed pillar tree frequent on the contemporary cylinders of the island.
In this tomb, the early character of which is so clearly defined, there was also
found a silver ring " engraved on the bezel with Egyptian hieroglyphics which it
is contended " — the quotation is from Dr. Murray — " indicate a date not earlier
than the eighth or seventh century B.C." If this "contention" be substantiated,
the ring must either belong to a secondary interment, of which there seems to
have been no other trace, or have worked in from the outer earth. But the
character of too many other " contentions " in the present work makes another
alternative equally possible. In other words it is difficult to withhold a suspicion
that the ring itself may also prove to be of Eighteenth Dynasty date.
Among the silver vases found in the Enkomi cemetery, one is of great
interest as representing the type of the famous gold cups of the Vapheio tomb.
These cups, as their marvellous repousse designs sufficiently declare, belong to the
most perfect period of Mycenasan art. An approximate chronology has been
already supplied by the delineation of the same form on a Theban tomb -pain ting
206 A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus as illmtratcd
of Queen Hatasu's time (1516-1481 B.C.),1 and more recently by its occurrence on
an inscribed clay tablet, referring to the royal treasures, from the Palace at
Knossos. Remains of this Palace do not include the latest style of art represented
at Mycenae itself, that namely belonging to what may be called the " Round-Shield
Period," illustrated by the painted Stela from the Lower City and the " Warrior
Vase." It therefore appears probable that the vases of this Vapheio class were in
vogue during a period extending from about 1500 to 1300 B.C. There is no trace
of any later survival or development of this special form. But, since the Enkomi
example was found in a tomb (No. 92) together with Mycenaean pottery and gold
pins of the class described above, according to Dr. Murray's system it belongs
approximately to the date of the Francois vase !
In Tomb 28, at Curium, was found a sard scarab in company with a
Mycenaean " kylix " with the typical cuttlefish design, a funnel-shaped vase
adorned with the equally typical murex shells, and a flat spouted bowl, also belong-
ing to a common Mycenaean type. That the tomb-group as a whole belongs to a
good Mycenaean period is obvious. That the scarab forms an integral part of it is
extremely probable. With regard to the scarab I must again quote Professor Petrie,2
whose authority on this class of Egyptian objects is widely recognised. "The
scarab," he observes, " is very closely similar to one of Ramessu II in outline, form
of the back, and mode of cutting, and such fabric is not known in later times. It
bears a figure of the god Thoth seated, with the sun and moon on his head, perhaps
referring to his connection with the god Khonsu. This type of Thoth, either as an
ibis-headed man or as a baboon, is one of the commonest designs on scarabs of
Ramessu II. I know of some sixteen with this god, two of which have the winged
disk over his head as on the Curium scarab. If I have paused thus to show how
in style and subject this scarab is identified with the works of Ramessu. II, it is
because this has been by some curious chance attributed to a far later age and has
been set forth as dating a period " (Mr. Petrie is referring to a preliminary notice
in the Times, 6th January, 1896). " How such a mistake arose it is hard to say.
In the Enkomi cemetery another scarab of Ramessu II was also found."
It is difficult to believe that anyone who has, like myself, had an opportunity
of comparing one of the Ramesside scarabs referred to by Professor Petrie with the
Curium specimen can doubt the justice of his conclusion. But Mr. Walters, with
Professor Petrie's observations at his disposal, contents himself with the following
bald pronouncement, the authority for which he does not give : — " In date this
scarab appears to be not earlier than the twenty-sixth dynasty (B.C. 666-527).
There is no evidence that it belongs to a later burial, and it is a remarkable and
important piece of evidence for the late date of the Mycenaean civilisation in
Cyprus if a seventh century scarab can be contemporaneous with pottery of the
lalysos type " (p. 65).
1 The tomb of Sen Mut. A more complete representation of this painting than has yet
been published will appear in the forthcoming work of Mr. Percy Newberry.
2 Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature. Vol. xix, p. 73.
in the British Museum Excavations. 207
Let us put this argument in another form. A coin is found in a Roman tomb
which, from the fact that a half-effaced Britannia appears on its reverse, is
described as an early penny and referred perhaps to Charles IFs time. A first
authority on Roman coins, however, points out that it is a not uncommon coin of
Hadrian presenting the same figure, and that in fact it belongs to the same date as
the other objects from the same tomb. On the face of it there is little doubt on
which side the probability lies. But admitting the unlikely supposition that,
when thoroughly cleaned, the coin after all turns out to be of Charles II's time, to
what natural conclusion would such an identification point? The obvious and
indeed only possible explanation is that, as has often happened in such cases, the
penny had found its way into the deposit at a later date. Even a "local
antiquary " would hardly see in it " a remarkable and important piece of
evidence " for the late date of Roman civilisation in Britain.
In the next paragraph there is noted the occurrence in Tomb 43 of what is
described as a " Phoenician cylinder of black basalt on which is incised a sphinx or
gryphon guarding a sacred tree much conventionalised," and this is cited as
another indication of the late date of Mycenrean civilisation. Its probable date is
fixed as about GOO B.C., and this view is supported by the altogether unintelligible
argument that before this period " such objects could hardly have been imported."
Strange as is this conclusion and the consequences derived from it, it has not been
thought necessary in the work before us to give any representation of the cylinder,
which was found with Mycenaean jewellery of an early class and itself presents
one of the most usual of the Cypro-Mycenasan cylinder-types.
It will be seen that the new material supplied by these Cypriote graves, so far
from implying a late survival of Mycenrcan culture in the island, takes us back at
every point to a period contemporary with that of the mature art of the class as
seen in the ^Egean area. The new elements that we find here — and they are some
of them very remarkable — are clue to local conditions and to a nearer contact
with Syrian and Egyptian civilisation. The intimate relations with Egypt
are attested by the comparative abundance of imported Egyptian porcelain
or of imitative native glazed wares. Among these indigenous works is a rhyton
in the shape of a horse's head in a strikingly naturalistic style (Fig. 4,
No. 1217). Another takes the form of a ram's head, while two other vases are
in the shape of women's heads, in one case back to back (Fig. 4, Nos. 1210, 1211).
These porcelain rhytons, and still more the last-mentioned vases with female
heads, one of which has the hair behind drawn up in a net, present the most
remarkable resemblance, as Dr. Murray justly points out, to some Greek painted
vases of the sixth century B.C. It must, however, be borne in mind that glazed
ware such as we see in these Cypriote vessels is quite foreign to later Greek art,
and that rhytons in the shape of animals' heads occur on Egyptian wall-paintings
of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty date among the tributary gifts of the
Kefts and other foreigners. Among the Syrian vessels taken by Sety nre certain
rhyton-like vases terminating in sphinxes' heads with the hair turned up as if
208
A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus as illustrated
4. — OBJECTS FROM ENKOMI.
in a bag behind and a caliciform excrescence above — in this case probably a
derivative from the " House of Horns " on the head of Hathor— which somewhat
recalls the upper part of the cup above the female head on the Cypriote vase.
in the £ritis/t Museum Excavations.
209
That the later Attic form shows an extraordinary conformity with these Mycenaean
cups is undeniable. But a possible explanation is supplied by parallel phenomena
in other branches of art. Many of the earliest coin- types of Greece are actual
revivals of designs taken from the numerous engraved gems of the best Mycenaean
period. "We have not here to do — as I was myself once inclined to suppose — with
a mere survival of Mycenaean types. The free, naturalistic figures of the
Mycenaean gems had been long since extinct, and a gap of some six centuries
separates them from the earliest Greek dies. It was a rather deliberate revival
of ancient models, and the archaic art of Greece in fact anticipated one of the most
characteristic features of the Italian Renaissance.
The ivory carvings found at Enkomi claim special attention both from the
intrinsic excellence of their workmanship and from the obvious relation in which
they stand to the reliefs in various materials found at Nineveh. In these carvings
better thaii elsewhere we trace the development of a Cypro-Mycenaean school of
sculpture which was to leave its mark on all later Assyrian art. But this local
school is itself associated with works in the same material from ^Egean deposits
belonging to the same mature Mycenaean period. In the case of a bearded head,
surmounted by a conical helmet adorned with
rows of boars' tusks, we recognise indeed, an
almost exact parallel to the ivory heads with
helmets of an identical character found in the
tomb at Spata and in Grave 27 of the lower
town of Mycenae itself associated with lentoid
gems and other objects belonging to the finest
style of art. This evidence of contemporaneity
is further confirmed by the bronze implements
and good Mycenaean pottery found with this and
other ivory carvings at Enkomi, and shows that
they cannot be separated in date from the rest of
these very homogeneous finds. In Tomb 16, with
the above-mentioned helmet, was found part of a
small ivory mirror-handle exhibiting reliefs of a
recumbent stag or goat. These mirror-handles are
a characteristic local fabric, and it was on one of
these, from Tomb 17, that was carved the figure of
the man slaying the griffin already referred to as
FIG. 5. — WARRIOR ATTACKING GRIF-
presenting a close parallel to similar subjects on FIX : RELIEF ox IVORY DRAUGHT-
later Cypro-Phosnician bowls (Fig. 5). The griffin nox' EXKOMI-
on this mirror-handle, with the spiral locks about his neck, answers nevertheless
to an usual Mycenaean type, and the warrior wears a conical helmet closely
resembling that already described. The lion seizing a bull seen on the back of
this, and on another mirror-handle, recalls the design on a series of Mycenaean
gems. In short, there is nothing here to separate these ivory carvings as a class
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). P
210
A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus as illustrated
from the objects of the best Mycenaean period, with which they were associated.
The work is spirited and naturalistic, and in more than one respect recalls the
magnificent reliefs of the Vapheio vases.
Among these ivory objects is one which deserves special attention. This
is an oblong box, the lid of which is marked off into squares in a manner identical
with that of the draught-box of Queen Hatasu (c. 1481 B.C.). But, if the character
of the game is Egyptian, the reliefs on the two long sides of the casket present
a curious similarity to Assyrian hunting-scenes. On the best preserved side a
mailed warrior armed with a bow is driven in a chariot with richly caparisoned
horses at full gallop after a herd of bulls and antelopes (Fig. 6).
FIG. 6. — CHARIOT SCENE ON SIDE OF IVORY DRAUGHT-BOX FROM ENKOMI.
The general resemblance to the Assyrian scenes is evident. Yet when we
come to look into details a number of divergent points at once strike -the eye.
The car of the Assyrian chariot rises at the back ; that of the Enkomi draught-box
falls away. A distinguishing feature of both the Assyrian and the Mycenaean
chariots is the reduplication of the pole by an upper support starting from the
top of the front of the car and meeting the pole at the yoke. But here we find a
simpler arrangement, in which only the spring of the pole is connected by a
cross-piece with the car-front.
In both these characteristic features the chariot of the draught-box follows
Egyptian models, as illustrated by Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty monu-
ments, as may be seen from the chariot of Eameses III given in Fig. 7, the only
difference being that on some of the Egyptian examples, the back part of the pole
is connected with the car-front by thongs in place of a wooden cross-piece. The
same monuments show that this Egyptian type of chariot was also common to the
contemporary Syrians. On the wall-paintings of the tomb of Eekhmara a Eutennu
of North Syria is seen with a chariot of this form, and it reappears driven by
Kheta or Hittite warriors in the frescoes of Eameses II representing the great
battle of Kadesh (Fig. 8).
The shape of this Hittite car, with its simple rounded outline behind, is
in the British Museum Excavations.
211
idriiticiil with that of the ivory relief. But the correspondence goes beyond this.
The most characteristic of the horse- trappings connected with these Hittite
war-chariots are a broad collar round the neck and a body-covering which seems
to consist of a kind of armour. These features — notably the body-covering — also
reappear on the draught-box, where the bowman himself is also seen wearing a
FIG. 7.— CHARIOT OF RAMESES 1IF.
FIG. 8. —HITTITE CHARIOT: BATTLE OF KADESH. .
coat of mail. This latter feature is not shared by the warriors of the Kadesh
chariot ; on a late Hittite monument, however — the relief, namely, of Sakshe-Gozii,
which from certain Assyrianising features Puchstein is inclined to bring down
p 2
212 A. J. EVANS. — Mycencean Cyprus as illustrated
to the close of the eighth century B.C.,1 and which represents a royal personage
in a chariot, hunting lions — both the horse and the riders in the car are accoutred
in scale-armour.
This scene has been justly cited by Dr. Murray as a parallel to the Enkomi
carving, but though in some respects it shows a survival of the older Hittite
fashion, the chariot itself belongs to the Assyrian class. The back of the car rises
instead of falling away, and the long upper support is visible above the pole.
On the other hand, a feature of the Enkomi design remains to be described
which again takes us back to an earlier period. On one side of the draught-box
there appears behind the chariot a figure of a man holding an axe, who wears on
his head a plumed casque (see Fig. 6). This casque (as Dr. Murray himself does
not fail to observe) is the familiar head-piece of the enemies of Egypt — Purasati,
Takkaras, and other peoples from the southern coast of Asia Minor and " the
Islands of the Sea " — whose overthrow by Eameses III, in a sea-fight near the
mouth of the Orontes, is commemorated on the pylon of Medinet Habou (see
Fig. 9).
To sum up the evidence as to this remarkable ivory relief. The carvings at
the two ends, representing groups of goats and oxen, belong to the usual Mycenaean
cycle, and are practically indistinguishable from the designs on the mirror-handles
from the same Enkomi tombs. The hunting scenes on the sides, however, though
executed by the same Cypro-MycencTjan hands, show a form of chariot and types
of armour and costume different from the Mycennean. They are equally divergent
from Assyrian fashion, and although much in the design shows a certain relation-
ship to similar scenes on the monuments of Nimroud, Kouyunjik, and Khorsabad,
there is no real reason for assigning them to this later period. Their closest
affinities lie nearer at hand, and they seem to have been executed to record the
prowess of some princely Nimrod belonging to one or other of the contemporary
races of the opposite Syrian or Cilician coasts. The closest parallel, both to the
chariot and to the horse -trappings, is to be found in those of the Hittite warriors
delineated on the monument of Rameses II ; the feather helmet most nearly
resembles those of the Anatolian foemen of Rameses III.
A certain falling off in the execution makes it reasonable to suppose that the
carvings on the draught-box are somewhat later in date than the finer reliefs in
ivory found in the same Enkomi tombs, such as the mirror-handle with the warrior
and griffin; A feature, moreover, in the inventory of Tomb 58, which contained the
draught-box, corroborates this view. It was, in fact, one of the few graves in which
was discovered an iron object, in this case remains of an instrument set in an
ivory handle in the shape of a bull's leg. This ornamental treatment of an iron
object is, as we shall see, characteristic of the beginning of the transitional period
which precedes the pure Age of Iron and implies a certain posteriority of date as
compared with the tomb-groups containing exclusively implements of bronze.
1 K. Humann und 0. Puchstein, Reisen in Kleinasien und Nordsyrien, p. 375 seqq. and
PI. XLVL
in the British Museum Excavations.
213
The figures of the armed warrior grappling with a griftin (Fig. 5) that occur on
two of the ivory mirror-handles seem, from their superior style, to belong to a
somewhat earlier period than the draught-box. These are of special interest in
their relation to forms of armour in vogue among the Myceiueans in Cyprus. They
bear round shields with a broad circular border, a circumstance which shows that
this form of shield — which in the ^Egean area seems only to have come into use in
the period of decadence that produced the " Stela of the Warriors " found in the
lower town of Myceme — had obtained an earlier vogue in Cyprus. The appearance
on these ivories of a round shield coupled with the conical helmet enables us to
establish a comparison which gives a singular support to this conclusion. It will
be remembered that in the third shaft-grave at Myceiue there was found a
fragment of blue porcelain showing a warrior's head in relief with a helmet, similar
to that of the figures on the ivories, save that it shows a horn in front, and part of
a round shield.1 The character of the armour, as well as the Egyptianising material
so common at Enkomi, makes it probable that the fragment was either of Cypriote
derivation or even from some early ^gean plantation in the Delta itself, and shows
that the East Mediterranean offshoots of the " Mycenfean " stock had early adopted
the round shield in preference to the 8-shaped body-shield,
which long maintained itself on the mainland and islands
of Greece.
This acquaintance with the round shield is quite in
keeping with the fact that the invaders from Western Asia
Minor, as well as the Shardana seen in the battle-pieces
of Mediuet-Habou, in many cases also hold shields of the
same form. Another circumstance makes this comparison
still more pertinent. Many of the Western warriors on
Rameses Ill's monument are seen armed with a kind of
cuirass,2 formed of a succession of plates, sometimes hori-
zontal, sometimes rising towards the middle in a double
curve (Fig. 9). Cuirasses with plates arranged in the
horizontal manner may with great probability be recog-
nised in certain objects figured along with chariots and
horses on a class of inscribed clay tablets from the Palace
of Knossos. The other type with the double curves recurs
in the case of the two warriors grappling with the griffins
on the mirror-handles of Enkomi (Fig. 5).
Recent discoveries thus supply a double corrobora-
tion of the Homeric tradition which carries back the use of the round shield
and the cuirass or 0o>/o?/£ to the earlier epic period. The poet of the Jfi<»l,
indeed, makes the breastplate of Agamemnon himself a gift of the Cypriote
1 Reichel, Jlomerisc/te }\'a/ent \>. 58, though he refers to this fragment, passes it over as a
foreign importation.
2 Cf. W. Max Miiller, Asien and Europu, p. 364.
FIG. 9. — WESTERN WAR-
RIOR WITH CUIRASS AND
PLUMED CASQUE : MEDI-
NET-HABOU.
214
A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus as illustrated
King Kinyras.1 It had ten bands of inlaid metal, a detail -which curiously
corresponds to the horizontal plates of one variety of the Mycenaean cuirass. In
short, the armed figures on the Enkomi ivories present a most valuable
illustration of the typical Homeric armour. Here, as in the Iliad, the belt or
girdle — the Homeric £a)<TTijp— which seems to have been fastened behind,
follows the lower rim of the cuirass, thus forming a kind of pad round the
waist analogous to that which protected the ankles of later Greek warriors
from the lower edge of the greaves. Just, too, as in the epic we see this
£&)<7T>7|0 reinforced by a second belt— £w/ia — with its belt-plate or fj-irpr}, so on
the ivory relief there is seen a double raised ring around the warrior's waist.
It was this second or true belt that seems more particularly to have held the
chiton or tunic which we see here falling about the hips.
With such a representation before us, a series of Homeric passages on which
Dr. Eeichel in his recent work on Homeric armour has exhausted his powers of
destructive criticism becomes easily intelligible. In the hands of the critic the
passages relating to Agamemnon's breastplate and every other example recorded
in the Iliad are bracketed as interpolations of no earlier date than the seventh
century B.C.,2 the period, namely, when cuirasses are first historically known. In
the few passages where the word Owprjl; is allowed to pass muster, it is transferred
by Dr. Eeichel to the body-shield.
By the same Procrustean method the greaves of the eii/o^/uSe? 'Amatol are
reduced to pads of leather — or at most, in Achilles' case, of tin — to protect the shin
from the heavy body-shield. That such were
worn and for the reason given is probable enough,
but the danger of endeavouring to prove too
much is again illustrated by the discovery in
Tomb 15 at Enkonii of a pair of bronze greaves
(Fig. 10). The tomb in which they occurred was
of the usual Mycenpean kind, and they were
associated with a bronze dagger of a typical form.
But Dr. Murray comments on the find as fol-
lows3 : — " It is contended by Eeichel that metal
greaves were unknown to Homer. He is satisfied
that they were the invention of a later age (about
700 B.C.). Should he still be of that mind, then our greaves may be of some
importance in fixing the date of the Enkomi tombs." Some may think that the
concordant evidence supplied by the Enkomi tomb-groups is of more importance
than the authority of the ingenious Dr. Eeichel in fixing the date of the greaves.
That bronze greaves of pure Mycenrean fabric would ultimately be discovered
had long been my own expectation, for the following reason. That such existed in
Greece in the succeeding "-Dipylon" Period is not yet made out. But it is important
FIG. 10. — BRONZE GREAVES FROM
ENKOMI.
1 Iliad, xi, 19 seqq.
* p. 16.
2 Homerische Waffen, p. 102.
in tlic British Museum Excavations.
215
to bear in mind that, during the same period, an Early Iron Age culture was
developed in the north-western part of the Balkan Peninsula, and perhaps
throughout a still wider archaeological province, which in many ways preserves
the continuity of earlier Myceiuean tradition in a more uncorrupted form than
the contemporary " geometrical " art of Greece.1 This is shown by the appear-
ance of certain specifically Mycenaean forms of objects — such as, to take a single
example, the finger-ring with the major axis of its bezel at right angles to the
hoop— and also by a curious survival of the Mycenaean spiraliform decoration. But
among the characteristic accompaniments of warriors' remains in these early
tombs are bronze greaves2 ornamented in this case not only with the concentric
circles and tangential connexions that represent the decay of the older returning
FIG. 11, 1 AND 2. — ORNAMENTAL IVORY BOSSES, MYCENAE.
FIG. 11, 3. — ORNAMENT ON
BRONZE GREAVES, GLASINA&
FIG. 12. — COPPER INGOT :
EX ROM I.
spiral border, but by a central design of triquetral curves (Fig. 11, 3), the Mycenaean
prototypes of which will be recognised in the gold and ivory bosses found by
Schliemann in the shaft-graves (Fig. 11, 1 and 2).
Among the most interesting discoveries of
Enkomi was a Mycenaean bronze foundry containing
shovels, hammers, tongs, and other implements.
With these was found a large copper slab with
incurving side which unquestionably represents an
ingot (Fig. 12). It is stamped with the Cypriote
character si and recalls a large number of ingots
found in the Bronze Age deposits of Sardinia, many of which are impressed with
signs in a similar manner. On some of the clay tablets referring to the royal
treasures of Knossos are engraved ingots of similar form, also in some cases
1 The evidences of this Illyrian culture have been brought to light of recent years by the
excavations of Radinisky, Truhelka, Fiala, Hoernes, and other explorers in the prehistoric
cemeteries of Southern Bosnia and the Herzegovina (see Wissjnschaftliche Mitthcilunyen aus
Bosnien, und der Herzegovina, 1893, etc., passim ; and Glasnik Zemaljskog Mitseja u Bosni i
Jlercegovini). In my llhiud Lecture on the " Ancient Venetic Art Province and its Influence
on the Celtic Races," an abstract of which was published in the Scotsman (December 14th,
1895), I pointed out the Mycenaean traditions in this Illyrian culture and the link which they
supply between the decorative system of prehistoric Greece and that of "I^ite Celtic " art.
2 ]Yissensch. Mitth. aus Bosnien, III, p. 11, Fig. 23, from a barrow at Glasinar.
216 A. J. EVANS. — My Genevan Cyprus as illustrated
countermarkecl with linear signs and accompanied by inscriptions in the same
Mycensean script. They are in several cases followed by a balance (rd\avrov)
and cyphers apparently indicating their value in Mycemean gold talents. The
scales of a large balance were also found at Enkomi.1
These parallels are the more interesting in their relation to a piece of
Egyptian evidence. On the walls of the Eekhmara tomb at Thebes, already
referred to as belonging to Thothmes Ill's time, the Kefts and People of the
Islands, who in other ways are so intimately associated with the Mycemeans, are
seen bearing ingots of precisely the same form, marked with the copper sign. On
another contemporary tomb an ingot of this shape is being carried to the melting-
pot of an Egyptian foundry.
The appearance on the Enkomi ingot of a character of the Cypriote syllabary
does not stand alone. Dr. Murray remarks that " on a certain number of vases
Cypriote letters have been found. These letters were painted by the potters
before the vases were fired." This observation is of extraordinary interest, but
perhaps owing to the fact that the writer himself believed the Mycenaean vases in
question to date from about 700 B.C., the importance of the phenomenon is so little
appreciated that it has not been thought necessary to reproduce the letters thus
preserved. The use of characters identical with those of the later Cypriote
syllabary among the Mycemean population of the island is, however, corroborated
by another discovery, hitherto equally ignored. In a typical Mycenaean tomb on the
Tekke site, near Larnaka, excavated in 1898 by Mr. H. B. Walters, was found a gold
ring engraved with characters (Fig. 13) which in the British Museum inventory are
set down as imitations of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The characters
are contained between two decorative scrolls and are four in
number. The sign below answers to the Egyptian ankh or
" life symbol," which recurs, perhaps as a religious synibol, on
FIG. 13.— ENGRAVED a gold ring from Enkomi. Forms of the ankh are also of
MI> frequent occurrence, often associated with divinities, on con-
temporary " Hittite " seals. It further appears that some varieties of the Cypriote
character ra resemble this Egyptian sign,2 which also recurs, probably with a
syllabic value, among the linear forms of the Mycensean script found in the Palace
of Knossos.
This ankh sign, which on the signet ring stands apart from the others, may be
therefore either a symbol or a letter. Of the other three signs, however, 3 is
identical with the Cypriote le and y1 with na. /^ is possibly a form of A = ko.
None of these forms are Egyptian.
A fragment of a cl&y pithos was discovered at Enkomi with inscriptions in
the ordinary Cypriote script painted on it in red.3 It was found outside the
1 Excavations in Cyprus, p. 17, Fig. 32.
2 See the forms of this sign from Golgoi in Kollitz's table (Dialekt~lnsch) iften, Vol. 1).
3 Excavations in Cyprus, p. 3, Fig. 2.
t?7- the British Mv.seum Excavations. 217
dromos of a tomb, and there is therefore no evidence as to its date. Its interpretation
presents great difficulties.
Still more enigmatic, however, are the signs engraved on three clay balls1
(Fig. 14, Nos. 765, 766, 768), which, though not found actually in a tomb, lay in
such proximity to it as probably to date from the same early period. Dr. Murray
compares the signs on one of them with the conventionalised pictographic or
hieroglyphic script of Crete, but at most there is only analogy between the two.
We may perhaps trace the degradation of an animal's head in the first sign
of No. 765, or a human palm in the fifth sign. A few simple forms approach
765 >/ 766 768
FIG. 14. — INSCRIPTIONS ON CLAY BALLS FROM ENKOMI.
those of the Cypriote syllabary, e.g., the pa, si, lo, and ta. The newly discovered
linear script of Knossos also presents about the same number of resemblances,
and we see in N"os. 765 and 766 vertical lines introduced with the apparent
purpose of dividing words as on the Cretan tablets. In the present state of our
knowledge of the scripts of the Mycenaean Age it is unsafe to go beyond these
general comparisons.
The time is past when the evidence of the existence of the Cypriote
syllabary in Mycenrean times can excite surprise. The clay archives of the
Palace of Knossos conclusively show that in the ^Egean world there existed at
least as early as the fifteenth century B.C. a highly developed form of linear script
containing a series of forms practically identical with those in use down to a much
later date by the Greeks of Cyprus.
Sufficient evidence has already been given of the general contemporaneity of
the Myceinean remains at Enkomi and other Cypriote sites with the ^Egean relics
found in Egyptian deposits at Tell-el-Amarna, Gurob, and elsewhere, and belonging
to the latter part of the Eighteenth and the beginning of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
But over and above these Egyptian comparisons a very valuable indication of
the early date of these Cypro-Mycemean tomb-groups is supplied by a negative
phenomenon of great significance. Iron here is either altogether absent or only
sparsely employed almost as a precious metal. "Not only," writes Dr. Murray,
" is iron scarce, but wherever it does occur it is associated with marks of respect,
such as being mounted with an ivory handle or knob " (p. 25). Bronze implements
were otherwise universally in use at the date of these sepultures. Such tentative
use of the new metal as is found is characteristic of the first beginnings of the
transitional period that precedes the true Iron Age. The incipient use of iron for
1 p. 27, Figs. 58, 59, 60.
218
A. J. EVANS. — Mycencean Cyprus as illustrated
ornamental purposes has been noted among the later remains at Mycenae itself.
In the shaft-graves of the Akropolis iron is altogether absent, while, on the other
hand, in the graves of the lower town, marked by the first appearance of the fibula,
a few iron finger-rings occurred.
Yet between these latest Mycencean deposits in Greece itself and the earliest
monuments of archaic classical art that go back to about 700 B.C. there intervenes
a pure Early Iron Age of some centuries' duration, characterised by the various
phases of Geometrical art. It is the same in Cyprus itself. In the tombs of the
so-called " Cypro-Phcenician " period, which covers the interval in the island
between the predominance of Mycenaean culture and the beginnings of classical
art, the use of iron for cutting purposes has become general. This period, which,
according to Dr. Ohnefalsch Eichter, extends from the twelfth to the seventh
century B.C., shows a geometrical style in some respects parallel to that seen in the
Dipylon cemetery and elsewhere in contemporary Hellas. A special product
FIG. 15. — IRON SWORD FROM CURIUM.
of this Cypriote Iron Age is a form of sword (Fig. 15), ' which is simply a
translation into the new metal of a bronze form belonging to the close of
the Mycenaean period2 in Greece. The type is of northern importation and
foreign to true Mycenaean tradition. The great interest, indeed, of this class of
swords is that though in their earliest form themselves straight-sided, they were
the forerunners of a widespread European race of bronze swords with leaf-shaped
1 Found at Curium ; in the possession of Dr. Julius Naue (Undset, Forhandlinger i
Videnskaps Selskabet, Ohristiania, 1886, No. 14). For another from Marion, see Helbig, Horn.
Epos, p. 130, note 5.
2 This is shown by the occui-rence of a sword of this type in the -Bronze Hoard No. 1,
from the houses explored by Dr. Tsuntas outside the Akropolis of Mycenae (Tsountas, 'E«
MvKrjvw, 'E(f).'b.px; 1891, p. 26). A similar bronze sword was found in the ''Cyclopean House"
near the so-called "Agora" at Mycenae, explored by Dr. Schliemann (Mycence, p. 144, Fig. 221).
Another from Olympia is described by Sophus Miiller (De.i Europiiiske Bronzealders Oprindelse,
p. 325, Fig. 27).
. in the British Museum Excavations. 219
blades, which may be traced from Hungary to Scandinavia on one side,1 and on
the other through Gaul to the British Islands.2 The fact that the Cypriote iron
form belongs to the earlier straight- sided type itself argues a considerable
antiquity, which is enhanced by the Mycenaean associations in which its immediate
prototype in bronze is found.
That the general use of iron was diffused in Cyprus at a very early date is an
almost inevitable inference from the close relations in which the island stood to
the neighbouring Syrian coasts,3 which were in all probability the earliest centres
of iron-working. Vessels of iron, some of them with silver handles, seem to have
been already imported into Egypt from Syria and Canaan as early as Thothmes Ill's
time (c. 1503-1449 B.C.)4 and the Kutennu who owned Damascus, so famous in
after times for its tempered steel, brought to this Pharaoh a tribute of umvrought
iron and arms and chariots of the same metal. The invading Israelites, as we learn
from the books of Joshua and Judges, found to their cost that the use of " chariots
of iron" was already general among their Canaan ite foes. In Northern Syria the
exceptionally early use of iron in war is also well authenticated. The Assyrian
King Tiglathpilezer (Tuklat-Pal-Asar) I, who invaded the North Syrian region of
Commagenc (Kuinnmk) in 1130 B.C., with his " brazen-wheeled " chariots, carried off
from that and the adjoining countries vast spoils of iron as well as bronze.5
There is every reason for supposing that in Cyprus the beginning of the Iron
Age did not lag behind that of the neighbouring mainland regions. Yet the great
bulk of the Mycenaean tombs of Cyprus belong to the pure Bronze Age, and in only
a few cases is there evidence of that incipient acquaintance with iron in which
it is regarded almost as "a precious metal." In view of this concordant
archaeological evidence, it seems impossible to bring down the latest of these
Cypro-Mycensean interments beyond at most the twelfth century B.C. But in
order to satisfy the views put forward in the British Museum publication before us
it would be necessary to suppose that the Bronze Age of Cyprus, so far from
reaching its term somewhat earlier than that of Greece and Italy, came down h've
centuries later, to the date, namely, of the Francois vase and to the borders of the
period of fully developed classical art. It is superfluous to point out that
conclusions such as this are incompatible with the best ascertained archaeological
data as to the gradual succession of distinct phases of civilisation in the East
1 See Uuclset, Etudes sur V Age de Bronze en Ifongrie, i, p. 148.
2 See J. Evans, Ancient Bronze Implements of Great Britain, p. 273 seqq.
* Mr. J. L. Myres remarks (Cat. of the Cyprus Museum, p. 21), "The very early appearance
of iron and its great frequency at this time are a measure of the close intercourse of Cyprus
with the Syrian coast, the only area in which iron-workings may be suspected to be earlii-r.
Cyprus has considerable masses of iron ore of fair quality, and there is evidence that they were
discovered and worked as soon as the knowledge of the metal extended."
4 Birch, in Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians (1878 edition), vol. ii, p. 251 ; Pierret, Diet.
Arche'ologique Egyptien, p. 104; Th. Deveria, Melanges a'Atrhe'ologie Egypt, et Assyr., i, 2;
W. Max Miiller, Asien und Europa, pp. 153, 154.
5 J. Meuant, Annales des rois d'Assyrie, pp. 36, 37. Cf. J. -e Morgan, Les premiers Ages
des Metavx dans I'Armenie Itusse, pp. 200, 201.
220 A. J. EVANS. — Mycenaean Cyprus, etc.
Mediterranean basin. The long centuries of the iron-using Geometrical Period
alike in Cyprus and in Greece proper are either left out of account or a Mycenaean
Bronze Age is interposed between them and classical times. It is impossible
to conclude without an expression of regret that views so subversive of the fixed
points of antiquarian science should receive encouragement from a quarter which,
on more purely classical ground, we have all been accustomed to regard as
authoritative.
( 221 )
A CLASSIFICATION OF THE STONE CLUBS OF BRITISH NEW
GUINEA.
BY ALFRED C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S., University Lecturer in Ethnology,
Cambridge.
[WITH PLATES XIX TO XXIII.]
DURING my recent short visit to British New Guinea I have had the opportunity
of seeing a considerable number of stone clubs. The Hon. D. Ballantine, of Port
Moresby, kindly gave me free access to his collection, which is probably unrivalled
among private collections in completeness, and it has, further, the inestimable
advantage of nearly every specimen being marked with a precise and accurate locality.
Such being the case, I have not hesitated to base this tentative classification of the
stone clubs of British New Guinea on the specimens in Mr. Ballantine's collection ;
but I have not absolutely confined my studies to that collection, and I have alluded
to a few types which are not — or were not — there represented.
The figures which illustrate this paper are sketches from photographs, taken
after I left Port Moresby by Mr. B. W. Bramell, of specimens from Mr. Ballantine's
collection.
In offering this classification to my ethnographical colleagues I do not pretend
to have exhausted the subject, as that would entail a prolonged study of specimens
in Australian and European museums ; but I shall feel satisfied if I have assisted
museum curators to a better comprehension of the forms of clubs and of their
distribution in British New Guinea.
At the present day, a classification is not considered perfectly satisfactory
unless it is at the same time phylogeuetic. I cannot profess to satisfy this
demand ; all that I can do is to suggest that a few divergent series can be
established, each of which emerges by easy gradations from a generalised group of
" natural stones." The following diagram explains my meaning : —
Ovoid
Ball
\ Flat, notched
King Disc
\ \
\
Natural Stone or Artificial Oval.
/ i
Knobbed Pickaxe
Star.
222 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British Neiv Guinea.
The order in which these series are described is of little consequence, but on
the whole, that adopted below appears to me to be as convenient as any other, and
it will be observed that it deals with the simpler forms first.
I. NATURAL STONE CLUBS, OR CLUBS WITH A SLIGHT AMOUNT OF
WOEKING.
II. RING CLUBS.
1. Unflanged ; 2. Flanged.
III. BALL CLUBS.
1. Unflanged ; 2. Flanged.
IV. OVOID CLUBS.
1. Short and thick ; 2. Long and tapering ; 3. Cylindrical ; 4. Barrel-shaped ;
5. With an equatorial swelling.
V. DISC CLUBS.
1. Oval ; A. Thick ; B. Thin ; 2. Various shapes ; A. Oblong ; B. Triangular ;
C. Diamond ; D. Lakatoi ; 3. Circular ; A. Biconvex, thick ; B. Biconvex,
thin ; C. Flattened, thin ; D. Flattened, thin, and flanged ; E. Undulating.
VI. FL&T CLUBS WITH NOTCHED EDGES.
1. With a single row of notches, no flange ; 2. With two rows of notches ; A.
Unflanged ; B. Flanged.
VII. KNOBBED CLUBS.
A. Unflanged knobbed clubs. 1. Natural stone clubs, or clubs with a small
amount of working. 2. Knobbed ring clubs ; a. One row of knobs ; b.
Three rows of knobs. 3. Knobbed ball clubs with four rows of knobs ;
a. More or less spherical ; b. Oval ; 4. Depressed oval knobbed clubs, a.
Four rows of knobs ; b. Five rows of knobs ; c. Six rows of knobs ; d.
Seven rows of knobs ; e. Eight rows of knobs. 5. Human-head knobbed
club ; 6. Ovoid knobbed clubs ; a. Knobs disposed vertically ; b. Knobs
disposed obliquely ; c. Barrel-shaped.
B. Flanged knobbed clubs. 1. One row of knobs ; 2. Two rows of knobs ; 3.
Three rows of knobs ; 4. Four rows of knobs ; 5. Five rows of knobs.
C. Wooden knobbed clubs.
VIII. PICKAXE CLUBS.
1. Pickaxe clubs with two points ; 2. Pickaxe clubs with four points ; A.
Unflanged ; B. Flanged ; 3. Complex pickaxe clubs.
IX. STAR CLUBS.
A. Unflanged.
B. Flanged. 1. Four rays ; 2. Six rays ; 3. Seven rays ; 4. Eight rays ; 5. Ten
rays.
C. Complex flanged.
I would like to take this opportunity of acknowledging my indebtedness to
Mr. Ballantine for much kindness and for giving me considerable information
respecting the clubs of British New Guinea, and also to my colleague Mr. A.
Wilkin for helping me in the measuring of the clubs.
The number or letter in brackets which follows the reference to the figure
refers to the number of the specimen in the Ballantine collection. All the
measurements are given in millimetres. At the end of the description of each club
I have given the measurements of the stone head.
The Roman numbers in brackets after the localities refer to the districts I
have adopted ; each district is defined in the " Notes on the Geographical
Distribution of Stone Clubs in British New Guinea " at end of this paper.
A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea. 223
There can be little doubt that primitive man early learnt to employ stones for
ullrnsivr as well as for industrial purposes. In most inland places in a state of
nature stones are rarely to be found except in river beds, and there they are usually
rounded. Occasionally, river pebbles are found with a natural perforation through
them ; such a stone only requires to have a stick thrust through the hole to be
converted into a stone club. I do not remember to have seen a Papuan stone club
with a head entirely ready-made by nature, but I have seen several clubs the heads
of which were water-worn stones through which a hole had been artificially bored.
Amongst a number of rude clubs from the Papuan Gulf in the Ballantine
collection I have selected one or two for special description.
I. NATURAL STONE CLUBS, OR CLUBS WITH A SLIGHT
AMOUNT OF WORKING.
In Fig. 1 (A) we have an illustration of a roughly quadrangular quartz stone
with rounded angles. The somewhat flattened surfaces of this and the following
specimen appear to me to be natural and not artificial. It is artificially perforated
by a large hole. The thin handle is 890 mm. long and tapers below and ends
bluntly. Toaiipi (" Motumotu ") (II). (Length 80, breadth 70, height 50.)
Very similar in shape to the former is a white, gritty stone club, Fig. 2 (B),
which has become blackened. There are ten fine radial lines scored on the upper
surface. The straight, rough handle is 900 mm. long and has a rounded end.
Siro (II). (Length 70, breadth 70, height 50.)
A light grey, gritty stone club, Fig. 3 (C), has a somewhat elongated reniform
contour and is painted with pink and white pigment. The perforation is the only
sign of workmanship in the stone. The rude, straight handle is 770 mm. long, and
a strip of bark cloth is wrapped between the stone and the handle. Womai (II).
(Length 128, breadth 90, height 45.)
Another stone, Fig. 4 (D), has an irregular and undulating reniform contour.
I think this is also an entirely natural stone, the surface of which has been ruddled.
There is a small, deep, natural depression in this stone. Ten irregular, artificial,
vertical grooves have been filled in with lime. The short (660 mm.) thin handle
has a uniform thickness. Womai (II). (Length 90, breadth 65, height 45.)
An irregular, flattened, oval club (E) has been roughly ground down, but several
flaws have been left on the under surface ; the sides have their edges somewhat
squared. There are eleven nicks at one end and fourteen at the other. The short
(560 mm.) straight handle has a little rough cane plaiting at the stone. Siro
(II). (Length 115, breadth 75, height 32.)
II. RING CLUBS.
I employ the term " ring clubs " for those which have more or less circular or
oval stones ; these are generally small in size, and as the perforation is usually
large, they have a ring-like appearance. Some of these appear to be natural stones,
or they may be slightly or unmistakably worked.
224 A. 0. HAUDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British Nnv Guinea.
1. UNFLANGED RING CLUBS.
An oval, apparently naturally rounded pebble, with a worn surface (4), has
had a large hole bored through it. The handle (885 mm.) is straight and ends
abruptly ; the stone is jammed on, and there is a simple band pattern incised round
the handle a short distance below the stone. Opau (II). (Length 75, breadth 63,
height 46.)
One example, Fig. 5 (F), of a dark igneous rock may well be a natural stone,
but it has probably been roughly ground down. Looked at from above, it is roughly
triangular in contour, with well-rounded angles. The short (730 mm.) thick
handle tapers slightly at each end, and has a blunt end. There is some coarse cane
plaiting below the stone. Womai (II). (Length 87, breadth 84, height 30.)
An undoubtedly worked oval club, Fig. 6 (G), is biconvex in section, and it has
a slight suspicion of an edge. The thick handle is oval in section, 1 metre long,
and terminates in a 1)1 unt end ; there is coarse cane plaiting at the stone, and it
is decorated with cassowary feathers. Moveave (II). (Length 118, breadth 98,
height 50.)
Fig. 7 (H) is a somewhat similar stone, with rounded sides. Originally it was
a white, gritty stone, but the general surface has been blackened. The lower portion
of the perforation has been recently enlarged, and so it is whitish. There are two
deep and wide terminal notches, which have been ruddled, and five smaller notches
on one side and six on the other. The latter are traversed by a longitudinal,
horizontal groove. All the lateral notches show the light colour of the stone except
two terminal notches, which are reddened. The thick handle tapers at each end,
and the grip terminates with three raised rings ; it is 720 mm. in length.
Oraruru (II). (Length 98, breadth 75, height 50.)
2. FLANGED EING CLUBS.
There is in the Australian Museum, Sydney, a ring club with a small flange,
Fig. 8 ; it is painted with transverse white lines, and may have come from the
Papuan Gulf.
III. BALL CLUBS.
1. BALL CLUBS WITHOUT A FLANGE.
I allocate to this group those clubs which have been artificially rounded so as
to produce a more or less spherical ball. Most frequently the stone is more orange-
shaped than spherical. Intermediate forms may be seen between this group and
the " ring clubs."
The diameter of the majority of these clubs is greater than the height, and
they are generally approximately circular in horizontal section, but some are
distinctly oval. Very rarely the diameter and the height are approximately equal,
and as rare is it to find one in which the diameter is less than the length. Clubs
of this kind pave the way to the next group. Frequently the stones are simply
jammed on to the handles.
A. ( '. HADIION. — A (''".^'ijinitiun of the, Stone Clubs of Britinh New Guinea. '1'1~>
Fig. 0 (1) is a ball club in which tin- diameter is considerably greater than
the height. The handle is long (1,245 nun.), crooked, of uniform thickness, and
ends abruptly; there is cane plaiting at the st<me. Hogeir IV). (Diameter
S."> x 76, height 56.)
A grey and white mottled stone, Fig. 10 (2), has been carefully shaped ; it is
slightly biconical rather than spherical. The long (1,257 mm.) handle tapers below
to a stout point, and there is plaited cane at the upper end. Adori (IV).
(Diameter 88, height 67.)
The stone of Fig. 11 (3) has been jammed on to a rude handle (763 mm.),
which ends bluntly at the grip. Siviki (II). (Diameter 70, height 52.)
A club, Fig. 12 (5), which looks as if it were intended to be spherical, is hafted
on to a very long (1,390 mm.) thick handle, which ends abruptly. There is fine
cane plaiting above and below the stone, which expands in a saucer-shaped
manner close to the stone. Vafare (IV). (Diameter 70, height 62.)
A club in which the height of the stone is greater than the diameter is seen
in Fig. 13 (6); it is a grey stone with lighter inclusions. The very long thin
(1,400 mm.) handle ends below in a cone. laritari (IV). (Diameter 75,
height 62.)
There is in the Cambridge Museum a broken biconical stone with an equatorial
flat band, 15 mm. broad. Mer, Torres Straits (I). (Diameter 105, height 67.)
2. FLANGE u BALL CLUBS.
There is a well marked variety of the " ball club " in which a small flange is
present. The three examples in the Ballantine collection come from Hogere, Havere,
and lovi — that is, from the district between the Astrolabe Range and the Main
Range.
A typical flanged ball club, Fig. 14 (7), is a rough stone in which the diameter
exceeds the height. It is mounted on a rude handle 990 mm. long. Hogere (IV).
(Diameter 85, diameter at flange 52, height 65.)
IV. OVOID CLUBS.
The clubs of this group vary so much in form, but within comparatively small
limits, that it is difficult to subdivide them. In the great majority of specimens
the sides are convex. These clubs vary by insensible gradations from short and
thick to long and tapering. This kind of club has been called the "emu's egg
club." In a few clubs with nearly straight sides the ends may be abruptly squared
or they may taper in the usual manner. The ovoid clubs with well made and
highly polished stones appear to be almost confined to the district between the
Astrolabe Range and the Main Range ; but unpolished ovoid clubs occur all
round the Papuan Gulf, up the Fly River (cf. D'Albertis, Nnv Guinea, II, p. 86),
and even among the Tugeri head-hunters who live on the coast beyond the Dutch
boundary.
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). Q
226 A. C. HADDON. — ./ Olasnfication of the Stone Club* of British New Guinea.
1. SHORT AND THICK.
A short and thick form of ovoid club with convex sides is seen in Fig. 15 (10).
The very long (1,680 mm.) and rather thin handle tapers below and ends in a cone.
Taburi (IV). (Diameter 80, height 100.)
2. LONG AND TAPERING.
A long and tapering form of ovoid club is illustrated by Fig. 16 (11). The
extremely long (1,740 mm.) handle resembles that of the last, but it is much thicker,
and there is cane plaiting above and below the stone. Taburi (IV). (Diameter
77, height 128.)
3. CYLINDRICAL.
A nearly straight-sided type with truncated ends, Fig. 17 (8), is fitted on to a
long (1,422 mm.) smooth handle, which ends in a blunt cone. Korohi (IV).
(Diameter 71, height 94.)
4. BARREL- SHAPED.
Fig. 18 (9) has a somewhat similar form to the last, except that it tapers off
gradually at each end. The long (1,491 mm.) thick handle ends abruptly and is
encircled by a band of plaited cane at the grip to prevent further splitting ; there
is plaited cane above and below the stone, and the club is further decorated with
a bunch of parrot feathers. Taburi (IV). (Diameter 66, height 106.)
5. WITH AN EQUATORIAL SWELLING.
The Ballantine collection has two specimens of ovoid clubs with a central or
equatorial swelling, which come from Taburi and Maiari (Havere) respectively.
An example, Fig. 19 (12), of this well marked type is mounted without cane-
work, on a rough handle 820 rnm. long. Taburi (IV). (Diameter 71, height 92.)
A very rare club, Fig. 20 (1-3), belongs essentially to the barrel type (i.e.,
Fig. 22), but it has an oblique, central, band-like swelling on which there are four
nattish surfaces. The perforation is wider than in the last. It is jammed on to a
long (1,110 mm.) slender handle that tapers below, but does not end in a point.
It is an open question whether this a distinct type of club, or merely a broken and
reground specimen of another group. Maiari (IV). (Diameter 64, height 74.)
V. DISC CLUBS.
All stages can be found in this group from slightly worked slabs of stone
which may be irregularly oblong, oval, or circular in contour, to the finely
polished, thin, flattened, flanged circular discs.
1. OVAL Disc CLUBS.
A. Thid.
A thick, distinctly biconvex, oval club with a blunt edge, Fig. 21 (58), has one
end broader than the nther. The rude handle1 is 680 mm. long, and has cane plaiting
A. C. HAUDON. — A Classification of the St<un C'lnl>x of British Nin- Guinea. 227
above and below the stone; it terminates in a small button. Okuma (Kabadi)
(III). (Length 103, breadth 77, height 31.)
A moderately thick club, Fig. 22 (59), is flattened above and below ; one end is
broader than the other, and there is a blunt edge. The handle is 865 mm. long, and
tapers at each end. It is decorated by a band of a simple incised pattern and lias
three1- raised bands below the grip. There is plaited cane at the stone. Maipua (II).
(Length 123, breadth 92, height 24.)
Somewhat similar to this is an oval club in the same collection, with tiattish
sides and a slight edge. It is somewhat Hat above and below. The short (500 mm.)
rude handle has a uniform thickness, and there is bark cloth and coarse plaited
cane at the stone. Karama (II). (Length 127, breadth 81, height 21.)
A finely worked stone, Fig. 23 (GO), has one end more obtuse than tho other,
and one side straighter than the other ; the edge is fairly sharp. The handle
tapers to a point. It is 1,155 mm. long. There is rough cane plaiting above and
below the stone. Womai (II). (Length 185, breadth 104, height 30'.)
A broken stone, Fig. 24 (01), without a handle has a very irregular ellipsoidal
contour and a sharp edge. Orokolo (II). (Length 204, breadth 85, height 25.;
B. Thin.
There is in the Ballantine collection a very large, flattened, oblong-oval club,
Fig. 25 (62), with sharp edges. The rough handle is 832 mm. long. It tapers at
each extremity and ends squarely. Deduri (Hogere) (IV). (Length 228, breadth
167, height 17.)
An interesting disc, Fig. 26 (63), was originally part of a very much larger
disc, as on one side there is the remains of the original central hole, which can be
seen in the illustration. It has not only been refashioned into an irregularly oval
disc, but it has been ground afresh on botli surfaces so as to form a flattened plate
with sharply bevelled edges. There is a short (540 mm.) rude handle which tapers
at each end. The stone is simply jammed on to the handle. Karama (II). (Length
121, breadth 88, height 11.)
2. Disc CLUBS OF VARIOUS SHAPES.
This division will doubtless be extended in the future, but at present it is
hardly necessary to make a distinct group of every vagary of form.
A. Oblomj.
More distinctly oblong in contour is a small club, Fig. 27 (64), with rounded
corners. The sides are almost squared, and the ends have sharp edges. The handle
tapers and ends in a blunt point below ; it is 990 mm. long and has fine cane
plaiting above and below the stone. Womai (II). (Length 123, breadth 82,
height 20.)
In the Ballantine collection is a club (65), which, so far as I am aware,
is unique. The stone is an old adze blade made of a limestone, which is full of
fossil shells. It has a sharp edge at both ends There is a long (1,357 mm.) stout
W 2
228 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
handle, which tapers at each end. It is pointed below, and there is plaited cane work
above and below the stone. Vailala (II). (Length 280, breadth 125, height 27.)
B. Triangular.
The Ballantine collection contains two examples of this rare type. A small
example, Fig. 28 (66), is almost an equilateral triangle with rounded angles. It is
Hat above and below. The rude handle (715 mm.) is squared below. Karama (II).
(Length of sides 130, 125, 125.)
A larger specimen, Fig. 29 (67), is almost a right-angled triangle, but the
contour is irregular. It is plano-convex on one side and has sharp edges. The
palmwood handle is probably not original. Orokolo (II). (Length of sides 220,
170.. 180.)
C. Diamond.
There is in the Australian Museum, Sydney, a diamond-shaped stone head
(Fig. 30), which, from the characteristic painting of its surface, may come from
the Gulf district ; it measures about 160 x 130 mm. in its greatest diameters.
D. Lakatoi.
This is a rare form of club, in which the Hat stone has the form of a more or
less elongated conventional heart — that is, with curved sides, one end pointed, and
the other notched or emarginate, thus resembling the characteristic sail of a
hikatoi trading canoe. Fig. 31 is a sketch of one that came from the Gulf
District.
3. CIKCULAR Disc CLUBS.
A. Biconvex, Thick.
There is a circular disc club of considerable thickness, which is a rare form
but was not represented in the Ballantine collection.
Fig. 32 is a well-worked stone. The handle (706) is of thick ratan, the ends
are cut square, the grip is decorated with simple incised patterns, there is a string
loop. Cf. also PI. XXII, Fig. 1, Yam Island, Torres Straits (I), (diameter, 103 ;
thickness, 28).
B. Biconvex, Thin.
The most frequent type is a biconvex disc with a sharp edge. Those clubs
are very common and vary considerably within certain limits as to size, contour,
and thickness. I have selected for illustration a typical example, Fig. 33 (68).
The handle (850 mm.) tapers below and terminates in a cone. Below the stone is
some plaited cane, as well as some strips of dried leaves and half a dozen turns of
a string of human hair. The handle is surmounted by a bunch of feathers of the
cassowary and Torres Straits pigeon. Gasiri (IV). (Diameter 147, thickness
20.)
The following abbreviated notes on 53 of the numerous circular disc clubs in
the Ballantine collection will give a general idea of those that are characteristic of
the Central Division (District IV) of British New Guinea.
A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Gnwc«. 229
1 spiriim-n (diameter 101, thickness 18) ; handle (1,003) tapers to a blunt
end, polygonal cane plaiting above the stone, bunch of parrot's feathers. This
club, though bought on the coast, came from inland. — Tupuselei.
6 specimens (diameter 125-155, thickness 15-20) ; all handles (803-854)
taper below, five end in a cone, one in a point ; all have plaited cane above the
stone ; four are decorated with feathers, and two with strings of human hair.—
Gasiri.
16 specimens (diameter 113-187, average thickness 15-20), few are really
circular; all the handles (687-082), taper below, and fifteen terminate in a cone and
one in a point ; all have cane plaiting above the stone ; seven have feathers and five
human hair. — Hogere.
12 specimens (diameter 114-178, thickness 15-20); many are irregular and
almost oval in contour. Handles (710-1,200), some taper gently to the stone, but
all taper to the end ; three have pointed ends at the grip, several have conical
ends, and a few have the ends variously carved ; all have more or less cane at
the stone end, but only one has feathers. The handles average a considerable
length. — Eaha.
3 specimens (diameter 128-168, thickness 17-18); handles (666-922) end in
a cone, one with polygonal plaited cane above the stone, and one with feathers. —
Favere.
15 specimens (average diameter 115-150); handles range from 645-865;
most of them end in a cone. — Behind the Astrolabe Eange.
C. Flattened, Thin.
A distinct type of disc club is one in which the disc is very much flattened
above and below, Fig. 34 (69), and the edge is sharp. There is a black palmwood
handle (815 mm.), which has a blunt point below. There is plaited canework at the
stone. Boura (IV). (Diameter of disc 152-162, thickness 11.)
A remarkably large disc of the same type, Fig. 35 (70), has an irregular
contour. The thick handle (817 mm.) tapers above and below and ends in a cone.
There is cane plaiting above and below the stone. Hogere (IV). (Diameter of disc
207-226, thickness 16.)
I ). Flattened, Thin, and Flanged.
Another beautiful type of disc club, Fig. 36 (71), is one with a flattened
surface very similar to the last type, but provided with a low but distinct flange.
The handle (770 mm.) has some incised carving below the grip and cane plaiting
on each side of the stone ; this plaiting is finished off above and below by a raised
collar. Toaripi ("Motumotu") (II). (Diameter 165 x 155, average thickness 15,
thickness at flange 25.)
E. Undulating.
In the Ballantine collection is an approximately circular club, Fig. 37 (72),
which belongs to the thin biconvex group. Instead of being flat, it is undulating in
230 A. C. HADPON. — A Classification of tkr Stone Chili* of British New Guinea.
such a way that there are two slight lateral depressions — in other words, the club
is somewhat saddle-shaped ; it has a sharp edge. The very thick handle (590 mm.)
has a raised bead below the grip. Kukuku (Kerema) (II). (Diameter 168 x 153,
thickness 20.)
VI. FLAT CLUBS WITH NOTCHED EDGES.
This is not a very satisfactory group, but it serves very well for the present
classificatory purposes.
1. CLUBS WITH A SINGLE Eow OF NOTCHES AND NO FLANGE.
A round, flat club, Fig. 38 (73), with a distinct edge is hafted on to a very
thick handle (800 mm.), which tapers below and ends in a cone. The disc is
painted in red and white with four groups of curved lines, and the notches are
similarly coloured. Kerema (II). (Diameter 139-142, thickness 12 ; notches 4 mm.
deep and 34 in number.)
An oval, thick club, Fig. 39 (74), is similarly coloured. The handle (700 mm.)
is thick and straight. Kukuku (Kerema) (II). (Diameter 1.52 x 130, thickness 25 ;
notches 5 mm. deep.)
Fig. 40 (E 75) is an irregular, flattened, oval club which has been roughly
ground down, but several flaws have been left on the under surface ; the sides have
O ' '
their edges somewhat squared. There are eleven notches at one end and fourteen
at the other. The short (560 mm.) straight handle has a little coarse plaiting at
the stone. Siro (II). (Length 115, breadth 75, thickness 32.)
In the Ballantine collection is a flattened oval club, Fig. 41 (76), with eleven
short, nearly equal, blunt points, which are mostly set askew, owing to the
interspaces between them being cut obliquely ; it shows traces of red and white
paint. The thick, tapering handle (670 mm.), ends in a blunt point. The -grip is
scored with encircling lines. Kerema (II). (Diameter 108 x 129, thickness 37.)
A round, flattish club, Fig. 42 (T 77), may as well be described here. Bound
the edge are fifteen stout knobs, 4—7 mm. in length. Corresponding to each of these,
on both sides of the disc are two very low rounded knobs. This club may very
well be considered as a greatly reduced variety of the depressed knobbed group.
The thick, straight handle (660 mm.) ends in a blunt point. Siro (II). (Diameter
about 100, thickness 26.)
2. CLUBS WITH Two Bows OF NOTCHES.
A. Unflanyed.
An oval, thick club, Fig. 43 (S), without a flange has two rows of twenty-eight
notches. The knobs are from 3 to 8 mm. long. There is a rough, crooked handle
810 mm. long. Karama (II). (Diameter 100 x 85, thickness 40.)
B. Flan gal.
A flattened, oval club, Fig. 44 (78), has a distinct flange. There are fourteen
broad, very irregular teeth. The long (1 ,421 mm.1) thick handle has a blunt point
A. ('. HAMM.X.— A f'l.i.^ijint/,',,,, .,/•//„• ,sv,,/,, r/,//,., uj 7//-/7/V, j\*, //• Gvinea. •_':'.!
;it each end. Kaha (IV). (Diameter 10K x 1 I*:?, thickness 30 ; diameter of flange 53 ;
thickness of Halite .'.">.) There arc several examples o|' this type in the collection.
VTT. KXnr.P.KI) CLlT.s.
The knohhcd eluhs constitute a lar^e and complicated ^roup. For the sake of
convenience I have classified them as follows, but I would again warn the reader
that this arrangement of manufactured objects into groups is very largely empirical,
and examples can readily be found which it is difficult to place within a rigidly
defined class.
A. UNFLANGED KNOBBED CLUBS.
1. NATURAL STONE CLUBS on CLUBS WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF WORKING.
In the Ballantine collection are several clubs from the Papuan Gulf which
are either natural stones or are stones which have been ground to a variable extent,.
These have been incised to a greater or less depth. When the scores are shallow
they produce a chequered surface, as in Fig. 45 ; in Fig. 46 they are deeper ; but it
is only when they have a considerable depth and form V-shaped grooves that the
club possesses a knobbed appearance, as in Fig. 47. The last clubs pave the way to
the typical unflanged knobbed club. We have here a distinct series which fits on
to the " natural-stone " clubs, but I do not assert that this represents the actual
evolution of this group of clubs. It may very well be that the clubs which are
before me as I write are as it were degraded forms and merely indicate the laziness
or indifference of the makers.
The first of this series, Fig. 45 (I), is a soft, gritty, light grey rock, somewhat
ovoid in form, which has probably been slightly ground down. It has been incised
with ten to eleven irregular, undulating, horizontal lines and about thirty still more
irregular, radiating lines. Some of the grooves are filled in with pink or white paint.
The rough, crooked handle is 750 mm. long. Womai (II). (Length 9o, breadth GO,
height 40.)
Another example (K) is made of the same rock. It is quadrangular in form, with
i * mnded angles. Possil >ly it is a natural stone very slightly worked. The incised lines
are similar to those of the last club, but the horizontal lines are straighter. There
are 8 x '50 squares. There are eight vertical pink bands, the incisions in the
interspaces being whitened. The stout handle is 1 metre in length and tapers at
each end. There is coarse cane plaiting above and below the stone. Womai (II).
(Diameter 67 x 70, height 41.)
An irregularly rounded club, Fig. 46 (L), has the appearance of being a natural
stone that has been partially ground flat on the upper and lower surfaces. The
incisions are deeper than in the previous clubs. They are 4 x 20 in number. The
vertical lines are painted light red or white. The rude handle (820 mm.) ends
bluntly belowT. There is coarse cane plaiting below the stone. Karama (II).
(Diameter 85-91', height 47.)
232 A. C. H ADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
Fig. 47 (J) is an oval grey stone, thicker at one end than the other. A deep
groove is cut round the upper and lower ends of the perforation. The upper one
forms an incipient flange the other grooves are cut deep, the vertical being the
widest and deepest. Thus distinct knobs are formed, their number being 5 x 10.
The smooth, straight handle (700 mm.) tapers interiorly and has a. bead below the
grip. The plaited canework on each side of the stone is finished off above and below
by a raised band. Womai (II). (Diameter 75 x 88, height 40 and 50.)
An oval stone, Fig. 48 (41), has been carved so as to produce typical square or
oblong knobs, which are irregular in size. There are eight in the vertical and
nineteen in the horizontal rows. The longish (1,084 mm.) handle tapers very
slightly at each end and ends bluntly. Vailala(II). (Diameter 72 x 76, height 47.)
2. KNOBBED KING CLUBS.
All the following clubs have knobs which are distinctly rounded or prominent
truncated rectangular pyramids, and differ markedly in character from the
foregoing.
a. One row of knobs.
A small ring-like club, Fig. 49 (38), has thirteen low, elongated knobs, which
extend across the edge of the stone. The thick, rude handle (780 mm. long) ends
abruptly. The stone is simply jammed on to the handle. Womai (II). (Height
38, diameter 80.)
A club, Fig. 50 (39), of still ruder workmanship has twelve low rounded knobs,
which do not extend across the edge of the stone. The irregular handle (905 mm.)
tapers below, and the end of the grip is carved like a small dice-box. The rough
cane plaiting by the stone is ruddled. The gritty stone has also been reddened
above and below the knobs and in every alternate interspace. Opau (II). (Height
40, diameter 90 ; diameter between the grooves 80.)
b. Three rows of knobs.
A white quartz club, Fig. 51 (40), in the Ballantine collection is oval in
horizontal contour and lias three rows of knobs. Those of the central row are
much the largest ; the others are very low and rounded. The long handle (1,070 mm.)
tapers below to a point. The stone is situated 122 mm. from the end. This part is
covered with fine plaited cane and surmounted by a tuft of parrot's feathers.
Owen Stanley Range. (Height 45, diameter 82 x 90, height of central knobs
10-12, number of knobs 3 x 11.)
3. KNOBBED BALL CLUBS.
A fine old club, Fig. 52 (40A), has large, rounded, widely separated knobs like
the last. It has every appearance of being an old club. There are traces of red
vertical lines between the knobs. The thick handle (780 mm.) tapers above and
below. On each side of the stone there is neat cane plaiting which ends above and
below in a raised band. The lower end of the handle is elegantly finished off with
A. C. H.M'i'MN. — A (Purification of the Stone Club* of British New Cfuinrc. I':'-:1.
two beads. Opau (II). (Diameter 94, diameter between the knobs 80, height 80,
height of knobs 7, number of knobs 4 x 8.)
Fig. f>."> (42) is a large stone club with unequal, large, rectangular knobs. The
thick, heavy, and unwieldy handle (1,425 mm.) tapers at each end. Above and below
the stone there is cane plaiting, and the handle ends in a point. Keuru (Vailala)
(II). (Diameter 113 x 87, height 67 ; height of knobs up to 5 mm.)
These clubs may be round or oval in section. This group passes insensibly
into the next group.
4. DEPRESSED KNOBBED CLUBS.
a. Four rows of knobs.
A depressed club (with the rectangular knobs so worn down as in most
cases to be rounded) is seen in Fig. 54 (44). The handle tapers below to a point.
The head end is decorated with cassowary feathers. It is 980 mm. long. Womai
(II). (Diameter 100 x 106, height 60 ; height of knobs 5-6, number of knobs
4 x 14.)
b. Five rows of knobs.
The three clubs which I have selected as examples of depressed clubs
with five vertical rows of rectangular knobs constitute a short series with regard
to the prominence of the knobs, and more particularly of the central horizontal
row.
The knobs of Fig. 55 (46) are of moderate size, those of the central horizontal
row not being of much larger size than those of the contiguous rows. The handle
is long (1,280 mm.) and heavy ; it has a diameter at the upper end of 30 mm.
which tapers slightly below. Keuru (Vailala) (II). (Diameter 87 x 9."), height 52 ;
height of central knobs 5, number of knobs 5 x 13.)
Fig. 56 (45) is a characteristic Papuan Gulf club of this group, with prominent
knobs, the interspaces between which are painted alternately red and white. The
very thick handle (600 mm.) tapers above and below. The grip is roughened by
irregular horizontal incisions. Opau (II). (Diameter 111-113, height 63 ; height
of central knobs 12, number of knobs 5 x 11.)
An extreme form is seen in Fig. 57 (47). The knobs are oblong in form, and
those of the central horizontal row are extremely prominent. The long (1,462 mm.),
thick handle tapers above and below. On each side of the stone is a broad band of
neat cane plaiting. The handle ends in a point. Keuru (Vailala) (II). (Diameter
131 x 125, height 63 ; central knobs length 30, breadth 23, height 15, number of
knobs 5x8.)
c. Six rows of knobs.
A less depressed type with six rows of moderate-size, oblong knobs is seen in
Fig. 58 (48). There are traces of red paint in the grooves. The third row of knobs
is tin- liir^fst. The handle tapers at each end; it is 930 mm. long. On both sides
of the sLuiie then1 is a band of neat cane plaiting, which at the extremity forms a
234 A. C. HADDON. — A Clarification of the Stone Club* of British New Guinea.
raised hand. The handle helow the grip is neatly finished off in a wedge, above
which is a bead. Koroma (II). (Diameter 111, height 75 ; height of knobs 5-7,
number of knobs 6 x 12.)
d. Seven rows of knob*.
A very characteristic variety of club (49) is very depressed. While still
preserving the peculiar features of the type illustrated by Fig. 57, the first and
fifth rows of knobs alone have a knob-like form ; the others are more like ridges.
The vertical grooves are painted red ; the horizontal ones are alternately red o
white. The thick handle is 660 mm. long and tapers below. There is neat cane
plaiting above and below the stone ; it is finished off below in a raised band. The
handle terminates in a rounded knob. Opau (II). (Diameter 115, height 42
central knobs length 35, breadth 15, height 15, number of knobs 7 x 7.)
Fig. 59 illustrates a somewhat similar specimen in the Australian Museum,
Sydney. Number of knobs 7 x 12.
Eeverting to the more usual type of this group is club Fig. 60 (50). Its general
contour is almost biconical. The long (1,1.80 mm.) rude handle tapers gently below
to a blunt point. Keuru (Vailala) (II). (Diameter 105-93, height 71 ; height
of centre knobs 9, number of knobs 7 x 10.)
e. Eight rows of knobs.
A depressed club with eight rows of knobs is seen in Fig. Gl (51). The stone
is flattened above and below. There are four vertical rows of knobs at the side of
large size, and two rows of small, flat knobs on the upper and lower surface. Some
of the largest knobs are cut in two vertically to make two knobs. The thick
handle (850 mm.) tapers at each end and terminates in a blunt point. Vailala
(II). (Average diameter 110, height 50; number of knobs 8 x 15-24.)
5. HUMAN-HEAD KNOBBED CLUB.
An unique knobbed club is seen in Fig. 62 (52). It has an irregular oval
contour with a greater vertical height at the front end. There are from four to six
vertical rows of knobs and sixteen horizontal rows. The rectangular knobs have
had their edges worn down by age. Most of the grooves are more or less
oblique. At the thicker end is an irregular rude face, the nose of which is
merely a groove. The back of the " head " is compressed above and below. The
grooves are coloured red and white and black. It is stated that the " face " end
is used for hitting with. The thick, rough handle is 625 mm. long, and ends
in a point. Kerema (II). (Diameter 110 x 98, height in front 66, behind 53.)
6. OVOID KNOBBED CLUBS.
I know of one or two clubs which in form belong to the ovoid group but
which by virtue of their surface markings should be placed among the knobbed
clubs.
A. ( '. HAIIIMIX. — A f'/n^i'/inifi',,,, of tin' ,sVii//r C/i'l,* of 7,V/V/s/i .Yen- (fm'nea. 235
a. Knob* i/ixiiiwit rniini/f//.
One in the Ballantine collection, Fig. 63 (M), is made of a grey, friable, gritty
rock. It is distinctly barrel-shaped, but one side is flattened. Low, square knobs are
formed by the shallow incisions. The vertical lines are coloured pink or white, and
the horizontal black. The handle (820 mm.) is very thick and tapers below to a
blunt point; it suddenly becomes slender above to transfix the stone. Karamu
(II). (Diameter 71-60, height 83, number of knobs 6-7 x 15.)
Another ovoid form, Fig. 64 (53), with straightish sides is tessellated with
very numerous and very irregular squares and oblongs, separated by shallow
grooves. The handle tapers at each end, but it is thickest nearer to the lower end,
which terminates abruptly. It is 920 ram. long. Yailala (II). (Diameter 95,
height 75, number of knobs 17 x. 32-34.)
b. Knobs disposed in oblique lines.
There is a beautiful type of knobbed ovoid club in which the low knobs are
dose together and disposed in oblique lines, so that there are, according to the
size of the stone, from four to six knobs in a vertical series. The clubs vary in
form from rounded to ovoid. The latter bear some resemblance to a fir-cone or
pineapple. The handles may end in a point or in a cone. They are sometimes
decorated with feathers. Inland from Cloudy Bay (VI). A specimen in the
Australian Museum, Sydney, Fig. 65, illustrates this type very well.
c. Barrel-sliaped.
Specimens of this group much resemble knobbed ball clubs, but the contour
viewed from tiie side is more barrel-shaped, a typical example in the Australian
Museum, Sydney, from the Papuan Gulf is seen in Fig. 66.
A very large rounded club, quite flattened above and below, is illustrated by
Fig. 67 (43). The quadrangular knobs are of moderate size, but fairly prominent.
They are disposed in from four to five vertical rows. The heavy, thick handle
tapers at each end ; it is 1,460 mm. long. Keuru (Vailala) (II). (Diameter
122 x 128, diameter between knobs 108, height 80; height of knobs about 7,
number of knobs 4-5 x 18.)
B. FLANGED KNOBBED CLUBS.
The flanged knobbed clubs form a well-defined group. The flange is
sometimes a very prominent feature in the club, or it may be but a narrow strip
above and below the band of knobs. As a rule the lower flange has a slightly
greater diameter than the upper. The knobs are disposed in a central or equa-
torial band They are usually fairly uniform in size and position ; typically each is
pyramidal in form, rising from a square or oblong base and terminating in a blunt
apex. The knobs are evidently formed from large barrel-shaped stone by the
cutting out of deep vertical and horizontal Y-shaped grooves. Of these the vertical
are generally the widest and deepest ; thus it results that the knobs usually have
236 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
the appearance of being disposed in vertical rows. The central perforation is
usually very wide.
The term " pineapple " is often applied to this kind of club by residents in
British New Guinea; as I consider the name inappropriate I have discarded it.
1. One row of knobs.
I have seen a flanged club with a single row of four very prominent rounded
knobs. It might by some be regarded as a star club with four short rays.
Fig. 68 (54) of the Ballantine collection is a club with a large flange
round the middle are four discs. The two largest are at the ends ; that on one
side is small, and that on the other is intermediate in size. It is possible that
this is a pickaxe or star club which has been broken and subsequently ground
down. The thin, rough handle (1,100 mm.) tapers below and ends in a knob.
Eaha (inland from Hogere) (IV). (Diameter 62 x 60; height of flange 70.
diameter of flange 48.)
2. Two rows of knobs.
This is not a large class, but I have selected four examples which illustrate
various points.
A large, fine example, Fig. 69 (27), with large, vertically oblong knobs and
deep flanges may be taken as a fair type. The handle is short (870 mm.), stout, and
of slightly greater diameter towards the centre. The head end has a plaited cane
lashing; the handle end terminates bluntly. Veifaa (Mekeo District) (III).
(Height 94, height of .band of knobs 44, diameter 87 ; diameter of upper flange 55,
diameter of lower flange 50, diameter of centre 66 ; height of knobs 10, number of
knobs 2 x 13.)
Club Fig. 70 (28) lias large, prominent knobs, which are squarish in section.
The band of knobs is set obliquely with regard to the long axis of the club. In
this and the following club, which also comes from Agi, the horizontal V-shaped
groove is distinctly the deeper, contrary to the usual rule. The handle is fairly
long (1,120 mm.) and tapers slightlyat each end. There is fine cane plaiting above
the stone. The handle ends bluntly. Agi (Main Eange) (IV). (Height 80, width
of baud of knobs 45, diameter 102, diameter of flange 46, diameter of centre 70 ;
height of knobs 15, number of knobs 2 x 11.)
Another club, Fig. 71 (29), has numerous small knobs. It has a long handle
(1,140 mm.), which tapers below, but has a blunt end. The plaited cane sheaths above
and below the stone are produced into saucer-like expansions, which respectively
embrace the upper and the lower flanges. This arrangement is, so far as I am
aware, peculiar to clubs coming from the Agi, Wamai, and allied tribes who inhabit
the region about the gap in the Main Range below Mount Bellamy ; it is also
found on the Upper Mambare Kiver (VII) on the other side of the divide.
Agi (IV). (Height 54, diameter 80, diameter of flange 44-46, diameter of centre
62 ; height of knobs 9, number of knobs 2 x 16.)
A third club, Fig. 72 (30), is of an oblong oval in horizontal contour. There
A. C. HADDON. — A c/ii.^ij!rnti,,,i. oft/ie S(<>n< 1'luh* <>/' j;,-ifi*/i X<n- <1 /////<•,/.
are four knobs ;it each end and I'mir un carh .side, the former liciiiL; much the most
prominent. The handle is moderately long (870 mm.), thick, and not straight. There
is a rather sudden constriction for the grip, which has a blunt end. It is provided
above and below the stone with coarsely plaited cane bands. Agi(IV). (Height .".7,
length 107, breadth 66; height of largest knobs 20, number of knobs '2 x 8.)
I have in my possession a club of this group with small flanges and twelve
knobs in each series, which I obtained in Torres Straits in 1888 ; the handle is
short and thick.
3. Three rows of knobs.
A typical example, Fig. 73 (31), of this class has large teeth, which are not,
however, quite uniform in size. The short (710 mm.), thick handle tapers slightly
from the stone, but it has a blunt end. There is a little cane plaiting above.
Amoamo (Mekeo District) (III). (Height 90, diameter 81, diameter of centre ."»:; ;
height of knobs 15, number of knobs 3x8.)
Club Fig. 74 (32) has deep flanges and widely separated prominent knobs, the
interspaces between which have been painted red. The polished handle is 1 m.
long and tapers below, but does not end in a point ; 370 mm. from the head end is a
band of four rows of punctures. Baidana (Kabadi) (III). (Height 105, diameter
85, diameter of flange 50, diameter of centre 54; height of knobs 15-20, number of
knobs 3 x 9.)
One example (33) is characterised by knobs of moderate size and very
deep flanges. The rough, irregular handle is 1,110 mm. long; it is of fairly uniform
thickness, and ends abruptly. The fine cane plaiting has the typical expansion
above and below the stone, and it is decorated with cassowary feathers. Agi (IV).
(Height 97, breadth of band of knobs 40, diameter 76, diameter of flange 42-45,
diameter of centre 55 ; height of knobs 10, number of knobs 3 x 12.)
4. Four rows of knobs.
A magnificent example (34) of this type occurs in the Ballantine collection.
The knobs are of large size, and the flanges are well marked. The stout, straight,
polished handle is 1 m. in length, and it tapers very gently from the stone, but has
a blunt end. There is a cane lashing above and below the stone ; the latter is
.jammed tight by several wooden and bone wedges. There is a string sling for
carrying it. Eboa (III). (Height 128, width of band of knobs 82, diameter 103,
diameter of upper flange 51, diameter of lower flange 57, diameter of centre 64-74 :
height of knobs 15, number of knobs 4 x 10.)
A specimen in my own collection, Fig. 75, has irregular knobs of moderate
size, the flange is very small (4-5 mm.). The polished handle is 825 mm. long and
ends in a tapering blunt point ; there is a little cane plaiting above and below the
stone, and several wedges are inserted in the head end. Mekeo (III). (Height 82,
breadth of band of knobs 70, diameter 76, diameter of flange 49 ; height of knobs
8-13, number of knobs 4 x 12.)
238 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
5. Five rows of knobs.
A still finer club in the Ballantine collection, Fig. 76 (35), lias five vertical rows
of knobs. The thick handle (970 mm.) tapers from the stone and ends below in a blunt
point : above it is sharply pointed. The cane plaiting above and below the stone
is plastered with black beeswax, which gives a bevelled appearance to the stone.
Baiclana (Kabadi) (III). (Height 136, width of band of knobs 100, diameter 98,
diameter of upper flange 63, diameter of lower flange 60, diameter of centre 70 ;
height of knobs 12-15, number of knobs 5 x 13.)
An example with five rows of small low knobs and deep flanges is found in
Fig. 77 (36). The knobs in this specimen are very unequal in size. The short
(750 mm.), smooth, straight handle tapers from the stone to a blunted end. There
is a little cane plaiting above. Rarai (III). (Height 105, width of band of knobs
56, diameter 70, diameter of upper flange 46, diameter of centre 63 ; height of
knobs about 4, number of knobs 5 x 19.)
I have selected club Fig. 78 (37) as a type of a distinct variety which is
characterised by numerous small knobs, those of the central row being considerably
the largest. In this specimen the flanges are very narrow. The short (620 mm.),
thick handle tapers very gently and has a blunt ending. The handle does not
project beyond the stone. The latter is tied on by string to the handle in three
places. Amoamo (III). (Height 77, width of band of knobs 61, diameter 83,
diameter of centre 68 ; height of knobs 7-9, number of knobs 5 x 19.)
6. Knobs disposed in oblique lines.
Mr. Ballantine has one or two clubs from near the Main Range, Central
District (IV) in which the moderately, or quite, low knobs are disposed obliquely.
These " flanged fir-cone clubs " are of beautiful workmanship and are usually
carved out of a white or variegated quartzose rock ; they are generally mounted
on long handles. Fig. 79.
C. WOODEN KNOBBED CLUBS.
Although not coming, strictly speaking, within the scope of this study, I
cannot refrain from referring to certain wooden clubs which resemble in form
some flanged knobbed clubs.
Fig. 80 (55) is 1,015 mm. long. The height of the head is 130 mm., that of
the band of knobs is 100 mm., the diameter of the head is about 62-55 mm., the
height of the knobs is 12 mm., and their number is 7 x 7. Kererna (II).
Fig. 81 (56) is 980 mm. long. The height of the head is 107 mm. and that of
the band Of knobs 98 mm., the diameter is 67 ; the height of the knobs is
2-3 mm., and their number 9 x 18. There is a lower flange only. Kerema (II).
Fig. 82 (57) is 1,080 mm. long. The height of the head is 160 mm. and that of
the band of knobs 120 mm., the diameter is 61 mm., the number of the flat knobs
is 13 x 15. There is a groove in the upper portion of the stick, which leads into
a small hole that perforates the head. Kerema (II).
A. C. HAUDOX. — A Clarification of th>: Stone Club* of British Neiv Guinea. 239
VIII. PICKAXE CLUBS.
The clubs of this group fall naturally into two divisions — those with two
points and those with four.
1. PICKAXE CLUBS WITH Two POINTS.
What looks like a primitive kind of " pickaxe club " occurs in the Ballantiue
collection, Fig. 83 (N). It is an oval stone which appears to be largely a natural
stone. It is somewhat flattened above. The broader end is worked into a small
projecting blunt point ; this end is also of less thickness than the other. It is
painted with pink and white bands. The handle (910 mm.) is very rough.
Womai (II). (Diameter 145 x 75, thickness 37.)
A more typical pickaxe club, Fig. 84 (0), is flattened above and below and
painted with red lines. The handle (980 mm.) ends in a blunt point, and bark
cloth is wound round it above and below the stone. Womai (II). (Diameter
187 x 63, thickness 33.)
One variety in the collection, Fig. 85 (14), has one side straight, while the
other is convex. The ends are flattened and sharp-edged, but they have evidently
been reworked, as the stone has there fresh surfaces. The coarse, stout handle
(830 mm.) slightly tapers above only. Kerenia (II). (Diameter 203 x 64,
thickness 40.)
2. PICKAXE CLUBS WITH FOUR POINTS.
a. Un/ianged.
Fig. 86 (16), without a flange, measures 149 mm. in length and 77 mm. in
breadth. Korolii (IV).
b. Flanged.
A very small specimen in the BaHaiitine collection, Fig. 87 (15), has two
short main points, the laterals being very short. There is a small flange. The
handle (610 mm.) has rune plaiting above the stone. It tapers below and ends in a
cone. Korohi (Hogere) (IV). (Length 102, breadth 56, height 36.)
The more usual type is flanged and has two long points and two very short
laterals. One example, Fig. 88 (17), has the points squarish in section. The
handle is long (1,030 mm.) and is provided with tine polygonal cane work a long
way above and below the stone ; it tapers above and below, and there are three
heads below the grip. A string handle is also present. Vadiri (Hogere) (IV).
(Length L'71, breadth 90, height 59.)
A variety, Fig. 89 (18), with moderately long terminals and somewhat shorter
laterals approaches the " star club " in form. It has a very deep flange. The
smooth handle (930 mm.) tapers above and below to a point. There is polygonal
canework above the stone. Vadiri (IV). (Length 197, breadth 140, height 84.)
3. COMPLEX PICKAXE CLUBS.
Two-puinted pickaxe clubs are occasionally found with two small rays or
kne-bs on each side.
240 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clnbs of British New Guinea.
IX. STAE CLUBS.
So far as my experience goes there are two classes of star clubs — those with
and those without a flange.
A. UNFLANGED STAR CLUBS.
These clubs are characteristic of the Fly Eiver district, and I have seen
examples with four to ten points. I believe forms with a small flange also occur
in this district. As no Fly Eiver clubs are present in the Ballantine collection, T
must leave them out of consideration for the present. Several specimens are figured
by D'Albertis (New Guinea, II, p. 86), two of which are copied in Figs. 90, 91 ; the
former is quite typical, the latter is more specialised, and from the engraving looks
as if a very rudimentary flange was present.
Four Points. — Two clubs in Mer (Murray Islands, Torres Straits) which were
formerly used in the sacred Main ceremonies have four long bluntly pointed rays.
In section each ray is biconvex. At Yam Island, one of the Western Group, I
obtained the head of a large four-rayed club, made of granite, which was also used
in the ancient ceremonies, but in this unique specimen the rays were convex above
and slightly concave below in section. The same holds good for the stone as a whole,
so that it rests -upon its four points in one position and upon its centre in the
other, Fig. 92.
B. FLANGED STAR CLUBS.
The typical flanged star clubs are on the whole very similar to one another.
The chief variation consists in the number and size of the rays or points of the
star. There usually is a well-marked flange, and the rays are generally broad at
their base and flattened above and below. Like the " pickaxe clubs," these are
usually carefully made and well polished. This type is very characteristic of the
Eigo district ; but it is also fairly common in the interior of the Central district.
I think the rays are liable to be convex on their upper and lower surfaces in the
Gulf and Mekeo districts.
1. Four rays.
A smallish club, Fig. 93 (19), with short, stout rays and a deep flange, formerly
belonged to Gewe, the Chief of Agi. The handle (1,100 mm.) tapers gradually
below. There is finely plaited canework on each side of the stone ; this expands to
form a kind of cup for the latter. The club is further decorated with feathers and
coix seeds. Agi (IV). (Diameter 113, height 67.)
2. Six rays.
An example, Fig. 94 (20), of this common type has long, broad flat rays.
The long (1,265 mm.) handle tapers below. Above the stone is some fine polygonal
cane plaiting surmounted by a bunch of parrot feathers ; below it are half a dozen
turns of a string of human hair, and 215 mm. below the stone is a band of black
,\. C, If.\l>l»OX. — .1 C/ttxxt/irit/inii uf Hi,' W,,,i,' flu!,* i,f ///•// /.s// .V< it-
and white polygonal plaiting ami sonic siring. Dulia (IV). (Length 172,
breadth 1C:', height 64.)
Another specimen, Fig. 0." (21), has short., broad, tint rays, one lateral being
shorter than llic others. The long (1,270 mm.) handle has plaited cane
c and l>elo\\ the stone, and ends in a cone. "NVamai (IV). (Length 121,
breadth 1»I2. height 59.)
In the Dallantine collection is one of this kind with moderately hroad rays
and a large flange, it eame from Womai, in the Gulf District (II).
4. Ei<tht my*.
This appears to he a common form of star club. Fig. 96 (22) is hafted on a
long handle (1,335 mm.), which has cane plaiting, which expands in a saucer-like
manner above and below the stone; it is pointed below. Agi (IV). (Diameter
12.", height 52.)
5. Tt'H rays.
A ten-rayed club, Fig. 97 (23), is somewhat rare. Decluri (IV).
0. COMPLEX FLANGED STAR CLUBS.
A beautiful type of complex star club has four main rays, and in each angle
are two small rays, which lie in a plane above and below that of the main rays.
In the Cambridge Museum is a very fine specimen, Fig. 98, of this type. The
long handle (1210) tapers below; there is a deep (86) band of fine, oblique,
8-ribbed plaiting above the stone, and there are some turns of human hair and
string below the stone. Probably Central district (IV). (Total diameters of large
rays 233, 233, total diameters of small rays 103-107, height, including the deep
Hange, 89.)
Fig. 99 (25) is a broken example of this type.
In the "Dalian tine collection is a club, Fig. 100 (26), with an oblong contour,
which has four large points corresponding to the angles of an oblong. At one end
and at one side there is a small intermediate ray ; on the other side there are two
small, blunt points not quite in the same plane in the angle of the larger two, but
there is nothing in the angle of the other end. The stone is greenish, with lighter
inclusions. The long (1,535 mm.) handle tapers In-low and e^|ds in a small knob.
The head end is covered with coarse cane plaiting of a somewhat unusual pattern.
Tuari (Hogere) (IV). (Diameter 110 x 87, height 46.)
NOTES ON TIIK GKodUAI'HK AL DISTRIBUTION OF STONE CLUBS
IN DIMTISH NEW GUINEA.
Sir William Macgregor states: "The stone club is also used in the bow-and-
iirrow country [from the Dutch boundary to the Angabunga, Mekeo Districi].
but it is not common .-mion". sonic of the coast tribes, where stone is
VOT,. XXX (N.S. TIT). K
242 A. C. HADDOM. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
rare."1 " The stone club is found practically everywhere on the mainland. Its use
is universal on the north-east coast and at all parts of the interior that have been
visited. Its place is supplied on the low coral islands of Nada by clubs of ebony-
wood, and in the Louisiades by palmwood clubs. It is certainly remarkable that
on Murua (Woodlark Islands) the stone club was not used or made, although the
best stone for axes and adzes is found and worked there. Clearly the stone club
lias never been used in our islands at any time."2
It is also strange that no stone clubs are known to me from the mainland
from Cloudy Bay to East Cape. The short description I have given of clubs from
the Cloudy Bay District was written mainly from hearsay.
Until very recently the stone clubs were so necessary to the existence of the
natives that they would not readily part with them, but as the country becomes
more settled and the smaller tribes feel that they are protected by the
Government from raids, the natives are willing to trade their stone clubs for
tomahawks and scrub knives ; this accounts for the circumstance that so many
clubs have been collected in British .New Guinea during the past few years. As
a matter of fact there are now considerable areas of British New Guinea along the
coast and among the bush and hill tribes where it is very difficult or even
impossible to find any stone clubs at all.
This buying up of the stone clubs is sociologically a benefit to the natives, as
stone clubs are always associated in their minds with fighting, whereas tomahawks
and scrub knives are used in clearing the scrub when making gardens, but one must
not forget that after all these latter implements make very efficient weapons.
It is impossible to tell the age of a Papuan stone club. Many have every
indication of being of great age, and consequently there has been plenty of time
for them to have become generally distributed throughout the country. The
distribution of clubs may have been partly effected by means of barter, for many
of the tribes are keen traders, but probably most of the clubs were disseminated
during the frequent raids. It is well known that a tribe or even a confederation
of tribes will travel considerable distances when man-hunting, and it is only
natural that such valuable weapons as stone clubs should be retained as the spoils
of war.
We are in ignorance as to where the clubs are made or how this is
accomplished. It is only recently that the process of making the perforation has
been described by Sir William Macgregor. I may add that I have myself seen
Gewe, the chief < of Agi, pounding away at an unfinished stone club in the manner
described by Sir William.
In a despatch/ilated loth November, 1895, reporting the result of an expedition
to the Mambare River, Sir William Macgregor writes as follows : —
" In this village [name unknown, situated on the Mambare River] there was
lying on the ground a flat piece of basalt stone, apparently picked out of the river,
1 Jjn'tish New Guinea : Country ami People. London. John Murray. 1897. p. 61,
- Joe. cit., ]). GO,
•
A. C. HAPDOX. — A
ahvady of the requisite thickness for ;i disc stone club, smooth on both sides, and
ellipsoid in outline: it was now being bored for the reception of the handle. Kadi
side was already pierced half an inch deep, the little pit being about an inch and
a half wide at the surface and tapering to a point at the deepest part. Kvidcntlv
it was being bored by a hard stone with sharp angles, in the same way as the
natives bore large holes on thick slabs of shell with splinters of quart/, on Jhiau
and elsewhere/' (Appendix .1"), p. !•">, Ann. Rep. Brit. New diiinen, from 1st July,
189:>, to :',0th June, 1800. Brisbane, 1807.)
In the following Annual Report (1st July, 1806, to -°.0th June, 181)7.
Brisbane, 1 808. Appendix C, p. 4) Sir William writes : — " Here, for the first time,
I had an opportunity of seeing how natives make the hole that receives the handle
in a stone club. Some time ago I found one they were in the act of boring, but
they had taken away the borer. That same specimen, with the borer, is now in
my possession. They select a number of small stones of the size and shape of a
ritle bullet. They chip a hole through the stone club by light blows from the point
of the small .stone. It is surprising what progress can be made in boring the hole
by this very simple contrivance."
About twenty odd miles up the Manibare Eiver, Commandant Butterworth
bought what he took to be two stone clubs ; " but on close inspection," he says, " I
found them to be made of pottery, which would prove that the natives are very
smart rogues" (p. 1!), Ami. Rep. Brit. New Guinea, 1805-96. Brisbane, 1897). It
does not follow because a stone club is imitated in pottery that there is any
intention to deceive. It is a pity that Captain Butterworth did not state the kind
of club that was copied.
It is pretty evident that the clubs are made in the interior. Suitable stone is
rarely found near the coast, and some, at least, of the coast people are practically
lit tie more than pure fishermen. The next question is, Do the men of a given
district manufacture a particular kind of stone club, or do they make any kind
indifferently ?
I am not able to give final answers to these questions ; but by classifying a
large collection, such as Mr. Ballantine's, who has over 300 clubs, one finds that it
is possible to map out areas of distribution for many types of clubs, and we may
presume that these clubs were manufactured in, more or less, that district whence
they were obtained. Disc- shaped clubs are obtained pretty well from all over
British New Guinea, and hence we may conclude that these are made everywhere ;
but even amongst these there are certain types that appear to have a restricted
distribution.
I regret that my limited knowledge does not allow me to describe the
lithological characters of the stones employed. Some interesting facts will doubtless
I"- elicited when these are studied by an expert.
The workmanship of the club is also an important factor, as is also the
character of the handle. I have described the handles of the clubs fairly
thoroughly. A handle often forms an important clue to a club of doubtful locality.
R 2
244 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of British New Guinea.
provided that the handle is original. It is necessary to emphasise the last statement,
as I am sorry to say that to my own knowledge stone heads from one district havo
been fitted with handles by natives of an entirely different district, and in
consequence all clubs with handles that are evidently newly made must in future
be regarded with suspicion. Of course it is perfectly legitimate for a collector to
get natives to haft old stone heads that have been procured from that particular
district, for in every case the handles of stone clubs must be much newer than the
stone head, and probably most of them have had many handles in the course of
their existence. The chief points to notice in a handle are the length, the
character of the cane plaiting at the head end, and the manner in which the end of
the grip is finished off.
I find that some half a dozen areas of distribution of stone clubs can be
demarcated with a fair degree of certitude. These I take in geographical order,
proceeding from west to east.
I. THE WESTERN DISTRICT.
This district includes the Fly River Valley and the mainland of Jkitish Xcw
Guinea facing Torres Straits. The latter is known as Daudai or Dudi which may
be taken as the country lying between the Mai Kussa and Fly Pavers. I cannot
assign any eastern limit to the district.
Flat or biconvex disc clubs are very common. They are often somewhat
irregular in outline, but are apparently meant to be circular. Unflanged star clubs
are also characteristic. Sometimes they are of rather rude workmanship; others arc
well made, with a polished surface. The number of rays varies from four to about a
dozen ; the latter variety rather merges into the class of disc-shaped clubs with
notched edges, examples of which also occur in this district. Ovoid clubs havo
been obtained from the Fly River.
The handles are usually thick, often of stout ratan, and either are cut off
square below the grip or taper below to more or less of a blunt point. A string loop
is generally present.
I believe that most of the clubs from Torres Straits were imported from tho
Fly River District and Daudai ; at all events, they are so similar that they must be
regarded as belonging to the same district. I have collected flat and biconvex
wooden disc clubs in Torres Straits, and a small unflanged seven-rayed wooden star
club. The weapons of the Torres Straits islanders will, however, be dealt with on
a subsequent occasion.
I have no information, at present, respecting the stone chilis from Daudai
westwards to Netherlands New Guinea.
Reference should here be made to the disc and star stone clubs " collected " bv
\
1 J'Alhertis in a village about 350 miles up the Fly River. They are surmounted by
perforated ornamental slabs wonderfully carved in hard stone.1 The artists who
1 Cf. D'All>evtiR, New Guinea : What I did and what I saw, II, pp. 13(5-137 ; ;unl
l)<>cor«tire Art of Flritis/t New Guinea, p. 78.
A. ( '. HAUDOX. — A CUwriiocUwn <>/' flu- X
made thfse objects were probably the must skilled workers in stone of whom we
lu\e anj- record in this quarter of the globe; indeed I do not recall any stone work
of its kind in any part of the world or at any period.
II. THE GULF DISTRICT.
I cannot at present determine the westerly limit of this district. Xo specimen
of stone club that I have studied conies from farther west than Orokolo. The
easterly limit extends to about Cape Possession. The following is a list of villages
proceeding in the same direction : — Maipua, Orokolo, Vailala, Keuru, Kerema,
Lolobada, Siro, Womai, Karama, Oraruru, Moveave, Toaripi (" Motumotu "), Lese,
'Fokea, Kaima (Waikapu or Oiabu).
Very characteristic of this district are clubs made of natural stones or of
stones which have been slightly worked. These may be plain (Figs. 1-3, 5, 6) or
notched (Figs. 4, 7), or be scored by shallow (Fig. 9) or deep (Figs. 11, 8) grooves in
a rectangular manner. The latter pass into the unflanged knobbed clubs (Figs.
GG-74), which are equally characteristic of the district. Disc clubs are common :
they are often of large size and usually oval in contour. The edges may be simply
notched (Figs. 46, 47), or the indentations may be so deep as to leave prominent
knobs (Figs. 49, 50). The latter clubs might almost be classed as star clubs.
There are also intermediate grades between Hat clubs with simple notched edges
to characteristic depressed unrlanged knobbed clubs ; for example, the notches
may be far apart (about nine in number) and each may be continued as a
converging radial groove along each face of the disc, also each radius may be
scored by two or three concentric grooves.
Hitherto the natural stone clubs (Figs. 1-4), the unflanged knobbed clubs,
(Figs. 66-76), the triangular (Figs. 39, 40), rectangular, and other peculiarly shaped
disc clubs (Figs. 33-38), and the large two-pointed pickaxe clubs (Figs. 12-14)
have been obtained only from this district. Flattened ball clubs (Fig. 18) are not
rare. A few unpolished ovoid clubs have been collected in this district. All
Hanged clubs are rare. A few Hanged star and knobbed clubs have been obtained ;
but the Hanged disc clubs (Fig. 44) are only found here. The same applies to the
wooden knobbed clubs (Figs. 28-30).
The heads are often made of a gritty rock, so that they have a worn appearance
and do not take a polish. It is partly this circumstance that gives the Gulf clubs
Mieh a rude appearance. lUit independently of this, the workmanship on the whole
is not so careful as in other districts, and very often it is extremely rough,
Many of the stones are painted with red and white pigments (Figs. 3, 4, 7-11, 4G,
47, G9, 75). The red may be a dull red ochre, but frequently it is a distinct and
pretty pink which looks as if it had some white mixed with it. The pink
pigment appears to be most frequently employed about Womai, Karama, and
Kerema.
The handles are usually very rude and often crooked. It looks as if these
people bestowed less care upon their clubs than in other districts and regarded
246 A. C. HADDUX. — A
them almost solely from the point of view of utility. The handles are generally
.short and very thick ; frequently they taper at both ends. A certain number of
clubs have very long handles ; probably these characterise some bush tribe. The
stone is sometimes simply thrust on to the handle (Figs. 1, 2, 18, 61, 70); but
usually there is some coarse cane plaiting which serves to fix the stone. In a few
cases (Figs, o, 4, 14) bark cloth is used for this purpose. Sometimes the cane
plaiting is neatly executed, and in a few clubs it is finished off by a raised band
(Figs. 44, 64). Occasionally (Figs. G, 08) the head of the club is decorated with
cassowary feathers. The grip end is rarely squared ; more frequently it is roughly
chipped to a blunt point ; sometimes it tapers gradually to a sharp point. Charac-
teristic of this district is the carving of the end of the grip into one or more beads.
A few have characteristic simple Gulf patterns incised in a band a short
distance below the head (Fig. o'2) or below the grip.
III. THE MEKEO DISTRICT.
In employing the designation of the Mekeo District, I include the drainage
system of the Angabunga (" St. Joseph River ") and the immediately adjacent
country, more especially to the south. Perhaps the basins of the Aroa (that is, the
Kabadi country) and of the Vanapa should also be included.
The characteristic stone club of this district is the flanged knobbed club
(Figs, 52, 50-60). Disc clubs (Fig. 31) are very rare.
The handles are usually of moderate length. The cane plaiting is liner and
neater than that of the Gulf District. Often there is a string loop. Usually the
grip ends in a blunt point
IV. THE CENTRAL DISTRICT.
This district includes the large drainage system of the Laroki and its affluents,
and comprises all the lull tribes that live between the Astrolabe Range and the
Main Range. The following is a list of most of the tribes and villages from which
clubs have been obtained: — Gasiri, Taburi, Hogere ("Sogere"), laritari, Havere,
Vadiri, Korohi, Favere, Adori, Maiari, Vafare, Seremiua, lovi, Duha, Maraka, Ubere,
Eaha, "VVamai, Boura, Agi.
The most characteristic clubs from this district are the highly finished ovoid
clubs (Figs. 19-27). This group appears to be confined to the district, although
unpolished ovoid clubs have been obtained in the Gulf and Fly River Districts.
A. ('. HADUUX. — A ('/»™ijirufi<>n <>f ////• S/<>,i'- C/V//- ,,/' /;/•;//.// ;\" •//• <!n',,n<i. 247
Disc clubs (Figs. 41-43) arc cuiniuon ; bull clubs (Figs. 16-17) less so. Charac-
teristic of the interior of this district arc "flanged Hr-cuiic clubs." Flanged
knobbed clubs (Figs. 53-55) OOCUT near the Main Range, and Hanged star clubs
(Figs. 83-87) are not common. Four-pointed pickaxe clubs (Figs. 79-82) are found
here.
The ovoid or " emu-egg " clubs are mounted on very long handles, but the
disc clubs have short handles. The cane plaiting improves, as a rule, the nearer
the Main Range is approached. In the region about Agi, Wamai, Eaha, the plaiting
expands in a saucer-like manner to embrace the stone above and below (Figs. 54,
N:')). This peculiarity is not met with south of Yat'are. It occurs again on the other
side of the Main Range on the Mambare River. The head end of the clubs is
sometimes decorated with feathers, generally those of parrots (Figs. 41, 63, 83, 84,
87, 88). This is more frequent among the tribes nearer to the coast, and less so
towards the Main Kange.
In the majority of clubs the grip ends in a longer or shorter cone,
V. RIGO DISTKICT.
The fertile drainage system of the Vanigela (Kemp-Welch River) includes
the Rigo administrative district.
The characteristic clubs of this district are the various forms of the Hanged
star group. These clubs are beautifully made and well polished. Four-pointed
pickaxe clubs also occur here. Discs are also common.
The clubs are well mounted, and the handles generally terminate below in
blunt points.
VI. CLOUDY BAY DISTKICT.
This district is inhabited by the Dedele, etc.
Flanged star and knobbed clubs are found here, but they are said usually to bo
of smaller size than in the foregoing districts. I believe that the ovoid clubs wills
closely set low knobs disposed in oblique lines, so that there are from four to eight
in a vertical direction, " fir-cone club," occur in this district. Flattened Hanged
clubs with a double notched edge are also characteristic.
The clubs are well mounted, the cane plaiting is fine, and the clubs arc often
decorated with feathers.
VII. XOIITH-EAST DISTINCT.
The few stone clubs that I have seen from Kumusi, Kome, and other
localities on the north-east coast of British New Guinea do not appear to differ in
any essential point from those obtained from the Mambare River. A sufficient
number of specimens have been obtained from the latter region to warrant the
following general account : —
Apparently the most common stone club is the flanged knobbed form.
'248 A. C. HADDON. — A Classification of the Stone Club* of Jii'lt.ix/t N<'.iv
Usually the flange is deep. The majority appear to have three knolts in the1 vcriir.il
series and from ten to fourteen in the horizontal series. There is no difference
between these club heads and those from the Mekeo District. Ovoid knobbed
clubs of the " fir-cone " variety, I believe, also occur. Perhaps the most common
type of disc is the thin flattened form ; the flanged flattened disc is also found,
thong! i rarely.
The characteristic feature of the Main bare club is to be found in the handle.
The average length of ten handles taken at random is 1,150 mm., the extremes
being 877 mm. to 1,690 mm. The stone is fixed some distance from the end of the
handle, and this space, which averages about 75 mm., is covered with fine cane
plaiting. There is a similar, usually broader, plaited band below the stone, the
average length of which is at least 85 mm., and there is generally an additional
binding of sinnet, etc. The plaiting may expand above and below the stone into a
cup, which fits over the ends of the flanged knobbed clubs, as previously described
in clubs On the other side of the Main Range near the Gap, below Mount Bellamy.
The free end of the handle is usually decorated with a bunch of white or coloured
parrots' feathers. Similar feathers are often fastened to the inferior border of the
lower band of plaiting. Not infrequently the fur of the discus is employed in
decorating the clubs. Occasionally there is a carved band with a xigxag design
below the lower plaiting. The grip usually ends off in a long pointed cone, above
which there may be a bead and a further decoration of feathers.
A. c. HADIH.N.- A Classification of the Stom- Cli>l>* <>/ British Hew Guinea. iM!i
fort 3 t
M E K/ E O
(C"o Htnuetm^te
SKETCH MAP
B. OF THE
XIX, A'X, XXL
I. Natural sumc chilis, or club.s \vitli a slight am. unit of working, I, :>, :}, 1 ((Juli';.
J I. .King dulis.
1. I'nHaiig.-d : 5, 7 (Gulf), G (Central).
2. Flanged : 8 (Gulf Q.
III. Ball dubs.
1. Unflanged: 11 (Gulf;, y, 10, 12, 13 (Central).
2. Flanged : 14 (Central).
IV. Ovoid chilis.
1. Short and thick : 15 (Central). 2. Long and tapering : 16 (Central). 3.
Cylindrical: 17 (Central). 4. Barrel-shaped: 18 (Central). 5. With an
'••I'latorial swelling : 19, 20 (Central).
250 A. C. HAUDON. — A Classification of the Stone Clubs of JJr iti*h Nciv Guinea.
V. Di«c clubs.
1. Oval ; A. Thick : 21 (Mekeo), 22, 23, 24 (Gulf). B. Thin : 25 (Central), 20
(Gulf).
2. Various shapes; A. Oblong: 27 (Gulf). B. Triangular: 28, 29 (Gulf). C.
Diamond : 30 (Gulf ?). D. Lakatoi : 31 (Gulf).
3. Circular : A. Biconvex, thick : 32 (Torres Straits). B. Thin : 33 (Central). C.
Flattened, thin : 34, 35 (Central). D. Flattened, thin and flanged : 36
(Gulf). E. Undulating : 37 (Gulf).
VI. Flat clubs with notched edges.
1. With a single row of notches, no flange : 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 (Gulf).
2. Two rows of notches ; A. Unflanged : 43 (Gulf). B. Flanged : 44 (Central).
VII. Knobbed clubs.
A. Unflanged ; 1. Natural stones, or with a small amount of working : 45, 46, 47,
48 (Gulf). 2. Knobbed ring clubs ; a. One row of knobs : 49, 50 (Gulf).
b. Three rows of knobs : 51 (Central). 3. Knobbed ball clubs : 52, 53
(Gulf). 4. Depressed knobbed clubs ; a. Four rows : 54 (Gulf), b. Five
rows : 55, 56, 57 (Gulf), c. Six rows : 58 (Gulf), d. Seven rows : 59, 60
(Gulf), e. Eight rows : 61 (Gulf). 5. Human-head club : 62 (Gulf). G.
Ovoid ; a. Knobs disposed vertically : 63, 64 (Gulf), b. Knobs disposed in
oblique lines : 65 (Cloudy Bay ?) c. Barrel-shaped : 66, 67 (Gulf).
B. Flanged ; 1. One row of knobs : 68 (Central). 2. Two rows : 09 (Mekeo), 70, 71
72 (Central). 3. Three rows : 73, 74 (Mekeo). 4. Four rows : 75 (Mekeo)
5. Five rows : 76, 77, 78 (Mekeo). 6. Knobs disposed in oblique lines : 79
(Central).
C. Wooden knobbed clubs : 80, 81, 82 (Gulf).
VIII. Pickaxe clubs.
1. Pickaxe clubs with two points : 83, 84, 85 (Gulf). 2. Clubs with four points ; A.
Unflanged : 86 ; B. Flanged : 87, 88, 89 (Central). 3. Complex.
IX. Star clubs.
A. Uiiflanged : 90, 91 (Fly River), 92 (Torres Straits).
B. Flanged ; 1. Four rays : 93 (Central). 2. Six rays : 94, 95 (Central). 3. Seven
rays. 4. Eight rays : 96 (Central). 5. Ten rays : 97 (Central).
C. Complex flanged clubs : 98 (Central ?), 99, 100 (Central).
Description of Plate XXII.
Typical stone clubs from seven districts of British New Guinea —
1. Thick, biconvex, circular disc club ; Yam Island, Torres Straits. Cambridge Museum.
2. Unflanged, flat club with two rows of notches at the edge ; Kupava, Evaora, Komilly
Sound, Papuan Gulf. Cambridge Museum.
3. Flanged knobbed club with four rows of knobs ; Mekeo. Cambridge Museum.
4. Short, thick ovoid club ; Gasiri, Central District. Cambridge Museum, presented by
the Hon. D. Ballantine.
5. Flanged, knobbed club with three rows of knobs ; Mambare (North-East). Cambridge
Museum, presented by Sir William Macgregor.
6. Unflanged, knobbed club with knobs disposed in oblique lines ; Inland, back of Cloudy
Bay (!). Australian Museum, Sydney.
7. Six-rayed, flanged star club ; lligo.
All the clubs are drawn to the same scale of one-seventh.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX. Plate XIX.
\3 14
15 16 17
19 20
21
22 23
24 25
26
27
28 29 30 31
STONE CLUBS FROM BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 1-10
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX. Plate XX.
'68 69
70 71 72
STONE CLUBS FROM BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 41-73
73
Journal of the Anthropological Inttitute, Vol. XXX. Plate XXI.
80 81
77
78 79
83
84
95
96 97 98
STONE CLUBS FROM BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 74-1
100
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX. Plate XXII.
TYPICAL STONE CLUBS FROM BRITISH NEW GUINEA
Journal of the Anthropological Institute ', Vol. A'A'.Y, Plate XXI11.
( -'''I )
A 1'llIMITlVK FIGU1MNK KHOM ADALIA.
BY JOHN L MYKES, M.A., F.S.A.
[PIIK.SKNTKU JINK l±ni, 1!>()0. WITH PLATE XXIV.]
THE little figure which is represented, from three points of view, in Hate XMY.
was acquired by Mr. II. Swainson Cowper, F.S.A. , at Adalia in Asia Minor in the
course of the year 1900 ; was exhibited on his behalf at a meeting of the
Anthropological Institute on the 12th June, 1900; and has since been presented
by him to the Ethnographical Department of the British Museum. The negatives
from which the representations in the plate were made are numbered respectively
2,101; 2,102; 2,103 in the inventory of the Anthropological Photographs Com-
mittee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
The figure measures only 50 mm. (2 in.) in height, so that the representations
given here are very nearly of full size. It is composed of a clay which closely
resembles that of the earliest pottery at Hissarlik,1 being black throughout, smooth
on the worked surface, and rather gritty or granular in fracture.
The type is that of a female figure, represented in a sitting, or rather in a
squatting posture. The general form is given, in primitive fashion, simply by
modelling the clay with the fingers ; while the limbs appear to have been added
(as is often the case with the earliest Cypriote figurines)2 with separate pellets of
clay. But, of these, that which represents the right foot (to the left in the front
view) has never been thoroughly incorporated with the trunk; and either has
fallen off, or rather, as will appear later, has perhaps been detached intentionally,
to carry out a change in the purpose of the artist.
The minor features are indicated on the surface of the clay by incised lines
and punctured dots, some of which still retain traces of the chalky filling which
is so common on the earliest incised pottery of the Mediterranean area On the
Hat top of the head is a rude cross, which denotes perhaps hair, perhaps some
form of head-dress. On the face there appear only a fringe of short strokes (for
the hair of the forehead) and two enormous eyes, which, meeting as they do in the
centre of the face, produce in front view the effect of a sort of beak, though the
anterior surface of the head is seen in profile to be flat. Nose and mouth, on the
contrary, are wanting, if we except one careless puncture (which ma}- even be
accidental) below the meeting-point of the eyes. Ifound the neck arc represented
two collars with numerous short pendants: the lower one has also a disc-like
central pendant in front. The chevron-form which these collars assume, both in
1 Scklieiiiann, llios, pp. 218-220.
- Myres aiid Olmefalsch-llichter, Cyprus Mtuscum Catalogue (Oxford, 1899), p. 27, and
Nos. 463, 5402, 5055.
JOHN L. MYKES. — A Primitive ffigurine from *
Iron I and behind, is closely parallel to that of the collars on the clay figure from
Hissarlik,1 and the mode of representing1 the face is obviously closely analogous to
that of the " owl-faced " members of the same group of figures. -
()n the arms and hands, which are pressed closely upon the breasts, the fingers
are indicated, but no thumbs ; at the wrists there are two transverse lines which
may represent bracelets, but more probably simply indicate the wrist-joint ; and on
the forearm there are three longitudinal incisions. The latter might at first sight
be taken for drapery, but more probably stand for tattooing or paint; for the
indication of the navel and other details on the abdomen show that the figure is
conceived by the artist as nude ; the navel, in fact, being markedly emphasised
by a ring of eight dots round its central point.
The legs, like the arms, are much curtailed, and are represented folded upon
the abdomen. On the left foot, the toes and ankle-joint are shown by incised
lines like those on the hands ; but with this addition, that the space between the
two transverse lines is sparsely filled with punctured dots : similar punctured
ornamentation may be seen 011 another of the clay figures from Hissarlik.3
The right foot, as has been noted already, is missing now, but its place
appears to be supplied by a curious tail-like feature (q.v.) in rear of the left leg,
of which portions can be traced in each of the three photographs.
It presents, unmistakably, the outline of the sole of a foot, repre-
sented as protruding, in a squatting position, from under the left
thigh ; the outline of the sole being punctuated, like the ankle
of the left leg, with numerous dots, to distinguish it as a solid object, and
to detach it from the background. The intention of the artist clearly is, to
represent the figure seated on the ground with the legs crossed : the left leg
comes across the figure in front, while the right, which thus lies behind - it, is
tucked away beneath the body, so that only the foot emerges, in the position in
which it is shown, beneath the left hip of the figure. The scar, meanwhile, which
has been already noted in the place where the right leg should be, suggests further
that the artist began by attempting to represent both feet in front symmetrically ;
but afterwards changed his mind, removed the right leg, and added the right foot
in its present position. It is, however, not impossible that the missing portion may
have been unincised, and intended rather to represent the projecting knee of the
right leg : and if so, we must assume that it has been detached accidentally.
This half sitting, half kneeling attitude, not unlike the " kneeling position "
of the modern rifleman, adds much to the interest of the figure ; for, with some
variation in detail, it is characteristic of a group of figures, which is widely
distributed in the Eastern Mediterranean both in space and time : in some of the
later examples, moreover, and perhaps in the earlier also, it may even be suspected
to. have a definite ritual significance. The best known, and most characteristic
1 Ilios, Fig. 205. - Jllos, Figs. 191-220.
3 Perrot Chipiez, Histoire dc I'Ai't dans VAntiyuiti', VI, Fig. 337. For the significance of
punctured ornament, we p. 25."> below.
.JOHN I.. MVRES'. — A 7Y////////V //<//'/•///< /'/•"/// Ail«lin. 2."i.°.
examples of thin class, are the figures of stone and clay from tho " megalithic " ruin-;
of IFagiarKim in Malta. now in the museum of Valletta,1 which are female, like the
figure from Adalia, and are seated in a variety of half kneeling attitudes, with one
leg crossed in front, and the other drawn away to one side. In the Maltese ti^invs.
however, the right foot is usually thrust outwards, instead of being drawn under
I IK- body. Other examples carry the same type of figure from end to end of the
Eastern basin of the Mediterranean. From the ^Egean come the grossly modelled
figures found in the Kabiric sanctuary in Samothrace, and from mainland (Ireece a
primitive figure of Pentelic marble, found a little north of Athens, and acquired
by the Ashmolean Museum. In the latter instance, it is true, the artist has hit
upon another rendering of the legs, which are folded one above the other across
the front of the body, much as the arms commonly are in the cognate marble
figures from the Ovclades.2
o *•
Further, in view of the owl-like visage, and pentagonal trunk, of this figure
from Adalia, it becomes highly probable that those truncated and " owl-faced ''
images of marble or limestone;1 which were found in such numbers in the lower
strata of Hissarlik, and to which repeated allusions has been made already, are only
st ill more inexpert attempts to reproduce the same squatting type ; at all events,
the well known leaden figure4 shows very well that a " Trojan " artist had no
difficulty in modelling a full-length figure, if he wished to do so ; and in the
( Vehicles too, the " violin-shaped " type of marble figure,8 of very rounded outline,
and devoid of legs, co-exists with a whole class of well modelled full-length
figures, and may very likely represent a squatting type like that of the Attic
figure.
Further still, it can hardly be accidental that the Maltese, the Samothracian
and the Attic figures agree with that from Adalia in an abnormal steatopygia,
which recurs in some of the full-length figures from the Cyclades,0 has given rise
io;i number of ethnological speculations. In the case of the figure from Adalia,
indeed, the steatopygia is by no means so pronounced, and is further concealed by
the rudeness of the workmanship, the flat standing-base of the figure, and the
abbreviated treatment of the lower limbs. .But no one, I think, can fail to observe
the marked looseness and grossness of the contours of the figure; while the protile-
view in particular shows a corresponding protrusion of the abdomen, between the
hands and the feet, which is very carefully modelled, and certainly intentional.
Coming now to more easterly, and at the same time to less primitive figures,
1 See Caruana, Report on the Rttim of Jlagiar Kim ; Perrot C'hipiez, Hixtoire <l<> I' Art, iii,
Figs. 230, 231; and s.v. Malta, in tho forthcoming list «>f the Anthropological Photographs
( 'onmiittee.
- Blinkenberj,', A nti>/» >'(••* Pretnyofatennet, Fig. 1-3. Evans, ('i-ttan /'/<•/<)// /•"/-/«. Appendix
pp. 126, 128.
Ili'n^ FJKS. 101-220.
1 llios, Fi£. 226.
•• Blinkenberg, /.<•., Ki^. I; Mini unpublished specimens in the Ashmolean Museum.
f- Perrot Chipiex, f.c., vi, Fio. 333 (from Amorgos), 334 (from Sparta).
254 JOHN L. MYHES. — A Primitive Fiynrinc from Addict.
it is tempting to compare the attitude of the so-called " Temple-hoys "' which are
among the commonest votive sculptures on the sanctuary-sites of Cyprus, and
occur occasionally also in Cypriote tomhs. The extant examples of this type arc
indeed one and all later than the fifth century B.C. ; but they certainly perpetuate
a ceremonial posture, and this may very well have been traditional, and of far
greater antiquity than these late instances of it. In these fully modelled figures
the attitude itself is more clearly expressed, the figure sits on one foot, usually
the left, with the other foot in front, the weight of the body being usually
borne partly on the left hand, while the right hand grasps a bird or an incense-
box. It is characteristic also of this group, that, though the figure is almost always
clothed, the garment is drawn up so as to expose the groin— the original type was
therefore essentially nude ; — and also that the figure wears one or more necklaces,
heavily loaded with pendant-charms. The large majority of the Cypriote figures
are male ; but female examples are found.3
It is not clear at present what, if any, is the significance of the peculiar
attitude under discussion ; and the discovery in the Mycenaean palace of Knossos
in Crete, of genre fresco-scenes in which the female figures are seated in an attitude
very similar to that of the Maltese figures, warns us not to lay too much stress on
a posture which may have been common in every-day life. At the same time, the
posture was not in common use either in Greece, or in Asia Minor, or in Cyprus
(except for these " Temple-boys "), during the Hellenic period3 ; its retention, in the
case of the " Temple-boys," as a ceremonial attitude points to it as a survival from
an earlier phase of culture ; the Mycenaean women in the Cretan fresco are
themselves seated in the courtyard of a building which appears to be a Mycenaean
temple ; and both the Samothracian and the Maltese examples, widely separated
as they are in space, and perhaps also in time, agree in having been found, the
former in an undoubted sanctuary, which persisted as such into Hellenic ' times,
the latter in a building which like its greater fellow, the " Giganteja " of Gozo,
bears the strongest marks of having been the focus of a cult of some kind.
Further, as Mr. Evans has recently shown,4 the Maltese, the Cretan, and tho
Cypriote cults in question are of the same " baetylic " type ; centring, that is, round
the worship of a pillar, of stone or wood, as the repository of the divine presence :
so that the probability is increased, that the similar attitude assumed by votive
figures in each case may be a votive or ceremonial attitude.
1 See Myres and Ohnefalsch-Eichter, Cyprus Museum Catalogue, Nos. 3153ff, 5112ff, 5201ff,
5576 : and Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros, PI. xcii. There are several examples also in the Cypriote
Room of the British Museum (Nos. 230, 273, 274), in the Salle des Origines of the Louvre
(uncatalogued) and in the Cesnola collection in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
2 E.g., Cyprus Museum Catalogue, No. 3157.
3 In Greece it is an attitude of fabulous or orgiastic figures such as satyrs (as on the coins
of the Sicilian Naxos, Gardner, Types of Greek Coins, PI. ii, 20, of. coins of Thasos, Head,
lUxtoria Numorum, p. 228), and in this case also probably a traditional and perhaps a ritual pose.
4 In a paper which was read before the Hellenic Society (November 1st, 1900), and has
appeared in the Journal of Hellenic Studies, xxi, pp. 99-204.
JOHN L. Mm, — A Primitive figurine from Adatia,
In tho case of tho figure from Adalia, however, it has not l>oen possible tn
discover whether it was found in any sanctuary, and for the present it remains
an isolated find.
Isolated as it is, however, it contributes two other important data to our
knowledge. Hitherto the black carbonised clay-fabric, which is characteristic of
the earliest settlement at Hissarlik, though it has been traced by the researches
of Dr. A. Koerte up the valley of the Sangarios River, has not been identified
further to the south and east. In Galatia and Kappadokia, and i-ven in parts of
IMirygia itself, in fact, the red-faced hrcniatitic clay-fabric which comes up from
ihe direction of Cyprus and the Syrian coast, supervenes directly upon the
primitive un faced wares ; whereas in the Hellespontine region we find it
supervening upon the black-ware. The discovery, therefore, of so fine a
specimen of the black-ware so far south as the neighbourhood of Adalia, is of
considerable importance, as extending the area over which the black- ware industry
had time to extend before it met the advancing frontier of the red-ware.
Tho punctured ornamentation also has a wide geographical distribution, and
fairly well-defined limits of prevalence in time. At Hissarlik it occurs, associated
(just as on the figure from Adalia) with linear incisions, on the black-ware of the
lowest stratum1; but it disappears after the advent of the red-ware. North and
west of Hissarlik, similar punctured ornamentation occurs at Butmir and other sites
in South-Eastern Europe2 on pottery-fabrics which are related, if not ancestral, to
those of the " first town " of Hissarlik. South and west of the Hellespont, Asia
Minor, ill-explored, interposes a blank as yet. In Cyprus, where no antecedent black-
ware-period is known, the punctured ornament also is almost absent : in fact, I
know of only one example at all ; on a shattered flask of red-ware in the Ashmolean
.Museum.3 The " black punctured ware " which appears in Cyprus in the middle
period of the Bronxe Age,4 originates, as I have shown elsewhere,5 probably on the
Palestinian coast, and was imported thence both into Cyprus, and into Egypt from
the twelfth to the eighteenth dynasty. It may be remotely descended from the
punctured black-wares from pre-clynastic Egypt0 and further west7 ; and of this
earlier tradition of punctured ornament, magnificent examples are seen on the
great doorways, and on the sculptured altar, of the megalithic buildings of Malta. s
Both these considerations also enable us to assign the figure to its approximate
period : for the advance of the red-ware is intimately connected, as I have pointed
1 Ilios, Figs. 3->, 45, 271, 292, 310, 312, 314. Cf. p. 252 (note 3) above.
- Petrie, Nagada and Lallas , pp. 38, 63.
3 Ashm. Mus. Cypr. Inr., No. 79.
1 Cyprus Mvscum Catalogue, pp. 37-8, and Nos. 381 -3.
5 Jonrnft? of Hellenic Studies, xvii, 140.
'• Petrie, Xu^id.i md AWAw, PI. XXX.
• ( 'iempo/.uelos in Spain (Dol. /,'. JtW. Mml-id, XXV, 436tf, PI. IV, V, XII): Malta
(fragmentary vase, apparently from the liengemma necropolis, in the Valletta Museum,
unpublished).
* Perrot Chipie/., !.<•. iii. Figs. 226-9,
2">G JOHN L. MYIJES, — A Primitive Fifim' inc. from Adali«.
out elsewhere,1 with the advance of the first knowledge of copper, and the
punctured ornament represents the highest artistic development of the black-ware
which it immediately superseded.-' We may therefore place the figure from
Adalia close to the boundary between the latest Neolithic and the earliest
Metallic Age ; and in close proximity, as its style and ornamentation have
indicated already, to the phase of culture which is represented by the lowest
settlement of Hissarlik
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT alluded to the wide distribution of the owl-like faces on
prehistoric objects, and stated that he believed that the peculiar ornamentation,
formed by filling incisions with a white substance, was by no means confined to
the Mediterranean ; on the contrary he believed it would be found on careful
examination that this method of decoration was in use by the potters of the
P.ron/e Age in Britain, though the poor character of the ware compared with that
of the Mediterranean made it very difficult to find examples to prove this with
certainty.
1 Joiirn. Anthrop. Inst., xxvi, 309ff. Cyprus Zfvseum, Catalogue, pp. 15-17.
- Cf. Petrie, Nagada and Ha/las, p. 38, on the connection between the punctured
ornament and the first knowledge of copper.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXI F.
I
{ 2.17 )
ON STONE IMPLEMENTS FEOM TASMANIA. EXTRACTS FROM A
LETTER BY J. PAXTON MOIR.
COMMUNICATED BY PROFESSOR E. B. TYLOR, F.R.S.
[PRESENTED NOVEMBER 27-TH, 1900. WITH PLATES XXV, XXVI.]
THE extracts which follow are portions of a letter received by Professor Tylor
from Mr. J. Paxton Moir, of Hobart, Tasmania, in answer to a request for further
information as to a number of Tasmanian implements sent over to England by
Mr. Moir; especially as to the localities in which they were found. Mr. Moir
replied as follows : —
" I will now answer your inquiries as far as I can, although I have not yet
sufficiently examined the camping grounds of the Tasmanian Aborigines to form a
correct judgment. In fact, so far I have only reached the borders of investigation,
having explored only a few camping grounds found within an area of about seven
miles long by two or three miles in width, and that in one only of the southern
parts of Tasmania (Buckingham) which county is perhaps the best to select as
representative in many ways. Also, I have yet to ascertain what is to be found
at a depth below an ordinary plough furrow. I have explored shell-beds to a
depth of 3 feet where partly exposed on the river banks, but then found very
few stones. I am sending you one found with shells 8 inches below the surface,
which is a two-edged knife, probably used to cut up tough shell-fish, or to cut
them from their shells. [Apparently that shown in Plate XXVI, Fig. 12.] With
this you will receive two I found on the surface of undisturbed ground (i.e.,
ground in its natural state as it was in the days of the natives, except that it had
been swept by a bush fire), probably two dropped while having their last hunt.
These two I found about a mile inland, away back from their sea-side camping
ground [they are round or oval-shaped and are chipped all round, Plate XXV,
Figs. 7, 8].
" The ones found by Mr. Morton in Australia on the Murchison River are
mostly of this class, but less in thickness and nicely chipped — one appears to
have a ground edge. They are of a stone easily chipped and rich in colour,
and some are variegated in colour. Their rich colour attracts attention, but they
are no better in make or finish than the better class of Tasmanian implements.
" Tn answer to one of your inquiries, for general illustration I have dropped
in a couple of handfuls of stones just as picked up two or three days ago, without
selection, from oft' a piece of ploughed and harrowed ground of less than quarter
acTp area. This is part of a camping ground just half a mile from here. They
will give you an idea of the large number of 'gravers' made by the Tasmanian
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). s
L}")8 J. PAXTON MOTH. — On Stone Implements from
Aborigines. As a rule I find gravers, scrapers and skinners about equal in
proportion, axes much less in number, large axes very few.
"I send you fifteen just as gathered up in about ten minutes, without making-
choice or preference, beyond discarding a few wanting in character found with
them. The largest may be either a spear axe or small hand-chopper, or a large
skinning tool [Plate XXV, Fig. 2] and may be held thus with the forefinger at
the back of the stone resting in hollow at back of stone, and thumb lying
along the front, with ball of thumb resting on slope of face — probably to
give a sliding or forward push to the stone the moment it descends on the
wood — a sort of sliding cut. It may also be held in the palm of the hand nt
right angles to the wrist. Five are circular shaped and square edged skinners
or skinning tools. One has one edge a little hollow which may be for cutting
the skin round the legs of animals — a dirty white stone ; and may be held
between the thumb and forefinger, with the forefinger and others bent or
tucked round at back of stone under the thumb. While some of these and
of other tools may be used also as scrapers, there is in this ten minutes'
gathering one double concave scraper [Plate XXVI, Figs. 13, 16, 19, are inserted
as specimens of concave scrapers and gravers].
"Usually the scrapers are more plentiful, while here no less than six are
gravers, four or five of which are almost identical in shape, and are held between
the thumb and forefinger, the forefinger being bent or tucked round under
the thumb. One or two are sharp-edged cutting flakes or knives, and one in
particular has the appearance as of a ground edge with a little chipping ; the
next two edges are also cutting edges, and the edge to right looks like a small
concave scraper.
" If this is a ground edged implement then I have found several ; but if not,
I may say I have not yet found any that have been ground by the Aborigines of
Tasmania, I will make further search for ground tools. If we compare
Tasmanian tools with the beautifully ground axes and adzes of the New Zealand
and New Guinea natives, then we see how far the Tasmanian Aborigines are
behind them ; but for variety of form and purpose and ingenuity in chipping, the
Tasmanians hold their own against Australian implements, provided we make
comparison with unground hand-gripped tools only.
" With regard to stones made to fit or use in a club or handle of any sort,
I have never yet seen a Tasmanian stone that could be used that way — every
implement is made to fit the hand so far as I have met with them; and I have
carefully examined thousands. You mention that Tasmanian-like implements are
found in Australia. This is correct, and any chipped stone found in any part of
Australia can be matched for shape and style in Tasmania (saA'e and except spciir
heads and war implements). A friend of mine on a visit to Melbourne, Victoria,
walked several miles out of Melbourne to some place near the water, and seeing a
sunny slope or bank he walked over it, and found several chipped stones, but
beyond putting a few in his pocket he made no selection. On showing them to
J. ?AXTON Moi|{. — (hi >S7,y//r Lnilfmnifx from T«XIII« ,1 i«. J.~'l
me I inatchod most of them with Tasmanian implements They wore but VITV
ordinary in make or finish, and L am sorry my friend did not search for IK-HIT
specimens when in Victoria. The ground had not been ploughed or disturbed
in any way.
"Some think with me that probably Tasmania and Australia were one
continent many thousands of years ago, or were at least joined by a long narrow
isthmus. Many mineral, botanical and other peculiarities agree and are common
to both, to say nothing of emus, kangaroos and opossums. A few of the
Australian blacks may have been driven down south, and found their way across
the isthmus to the Tasmanian end and settled there, and then were afterwards
cut off through 'the breaking up of the connecting isthmus. But of course this is
mere conjecture.
" Next month I intend making a careful examination in parts of a camping
ground to the depth of 2 or 3 feet, and shall send you specimens of the stone
implonu-nts found, and each stone will be marked by label stating depth at
which it was found arid condition of soil with regard to colour and shells. As I
have found some of every class of stone implement I know of, at camping ground
on Bennett's Farm, North West Bay, about seven miles from here, I will operate
there. It is one of the most beautifully situated camping grounds I have yet
seen, and is a long tapering point with quiet sea on either side, and easy of access
to the water, which deepens so very gradually that the natives could walk out for
hundreds of yards without getting out of depth : and all kinds of shell-fish
abounded. The land adjoining this point on the upper side has several springs
and creeks which supplied them with fresh water at all seasons. The surrounding
country abounded with kangaroo, opossums and other game, and probably by
driving some of the kangaroos on to this point, they were the more easily
captured by the natives."
[Among the specimens exhibited to illustrate Mr. Moir's communication the
following are figured on Plates XXV and XXVI — small hand-axes or choppers,
Figs. 1, 2, 9, 10; heavy axes, Figs. 3, 4; skinners and knives, Figs. 5, 7, 8, 11, 12,
1 ."• : small gravers, knives and scrapers, Figs. 6, 14, 17, 18 ; duck-bills, Figs. 1 .">,
1 9 ; concave scraper, Fig. 1 6.]
DISCUSSION.
Mr. H. BALFOUII : It is impossible not to feel a keen interest in the subject
of Mr. I'axton Moir's communication, whether we regard the culture of the
Tasmanians by itself, as illustrating the life of a people living under conditions of
exii-.-me simplicity in a state of very low savagedoin, or whether, taking a wider
view, we consider the bearing of the evidence afforded by their condition of culture
upon the general question of the developmental history of culture in general. It
seeing probable that we are justified in regarding the Tasmanians as *nrrin<l*
from an early stage in general human evolution, whose progress has, from various
causes, been retarded and has remained in a state almost of arrested development,
s 2
2GO J. PAXTON Mom. — On Stone Implements from Tasmania.
leaving them as recently living illustrations of man in the remote past. When,
however, we come to compare the arts of the Tasnianians with the remains of arts
of the primitive inhabitants of Europe, Palseolithic man, it is essential that the
great difference between the environmental conditions — climate, geographical
surroundings, etc. — under which the two races lived, should not be overlooked,
since their requirements must have differed widely. In regard to the forms of
Tasmanian stone implements, these seem to be referable to relatively few types,
mostly adapted to many uses. The hollow- scraper is adapted to smoothing and
rounding spear shafts or for use as a rotary saw for cutting transversely. The
so-called " graver " presents some difficulties, in so far as there seem to be few
demands in the life of the people for a fine grooving tool. The cross hatching of a
club handle to roughen the grip could be better and more easily done with a long-
edged tool, and I am not aware that the Tasmanians were in the habit of making
longitudinal furrows on their clubs and other implements after the fashion of
many Australian tribes.
The most characteristic tool of the Tasnianians, viz., a cutting and scraping
tool made from a broad flake, chipped to a bevelled edge from one face only, and
usually having a flat un worked back, is one which not only belongs to the low
culture of modern primitive races, and to early prehistoric races, but is the most
persistent of all stone implements, having survived as a useful tool from early
Stone age days through all subsequent periods to the present day, in the age of
steel, where we may still find it to the fore as the most approved form of " flint "
for use with steel itself for purposes of striking a light. In fact, stone implements
exactly resembling in form those from Tasmania are liable to be found associated
with finds of other periods besides the earliest, and, while an implement found in
the Drift near Clermont may, as Dr. Tylor has urged, bear a striking resemblance
to a typical Tasmanian implement, so may a neolith from the South Downs or
elsewhere, or a stone of far later date. The special interest of these rude imple-
ments from Van Dieman's Land lies, not so much in the positive evidence of their
rude and primitive nature, but rather in the negative evidence which shows them
to be unassociated with native-made implements of higher and more specialised
forms, and, in reference to the parallel, quoted by Dr. Tylor from Mr. Morton's
find of rude implements on the Murchison River, West Australia, it is of
importance to be clear as to whether those rude implements were or were not
associated with others exhibiting higher finish and the attributes of more
experienced treatment, e.g., grinding and hafting.
Dr. Tylor referred to the manner in which most or all of the Tasmanian stone
implements seemed readily to fit the hand, being apparently so shaped by design.
It seems to me, however, after examining a large number of these stones, that this
is really due in the main to the fact of the hand being a very adaptable organ of
prehension, which can be made to suit itself to almost any of the shapes, and I
question whether the ease with which the implement can be held in the hand is,
except in a few instances, the result of as deliberate and careful a shaping to this
end as has been suggested.
The great abundance of stone implements and flakes which is found in
Tasmania might lead us to assume a time when the island was somewhat densely
•I. PAXIUN Muii;. — On N/«//< Implements from T«*m"n<". L'IJI
populated, <>r to brlirvu in u very long occupation, but on this evidence alone tin-
i "iidusiun would be hardly justified, as the implements are, for the most part, such
.is would have been quickly made and thrown away without regret as soon as the
edges began to grow dull, and the great number found is probably to be explained
as much by the quantity made and used by individuals, as by a theory of prolonged
occupation or dense peopling of the island. In conclusion may I be allowed to
point out how greatly the interests, now aroused too late in the culture of this
recently extinct people, brings home to us the desirability of doing our utmost to
study those primitive races which still remain to us, and not leaving their investiga-
tion until it is too late, until, in fact, we have to content ourselves with making,
as in the case of the lost Tasmanian race, speculations based largely upon post-
iiiortem study.
Dr. GARSON : I have experienced the same difficulty as Professor Tylor has
in forming an idea of the character of flint instruments from photographs taken of
them when lying on an opaque surface, and would like to point out 'the advantage
that is gained by placing them on a sheet of glass with a white background at a
distance of 50 cm. or more below them, and photographing them from above.
This is not a difficult procedure. It may be done by placing the camera in a
vertical position above them with the lens pointing downwards, or the camera may
be used in the ordinary horizontal position by prefixing a prism or a mirror to the
lens. By far the best photographs of flint implements are stereoscopic views taken
in the way I have just indicated.
For the purpose of skinning animals a moderately blunt round-ended flint
implement, like some of those on the table, worked from one side, would, I think,
be the form preferred, except for making the first incision. The side of the
implement from which it was worked in its manufacture would probably be that
directed towards the flesh in order to avoid injuring the skin, and the implement
used with a sweeping motion chiefly from the wrist of the right hand, while with
the left the skin would be held and a certain amount of traction applied to it.
The osteological remains of the Tasmanians show very conclusively that
whatever the origin of these natives may have been, they had remained in a state
of isolation from their fellow-men for a long period, until, in the course of genera-
tions, they had acquired certain characters peculiar to themselves, by which
their skulls may be easily distinguished from those of other races. After careful
study of their morphological characters I ventured some years ago to formulate my
opinion that they were most nearly allied to the Negritos, and was pleaded to lind
that Mr. Ling l\oth, before I had placed in his hands my article containing my
views for his book, and from other considerations, had quite independently come to
the same conclusion as myself regarding their affinities.
The PRESIDENT : The members of the Institute are, I am sure, grateful to
Professor Tylor for the trouble he has taken in bringing* these interesting im-
plements here, and for the description he has given us of them and of their probable
use. Our thanks are also due to Mr. Paxton Moir, who has furnished so much of
the material for Professor Tylor's remarks. The productions of a primitive people
like the Tasmanians are of the greatest value and importance in anthropology ;
and these possess a peculiar fascination from the fact that the race has become
LMii! J. PAXTON MOIK. — On Stone Implements from Tasmania.
extinct in our own time. It is gratifying to know tlmt practical steps are being
taken to preserve the story of the Australian blacks, so that they may not likewise,
disappear without an adequate record. The year's leave of absence granted to
Professor Baldwin Spencer and Mr. Gillen for the purpose of studying the native
races of Central Australia is a good omen and full of promise. There are two
points in Professor Tylor's observations to which I feel bound to call attention. I
am inclined to believe with Mr. Balfour that the way in which such rude imple-
ments as we see before us fit the hand is rather due to the adaptability of the
human hand than to any refinement of work on the part of the Tasmanian native.
The broad bulb on one face of the implement, which Professor Tylor thinks was
made of set purpose to fit the palm of the hand, seems to me to be the natural, if not
inevitable, result of the natural fracture of the stone, and this seems to be pro veil
by the presence of a corresponding hollow on the other face, the matrix, so to say,
of the bulb of the adjacent flake. The other point to which I wish to allude is the
statement by Professor Tylor with regard to the finding of certain implements in
Australia itself. These, he said, were chipped only, and not polished, and were
therefore older than the polished implements from the same continent. Here I
cannot follow him. The Australian implements, like those of the neolithic age in
this country, were chipped into shape and then polished, and many thousands of
neolithic age are not polished at all. Moreover, it is certain that the Australian
native was polishing his stone implements at the same time that the Tasmanian
was content, as far as we know at present, with his chipped unpolished tool.-:.
How then can we say without other evidence that there is any difference in date
between implements that are chipped only, and those that are chipped and
polished ?
Professor TYLOK: 1 should like, before we separate, to express once more
my sense of the Value of Mr. Moir's work, in searching for these implements on
the site of a delinite encampment. His results, 1 think, tend to confirm the
opinion that these implements were never ground ; and that, while mostly fitted
to be grasped in the hand, they could not have been fixed in handles.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXV.
5-H
STONE IMl'I.KMKNTS KI.'OM TASMANIA.
COLLECTED BY MR. .T. 1'AXTOX MOIK.
Journal of the Anthropological fust if life, T'ol. JY.YY, Pliilr X.\ I'l.
! B
I ':)
STONE IMPLEMENTS FKOM TASMANIA.
COLLECTED BY MR. J. PAXTl'X MO1R.
( 26
OX THK PAUAX1SM OF THE CIVILISED IROQUOIS <>K <>\T.\l;l".
I»v I>AVID BOYLE, Curator of the Archaeological Museum <»!' Ontario.
IT ha.s often been a subject for doubt whether this or that primitive people,
if left to itself, would have emerged into civilisation — in other words, it has
proved a matter of uncertainty whether the people concerned possessed the
potency of progress. In some cases Dame Nature has relentlessly cut off the
supply of raw material before the experiment was well begun, and in others
but a short time afterwards, showing us, at any rate, that the elements of
success were nullified, and worse than nullified, by contact with superior peoples.
Respecting no division of the human race has there been more diversity
of opinion as to innate possibilities of improvement than with regard to our
American Indians, or, as a sister society has lately decided to call them, Amerind*.
But the terms just mentioned are of very wide application — much too wide to
make it possible for any one to arrive at a conclusion ; for what is true of
one stock, or of one group in a stock, may be wholly, or largely, inapplicable to
any other division or subdivision.
The Huron Iroquois believe that they themselves originated from a hole
under a hill on the north shore of the St. Lawrence river. Their traditions
further declare that on account of a great dissension which took place, those who
are latterly known more specifically as Hurons, and have been regarded by Brinton
and Hale on philological grounds as the senior branch, found their way by circuitous
routes to the country which lies north of Toronto, on the south shore of the
Georgian Bay ; while the portion we call Iroquois took a southerly course and
occupied the northern and central part of what is now the state of New York.
Other two not inconsiderable bodies found excellent hunting grounds still
farther west, on the northern and southern shores of Lake Erie, the former
being known to us as the Attiwandarons, or Neutrals, and the latter as the
Eries, or Cats. Other divisions lying south of the main body were the Tuscaroras
and Audastes. It is wholly with those who made their home in New York and
ultimately in Ontario, that we are now concerned.
It is unnecessary for present purposes to follow the history of these people
from the date of their first contact with the French. Let it suffice to say that
early in the seventeenth century they became the undying enemies of France, on
account of an attack that was made on them by Cliamplain, who allied himself
with the Hurons of Ontario, and thus initiated a series of wars that continued
L'04 DAVID BOYLE. — On the Payamsm of the Civilised Iroytwis of Ontario.
until the French were compelled to retire from the continent. This almost
chronic state of hostilities, however, did not prevent French missionaries from
devoting themselves to the conversion of these most untamable of savages, a
small portion of whom became Roman Catholics, and have left descendants
living now at St. Regis and Cauglmawaga on the St. Lawrence. Protestant
missionaries also, both Dutch and English, met with some success; but still a
very large minority remained true to paganism, so that of those who, on account
of their loyalty to us, left the newly formed United States to take up their abode
in Canada, nearly one-fourth clung to the belief of their forefathers. To-day
the proportion of avowed pagans to professing Christians is about the same,
and we have therefore, on the Grand Eiver Reserve in Ontario, a pagan population
of fully one thousand persons. There is another settlement on the Bay of
Quinte at Deseronto, all the members of which are Mohawks, and profess
Christianity.
It will be seen very readily that a condition of society in which paganism
openly professed and practised has existed side by side with Christianity for
nearly three hundred years cannot fail to possess many features of peculiar
interest to the ethnological student, and to afford much material for profound
study.
One of the first things that obtrudes itself on the attention of a visitor, even
during a brief stay among the Iroquois, is the utter indifference of Christian or of
pagan to the religious convictions of each other. In their Council or governing
body of fifty-two members both beliefs are represented ; yet no recriminations
or causes of difference occur on this account. Many of the so-called Christians
are influenced largely by old-time predilections, and either attend no place of
worship at all or would just as soon put in an appearance at a pagan festival
in the long-house. Still it must be acknowledged that there are whole families
on the Reserve which are as truly Christian as birth, bringiiig-up, and Indian
nature render possible, but one's opinion of the possibilities need not be
Unreasonably high.
The pagan does not regard himself, nor is he regarded by others, as being in
any degree, or in any sense, inferior. He is not ostentatiously a pagan othp"
than in connection with the regulation feasts, such as those of the New Year
(when the white dog is burned), the strawberry-dance, the corn- dance, and many
others. Indeed, it is not characteristic of the Indian to be ostentatious in any
capacity, except that of a brave, and, for the Iroquois, the days of bravery in his
sense have long since departed. In his religious or ceremonial dances he may
deck himself gorgeously with bead-work, cheap jewellery, feathers, and highly
coloured garments, but there is an evident lack of individuality about him
notwithstanding. He seems to regards himself merely as an anybody ; as a quite
indifferent unit of his clan ; as one who happens to have the necessary toggery
for such a display, and whose impersonal or clan duty it is to appear in any sort
of grotesque costume he pleases Other men please themselves also by attending
t)AVin BOYLE. — On the Paganism <>f tk< r/v///w troquoit of Ontario. 265
the most solemn feasts in everyday clothing. Most of the younger fellows appear
in Fashionable tailor-made garb, with linen collars and bright silk neckties. The
women dress, as a rule, more carefully and conservatively than the men, their
chief article of apparel besides their gowns or dresses being a brightly coloured
shawl, either of some strong uniform colour or of a large tartan pattern.
Now as to the worship itself. Originally it was, as a matter of course,
purely of a natural kind ; that is to say, it was founded wholly on the experience
of the race respecting everyday phenomena, the occurrence of which was
accounted for by explanatory tales based on anthropomorphic and zoomorphie
grounds. Thus the sun would appear to have been regarded as an animate being
with whom, in time, became associated the Great White Wolf, if, indeed, it was
not itself this very animal. Whiteness, it may be observed, was always associated
in the Indian mind with the East, and, in time, with goodness, success, and health.
The other cardinal points were also connected with their respective colours. In
some mythologies the deer became the mediator of the sun, and in others the
turtle. Among nearly all American peoples the rattlesnake was of supreme
importance, yet we do not find this creature represented among the totems of the
Iroquois. Animism, or spiritism, pervaded every nook and cranny of Indian
belief. Not only could the lower animals converse with one another, and arrange
plans to benefit their human friends or plots for the discomfiture of their enemies,
but the hills, the rocks, the streams, the trees, and every object in nature, as well
as those produced by art, possessed a spirit. As a result of this conviction, the
Indian was, and is, an arrant coward in the dark.
They also had their equivalent of the " fairies " of the Old World — little
people who held the power to assist men, or to play them infinite mischief.
Certain places were, to use a Scottish phrase, "110 canny." Among the
Iroquois such places were mostly near rapids, or iccre the rapids, but sometimes
they were in the form of caverns, or of beetling cliffs, on the shores of rock-bound
lakes. On approaching or in passing such spots placatory offerings of tobacco
were made, and sometimes objects of considerable value were dropped into the
water.
To dreams, our Iroquois, with all his congeners, was an abject slave, for he
regarded them as the experiences of the first of his three souls, the second being
the one which always remained with his body, and the third that which became
visible as his shadow.
Roughly, this was the mental attitude of the Iroquois to nature and natural
phenomena until the appearance of Ayontwatha, the " Hiawatha " of Longfellow,
who, however, makes an ethnological muddle by assigning an Iroquois culture-hero
to Algonkin legend. Ayontwatha was, first of all, a political reformer, it' we may
so dignify one who lived in such a crude condition of society ; but his success in
bringing about a confederation of the Caniengas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas,
and Oneidas must have exercised a very powerful influence in modifying some
beliefs and intensifying others among all these " nations " or tribes.
260 I)AVID BOYLE. — On tin l\<r/<inixin nf the Civilised Iroquois of Ontario.
We know not when he lived, despite attempts that have been made both by
Indians and by whites to determine his date : indeed, we are uncertain whether
there ever was such a person. But, in any event, there came a time when the
spirit of change entered the minds of the Iroquois, and henceforth they became
more adaptive and more modifiable than their surrounding Algoukin neighbours.
Thus it was, in large measure, that they proved themselves such unconquerable
and resourceful opponents of European, arid especially of French, aggression.
After falling under purely British influence the number of professing
Christians rapidly increased, but, as has already been pointed out, fully 25 per-
cent, have remained steadfastly pagan.
It is from this point that our study of Iroquois paganism becomes interesting,,
because it was impossible that Christian and pagan doctrines and practices could
long exist in proximity without some modifying influences extending from the
stronger to the weaker side. Long before this time, however, the Iroquois, in
common with many other native races, had, perhaps unconsciously, adopted the
idea of a Great Spirit from the missionaries, for in the aboriginal pantheon no one
being of this kind exercised supreme power, or even seemed to take any interest
in the work of the other spirits, an idea based no doubt on the customs of the
Indians themselves, over whom no one man exercised absolute sway.
Having adopted the idea of a Great Spirit, the admission of some other
beliefs became easier, not because they had any logical connection at all, for
logic is quite foreign to the Indian mind, but because, perhaps, of the familiarity
consequent on intercourse with Christians, both white and of their own kind.
It was probably on account of knowledge arrived at in some such way that
an Onondaga, by name Ska-ne-o-dy-o, who lived at the end of the eighteenth
century (in 1790 according to some), declared himself a prophet and claimed to
have had intercourse with divine beings. His congeners, by tin's time, knew
enough about Christianity to be in some measure prepared for a message from
the Great Spirit, and their peculiar notions concerning soul-experiences fitted in
with the announcement of Ska-ue-o-dy-o that lie had been favoured with an
interview with four beings in heaven. Undoubtedly the Indians had heard of the
Trinity, but as three is an unsatisfactory number to the Indian mind, we here
have a reference to four persons, or the Four Angels, for although Ska-ne-o-dy-o
saiv only three, the fourth one was always present.
It is somewhat remarkable that although this revelation is of such a
comparatively recent date, there is a good deal of confusion respecting what is
known of the circumstances by the friends and relations of the prophet; but
this only goes to show us how extremely difficult it is to get at the truth in
such matters, and how little confidence we may place in tradition, if we demand
exactitude.
All the stories, however, agree in the statement that Ska-ne-o-dy-o's
revelation came to him while he was in a trance, so that we need not care
whether this condition lasted for only a few hours or until he came to himself
I ) VVIIi I'.OYLE. — On the I'lff/Hiiixtti nf the Oirili^-if //v/y///</.s --/' D,it,i ,-'i». L''i7
on the fourth day, He did not profess that lie had seen the Great Spirit, hut
only the four beings who were commissioned by the (Jrcat Spirit to deliver lli>
menage. These \\en; young men, dressed in the height of Indian fashion, and
currying hows and arrows. Here we have a compromise and a correspondence,
the former as to the number, and the latter as to the office; for Christian teaching
always introduces a medium of communication between the Creator and His
people. As a matter of course, the four persons were Indians, and behaved in
Indian manner, for otherwise the appeal to Indian minds would have lost much
of its effect. Still Ska-ne-o-dy-o perceived clearly enough that his people
required a new gospel — one that would correspond in a measure to the altered
circumstances in which they found themselves, and that would, to some extent,
place them on a level with white men. Himself, no doubt, unaware that a belief
iu the (treat Spirit was one of comparatively recent acquirement, he urged the
people to offer prayers to Niyoh, the Creator, but he adds a touch of Indian
anthropomorphism when he teaches that all such addresses must be made before
noon, on the ground that as the Great Spirit goes to sleep in the afternoon, he
cannot then hear anything said to Him. These prayers were nearly an adjunct
to the old-time dances, which were to be maintained; for the angels said to
Ska-ne-o-dy-o, "You must worship Niyoh, the Great Spirit, by dancing the turtle-
dance at the new moon when the strawberry ripens. At the new moon of the
green corn you shall give a thanksgiving-dance. In the midwinter at the new
moon you shall give another thanksgiving-dance. You shall have a thanksgiving-
dance at the new moon at the time of making sugar. You shall dance at the new
moon of planting-time, and pray for a good harvest. You shall dance at the new
moon of the harvest-time, and give thanks for what the Great Spirit has given
you." Among primitive peoples dancing is itself, as a distinguished writer has
said, " praying with the feet." Oral prayer was therefore, largely, the result of.
European intlueiice, something with which the Indian had become to some extent
acquainted, and something that was of comparatively easy assimilation.
Even the matter of the prayers, however, is in the nature of a compromise,
1'or the addresses to the Great Spirit are rather in the form of requests that He
will command other entities to do their duty, the performance of which, but for
His orders, might be done either reluctantly or not at all. Take, for example,
bearing in mind, meanwhile, the animism which pervades the Indian mind, the
following petitions in the prayer which is used at the Burning of the White
Dog in connection with the New Year festival : —
" We ask that the sun will continue to shine on us and make all things grow.
" We ask that the moon may always give us light by night.
"We ask that the clouds may never cease to give us rain and snow.
" We ask that the winds may always blow.
" \Ve ask that the trees and plants may always grow.
" We ask that Thou wuuldst semi all sorts of animals for food and clothini:
and make the birds increase in number."
268 1)AV1D BOYLE. — On the Payamsm- of the Civilised Iroyiwis «/ Ontario.
In this modem form of prayer it will be observed that liawen Niyoh, the
Great Spirit, is addressed as controller and director ; in older (but not the oldest)
forms of address, which certainly are not prayers, the animistic and individually
independent idea comes out strongly, as when, for example, at the green-corn-
dance the head man, or speaker, says, " We thank the earth for all the things
that grow for food," and at a Cayuga sun-dance, at which I was present, the old
chief opened the ceremonies by thanking the earth for having yielded grass, trees,
tobacco, and medicine, the sun for giving light and heat, the moon for making
dew, and the thunder for supplying rain and for preventing serpents from coming
up through the ground and destroying the people. And then comes this : " We
thank the Four Angels for protecting us from sickness, disease, and accident, and
the Great Spirit for providing everything and governing all things, although we
cannot see Him and never will see Him unless we are good." Here the stock and
the grafts are quite distinguishable ; the ancient phrases remain much as we may
suppose them to have been for centuries, while Eawen Niyoh and the Four Angels
are a plain addition without the remotest attempt to modify the old or assimilate
the new.
The animistic and the anthropomorphic assert their sway once more when
we are gravely informed that Eawen Niyoh also thought it would be a good plan
to have some Thunderers, to whom he gave power to take charge of the whole
world, telling them to use plenty of cold water in their work, as long as the
world and the people should last. " He said to the Thunderers, ' You may go
among the people just whenever you like, and give them all the water they
need'; and we know that all the plants and trees are pleased when the cold
water comes to the earth. They are glad the Thunderers have not forgotten
them. Niyoh also told the Thunderers to kill anything that might be unlucky to
the people."
The Indian Angels vouchsafed to Ska-ne-o-dy-o other information, some
of which had reference to what we may suppose the best of his people had always
believed, but some of it undoubtedly inspired by Christian influence. Thus they
told him that Niyoh intended men and women to marry and have families ; that
the children were to be treated kindly, not to be provoked in any way, not to
be despised for ugliness or awkwardness, never to be whipped ; that homeless
children should be adopted by married persons without families ; and that no
person in want should be turned away hungry from one's door. In all this, as
well as in what appertains to the holding of dances, or festivals, we have what is
native, or nearly so ; but when Ska-ne-o-dy-o declares that the four persons
said, " Your people must not play cards," and " Niyoh says it is wicked to play a
fiddle, and wrong to drink rum," he is profiting by his contact with white people.
The reasons adduced for the last-named inhibition are truly Indian. *' If," said the
prophet, " you are drunk when you go hunting, the animals will smell you a long
way ofl' and keep out of your way ; if you go a-fishing the fish will hide ; if you
are driving a horse the smell of the rum will make him run away ; your dog will
DAVID BOYLE. — On tlic 7V//r /??.<;?/?. of flic Chili srd Iroquois nf Ontario. ^>G9
not like yon ; your corn and pumpkins and tobacco will not grow ; if you try t « >
dunce or to run, or to sit still, you will have no sense ; everything will go wrong."
It might be difficult to find a better illustration of purely aboriginal and
illogical reasoning than this is. Incapacity to hunt, fish, manage a dog or a horse,
or to cultivate plants is attributed to the intelligence of these things ; they know
that the man has been drinking too much, and for this reason fear him, or despise
him; and it is only when the man tries to sit still, or to run, or to dance
when drunk, that he himself will discover his lack of sense.
The inhibitions respecting cards and the use of the fiddle were no doubt
intended by the "four persons" — i.e., by Ska-ne-o-dy-o — to prevent too much
social intercourse with white people, the former on account of the Indians'
well-known gambling propensities, and the latter owing to their equally notorious
desire for the strong drinks which usually accompanied such festivities a century
ago. It was no doubt also intended to prevent any assimilation of the native
feasts or dances with the white peoples' social gatherings — perhaps, indeed, this
was the main consideration.
Gambling in general, however, was not forbidden, only gambling with
cards. The Indian prophet was too well aware how utterly impossible it would
be, even were he wishful, to abolish this practice among his people. Twice a year
at the great public feasts it was allowable to play for stakes ; and at home, or
elsewhere, they could always do as they pleased in this respect.
The feasts or dances so often referred to were, and are, a stern necessity.
Without these, life to the pagan Indian would not be worth living, and one of
them is held on every possible occasion in addition to the regular, seasonable,
ceremonial affairs to which reference has already been made. But in accordance
with present custom some of the latter are set apart for thanksgiving. Now the
giving of thanks (in our sense) for anything is wholly foreign to Indian nature, as
indeed it is perhaps to aboriginal nature everywhere. It is an acquired method of
expression, and whether the sentiment of gratitude has yet been acquired is another
question.
Agreeably to the totemic idea thankfulness is out of place, or rather has no
existence in any of life's conditions. For primitive man in his tribal relations,
individualism has but a hazy meaning, if any at all. He gives as freely as he
takes, neither expecting nor giving thanks, but his associations with us have
taught him to comply with form at least, and thus in some measure to remove
from himself the reproach of the white man respecting Indian " ingratitude." We
find, therefore, that Ska-ne-o-dy-o has introduced expressions of thankfulness in
connection with some of the ceremonial feasts, but it is also observable in the
older and slightly adulterated dance-speeches that not a word of this kind
occurs. Take, for example, the address of the head man at the Burning of the
White Dog, notwithstanding its ostensible appeal to Niyoh. Following what may
lie culled the invocation, he asks that the sun, moon, clouds, and winds may
continue to perform their duties ; that the warriors, young men, and women
270 DAVID BOYLE, — On the Paganism of the Civilised Iroqiiois of Ontario.
maybe preserved in health and strength; that medicine-plants and fruit trees may
continue to grow ; that game may be abundant for food and clothing ; and he
concludes with the self-righteous and unconsciously humorous wish, " May the
scent of the tobacco I have thrown on the fire reach Thee to let Thee know we
are still good, and that Thou rnayest give us all that we have asked."
"With the introduction or adoption of the belief in a Great Spirit — "One,
you know, that bosses all the other spirits, and the little peoples, and Ta-ron-ya-
wa-gon, and Ongweh6gon, you know," as a Seneca once explained to me— it
became necessary to provide some means of communication between heaven and
earth in addition to prayer and thanksgiving, which, alone, are somewhat too
intangible for this purpose. The Burning of the White Dog was therefore seized
as a fitting occasion for the sending of messages heavenwards. But this long
antedates the appearance of Ska-ne-o-dy-o, who actually forbade the ceremony,
probably because it was a subject of . ridicule among white people. Notwith-
standing both circumstances, our Canadian Iroquois pagans maintain the custom
in connection with their annual New Year's dance at the time of the February
new moon, when near the close of a ten days' celebration the master of
ceremonies reverently says —
" Great Master, behold here all of our people who hold the old faith, and who
intend to abide by it.
" By means of this dog being burned we hope to please Thee, and that just as we
have decked it with ribbons and beads, Thou wilt grant favours to us, Thy own people.
" I now place the dog on the fire that its spirit may find its way to Thee who
made it, and made everything, and by this means we hope to get all we want
from Thee in return."
In full accordance with Indian belief, the spirit of the dog, on reaching
Niyoh, will apprise him of the state of affairs on the earth, a belief that not
only proves a want of faith in the adequacy of prayer alone, but which could
not have had any reason for its existence before Eawen Niyoh himself was
introduced to "boss all the other spirits." But the killing, burning, or sacrifice
of a white dog has always, and everywhere over the northern part of our con-
tinent, possessed some mysterious influence. In my archaeological report for
1898 I have taken some pains to summarise our knowledge of this custom,
whereby it appears that not only with the Iroquois, but among the Algonkian,
Athabaskan, and Siouan peoples, as well as among the more highly cultured
Aztecs, the custom of using such an animal in one or other of these ways
was very generally observed.
It may suffice in this connection to state that in the opinion of General
Clark, of Auburn, New York, who has made a special study of Iroquoian
mythology, the white dog is now employed as a substitute for the white wolf,
which formerly represented the sun; and Dr. Brinton, quoting Von Tschudi,
approves the statement of the latter that " white dogs were closely related with
COBinogonjcal and culture myths" in many native religions,
|)\VID ?»OYT.E. — On 1lir Pf<f/fOi/H//> ofllir n/ri/ /*,•<} //Y><y/W.s t>f Ontario. 271
However this may be, the point to be observed liere is that our prcscni-
day pagan Iroquois, having long since forgotten the original significance <,!'
the rite, now attribute mediatorial or intercessory powers to the white dog, the
spirit of one of which they despatch annually to carry a message to Niyoh, or
liawen Niyoh, the Creator. Nothing can be more certain than this, that when
there was no Great Spirit there was no need for the services of a messenger.
But notwithstanding the evident influences which led to this new idea
respecting the office of the white dog's annual visit, implying as it does a
heaven, as distinguished from a mere " happy hunting-ground," it is worthy
of notice that our Indian friends did not take kindly to the idea of a hell, which
they have left in the undisturbed possession of the white man. Punishment
in any case was objectionable to the Indian. It may he difficult to reconcile
this statement with our knowledge of the cruelties he inflicted on his enemies,
whether white or of his own blood ; but his purpose on such occasions was
rather to maintain the honour of his totem, or of his tribe, by rendering or
providing an equivalent for the sufferings of his own people when they were
in the enemies' hands, as well as with a view to test the power of his captives'
endurance, hoping, if possible, to make them evince signs of pain, and thus
prove themselves to be only women. Our pagan Iroquois, then, has no hell,
but his leniency in this respect is more than counterbalanced by his exclusive-
ness respecting heaven, where he admits no white man. On the New York
Reserve it is asserted that George Washington, on account of his goodness to
the Indians, has been permitted to go half-way, where he remains speechless,
and accompanied by, his dog; but on the Grand Eiver Keserve in Ontario, I
have never heard but one Indian refer to this exception, and it is not improbable
that in time it will be wholly forgotten among Canadian pagans.
The remark has often been made that certain groups of people in various
parts of the world have failed to keep pace with neighbouring groups through
sheer inability to advance beyond a given line. Among ourselves civilisation
is a comparatively slow process, and with some of us it is of much slowei
development than it is with the mass. American Indians are not a progressive
people. They assimilate European notions very slowly, and, at best, somewhat
imperfectly. Tradition and usage are more powerful than appeals to action alunu
new lines, even when the advantages of the latter course are made plain. It is
only when tradition has been deprived of its power by the segregation of indi-
viduals from national or tribal associations that tradition itself ceases to govern
O
If we judge the pagan Iroquois thus, we shall wonder that they have been
in any way modified by European contact so far as their religion is concerned.
for they are thoroughly separated from their Christian fellows in all that concerns
their myths and superstitions. It is not with them, as it is with r.s, a matter
ni disputation concerning what constitutes the true religion, for according to
tl-.eir philosophy it is not necessary that all should be of one faith. The while
man's (lod need not be — indeed, is not likelv to he — the same hein^ as the Indian's
272 DAVID BOYLE. — On ilic Paycmimi of tlir Gimliml Iroquois of Ontario,
God, and here we see how very superficially after all the idea of a Great Spirit-
affects the aboriginal mind. It has never been made to fit exactly into the
Indian pantheon, which recognises no paramount being, but leaves the thousand-
and-one phenomena to the good or bad offices of a thousand-and-one independent
spirits, or, perhaps it would be more correct to say, to spirits each of whom
is independent in his own sphere, for it is within the power of any one of these
beings to create so much trouble on his own account as to compel one or more
of the others to " come to time " in any matter of dispute.
The wonder, then, is, not that Iroquois paganism has been to some extent
modified by Christian influences, but that it has been modified so little. One
must mingle with these people in their homes, in the fields, at their games,
and in their long-houses in connection with their feasts or dances, to appreciate
fully their mental attitude in this respect. They are utterly unconscious of
any similarity between their own and the white man's religion. They believe
that Niyoh, the Great Spirit, has always formed a part of Indian belief, and
consequently have no difficulty in accepting the story respecting the four
persons or angels he commissioned to communicate with Ska-ne-o-dy-o,
Similarly they have no hesitation in the offering of specific thanks to Eawen
Niyoh, and have perfect faith in the intermediary services of the white dog.
If we added to these a few suggestions respecting conduct, based on the Christian
code of morals, we have about all for which Iroquois paganism is indebted to
European culture after a period of more or less direct contact lasting for
three hundred and fifty years. It is questionable whether many other
forms of paganism have remained so unchanged for the same length of
time, and in anything approaching similar circumstances. It is, indeed, a
matter of doubt whether several forms of Christianity and Mohammedanism
have not suffered or benefited to a greater extent, even during the space of the
present century.
Here we have in almost their pristine simplicity and crudity the music,
the songs, the dances, the speeches, and the ceremonies of old, but the origin
and meaning have long since been forgotten. Their maintenance is purely
conservative. Even the significance of the words of the song is lost, and in
many of the ceremonial rote-speeches in connection with the feasts, words and
phrases are employed respecting which even the oldest medicine man has no
knowledge. In this, however, they are only a few degrees worse than ourselves.
The same is true with regard to such customs as the " scattering of ashes," the
spraying of heads with sweetened water, the anointing of heads with sunflower
oil, and several other rites.
It is interesting, also, to note that all these are indulged in by the half-
breeds, and by some who are more than half white, seemingly with quite as
much zest as by those of purer or wholly pure Indian blood. It seems some-
what anomalous, at first sight, to observe, engaged in a dance or a dream
interpretation, persons of all shades of colour, from the darkest (which is darker
DAVID BOYLE. — On flu /v///^ ///*/// <>f tin- Oiinlised Iroquois of Ontario. 21'.]
than mulatto) to a tint that conveys only the slightest suspicion of Indian
blood.
But the old-time ways are doomed, and will probably disappear as a system
long before the people die out, for the young men mingle more and more with
their white neighbours, the young women frequently find employment as
domestics in " white houses," and parents are gradually losing their grip of
the ancient forms, although they cling tenaciously to the superstitions these
typify.
Meanwhile the condition is an extremely interesting and instructive one
to the anthropologist, one which in many respects is unique in the history of
the world.
I have frequently regretted that when the British Association met in
Toronto a few years ago, no arrangements were made for a visit of the Anthro-
pological Section to the Six Nations' Reserve, only some sixty miles distant, when
it would have been a matter of but little difficulty to arrange for a special pagan
feast, and where the members might have been able to realise, to some extent,
much that has been either only slightly adverted to or imperfectly explained
in the present paper, respecting the pagan rites and ceremonies of the Iroquois —
or, as one has culled them, w "Romans of America."
VOL. XXX (N.S, III),
( 275 )
NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF VUMBA, EAST AFRICA.
BY A. C. HOLLIS.
[WITH PLATES XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX.]
THE Mohammedans, as is well known, displayed, for some centuries after the
death of their great prophet, a remarkable activity in attempting to subjugate
and, at the same time, to evangelise the world. Thus, the Moors predominated
in northern Africa and extended their conquests to Spain and to other countries
in southern Europe ; the Saracens drove the Byzantine emperors from their Asiatic
dominions and made themselves masters of the places held sacred by the early
Christian Church ; and the Arabs and Persians emigrated to and colonised various
parts of India and Africa.
A few of the latter people, coming from the plains of Shirazi, settled, about
the time King John ascended the throne of England, near the mouth of a river on
the mainland of the east coast of Africa, almost opposite Pemba (a large island
north of Zanzibar), and some fifty miles south of Mombasa, the capital of the
East Africa Protectorate and the terminus of the Uganda Railway. This river,
the mouth of which divides the British and German spheres of influence, is
known by the name of Umba, whilst the district watered by its delta is called
Vumba.1
To the present day, on the banks of the Mchamalale2 stream (one of the arms
of the Umba river), in an almost impenetrable jungle between Vanga3 and Jasin,4
are to be seen the remains of what formerly must have been a large city. This
1 The Umba river rises near Mlalo in the Usambara hills, a range running at right angles
to the coast from Tanga (a town thirty miles south of the Anglo-German frontier) towards
Kilima Njaro, the highest mountain in Africa. The name is believed to be taken from the
Kiswahili, or native word, Maumba, meaning sea-iirchins, which are found in large quantities
on its banks, whilst Vumba is thought to be a corruption of Kuumba vhmgu, to make pots, tlu-
soil being particularly adapted to pottery work of all kinds, large quantities of oaitliHi
uti-nsils being shipped from the neighbouring ports to Zanzibar, Pemba and Mombasa. Tlu>
Portuguese, it would seem, originally called the district Uumba, i.e., the country of the
I'mba; it is, therefore, possible that both Vumba and Umba are derived from the same
root.
2 Mchamalale is commonly, but erroneously, written Msemelale.
3 Vanga is sometimes incorrectly spelt Wanga (vide also Le Hoi : Le Kilimanjaro). This is
the most southerly town in British territory. Kuvanga, in Kiswahili, is the same as Kupanga,
and means, literally, to pile up (loads), hence, to rest or stay. The word is believed to refer to
the fertility of the soil. Of this town more anon.
1 Jasin is a small town in German East Africa, three miles from Vanga.
T '2
276 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vumba, East Africa.
was Vumba Kuu, or Great Vumba. Vumba Ndogo, or Little Vumba, is the name
of the Wasin^Kigonieni2 -Vanga district.
When, in 1895, Sheikh Mbaruk bin Eashid el-Khelani-el-Mazrui of Gasi3
joined forces with a distant cousin, Sheikli Mubarak bin Rashid el-Mazrai of
Takaungu,4 and rebelled against the British Government, which had lately
superseded the Imperial British East Africa Company,5 one of the first aggres-
sive acts on his part was to plunder and sack Vanga,0 whilst, shortly afterwards,
our troops burnt Ormuz,7 the chief village in the Pongwe district.8
With the destruction of these two towns many priceless books and documents
belonging to the Arab settlers were lost, amongst them the Chronicles of Vumba
Kuu. These, I am told, were contained in a single manuscript volume and gave a
list of the names of the chieftains of this place together with the dates of events
which happened during their reigns, from circa 600 to 1100 A.H., or A.D. 1204 to
1688.9
In order, therefore, to save, to a certain extent, the history of the country,
known to but a few of a generation rapidly passing away, I have written down the
story as related to me by the aged Shereef Abubakari bin10 Kasim bin Diwan
Kikambala el-Masela-ba-Alaui,11 by his brother, Shereef Alaui bin Kasim bin Diwan
Kikambala el-Masela-ba-Alaui, by the Liwali of Vanga, Abubakari bin Ali el-
Hasraji-el-ba-Urii (a descendant of Diwan Euga and a cousin of Diwan Marithia),
by Shereef Abubakari bin Diwan Kilimia el-Jadid, by Buhuri bin Nyale bin
Mwalimu Mwahathi el-Bajun, the chief elder of the Wasegeju of Pongwe, and by
Kalamu Mwacholozi, the Kubo or Chief of the Wadigo,12 all of whom are well
versed in the traditions and folk-lore of the land.
1 Wasin (frequently written Wassein) is an island off the British coast not far from Vanga.
For a description, vide page 284.
2 Kigomeni is a small fishing village in German territory, near Jasin.
3 Gasi, commonly, but erroneously, spelt Gazi, is situated half-way between Mombasa and
Vanga. From 1837 to 1895, it was the seat of the elder or el-Khelani branch of the Mazrui (or,
to use the correct Arabic form, Mazaran) chieftains.
4 Takaungu, the seat of the younger branch of the Mazrui, is a town some thirty miles
north of Mombasa.
5 Vide Blue-Book No. G (1896). Correspondence concerning the recent rebellion in East
Africa.
u Ibid., p. 12.
• Ibid., p, 52.
8 Pongwe is the name of a part of Vumba Ndogo. The meaning of the word, which is
pronounced by the natives P'ongwe, is unknown.
9 The Mohammedans reckon from the Hijra or era of the flight, which took place on
Friday, July 16th, A.D. 622. The year contains 354^- days. — The Indian Calendar.
10 Bin (Arabic ibn) means son of ; binti, daughter of.
11 Alaui is a contraction of the Arabic Alui.
12 The Wadigo and Wasegeju are the principal native tribes inhabiting the Vumba district.
According to tradition, the Wadigo, one of the numerous allied clans known collectively as tin-
Wanyika, or desert people, who fringe this part of the African coast, were already settled in
the country when the first of the Sultans of Vumba Kuu was chosen. They are believed to
have come from Digi and Kirau in Shungwaya, the native name for the plains lying on the left
A. ( '. HOI.LIS. — N<it>-* on Hi' 7//.s/r//7/ »f Viuulm, AW Afrim. 277
I knew their story, I set to work to try and find the lost volume, lu
1 lu's I was unsuccessful, but, after some search, a manuscript book — a treatise on
religious matters — was discovered at Yanga. This, as the author1 informs the
reader at the end of his essay, was finished at Pate,8 after mid-day prayer, on the
7th day of the third month, 1KKJ A.H. (1721 A.D.). Down the margins of the
pages of this book are jotted the dates of various events concerning the ba-Alaui,
min-Ali-Sheikh-Abubakari-bin-Siilim, el-Jadid and el-ba-Urii families, together
\\iih some pedigrees, which verify and corroborate the statements made by my
informants. One other discovery was made, viz. : — a list of the nicknames of all
the chieftains of Vumba Kuu in the handwriting of the last of the Diwans who
died in 1897.
As will be seen later, I also refer, at times, to other books and documents,
one especially, called The Story of Mombasa,3 by an unknown author, having been
of great service to me. For the allusions made to the Portuguese state papers
1 am indebted to Mr. Justus Strandes, the author of Die Portugiesenzeit von
Ostafrika (Berlin, 1899).
The chieftains of Vumba Kuu4 were considered as important as most of the
rulers on the coast. Their successor of to-day, the Diwan3 or Pontiff of Vumba
Ndogo, is merely the head of two or three large clans of Shereefs, i.e., descendants
liank of the Tana, a river some two hundred miles north of Mombasa. The Wasegeju, or, as
they were formerly called, the Wakilio, claim descent from the Somali. For an account of the
arrival of these people, vide page 281. The name, Wasegeju, is derived from Kiisega, to draw
up the clothes, and Juu, high. This name was given them, owing to their wearing the skins
round their loins higher than usual. The aboriginal inhabitants of this country are thought
to have been the Wasi, who were divided into three groups, the Wamaraka, the Wamaumba
and the Watwa. A few Wamaraka are now settled at Ada, a town some fifty miles west of
Gasi, the Wamaumba live with the Wachonyi, one of the Wanyika tribes, some thirty miles
north of Mombasa, whilst the Watwa are to be found in small numbers round Lamu, a well-
known town not far from the mouth of the Tana river.
1 The author was one Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh bin el-Fakihi Mbwana
Koinbo bin el-Fakihi Haji bin Saburi bin el-Fakihi Suhele bin Sheikh el-Maruz-el-ba-Urii.
- Pate is a town of great antiquity on Sin Island near the mouth of the Tana river, it is
sunn-times erroneously written Patta or Pattah, and Sin is often wrongly spelt Siwi.
•1 In this story, written in Arabic, the annals of Mombasa are recorded from the time of
the coming of the Portuguese till the death, in 1850, of Seyyid Said, the first of the Albusaidi
Sultans of Zanzibar. Although not given at such length as in Owen's Xnrrntire <>f I'liyayc-s
to explore ike shores of Africa, Arabia and Madagascar, in Kraft's liaise n fin . I ".</<///</,•, or in
(iuillaiu's Documents stir Vhisloire, la geographic et le Commerce de VAfri'pc: Orientate, they are
interestingly written.
4 The chieftains of Vumba Kuu were called Mwana Chambi until circa 950 A.H. (1544
A. a), when the name was changed to Mwana Chambi Chandi. About 1112 A.II. (1700 A.D.)
it was again altered to Diican. The other principal chieftains on the coast were those of
Pate, Saadani or Utoudwe (the Otondo of the Portuguese), Zanzibar or Unguja, and Kihvu.
The name given to those of Pate was Mwenyi Mui, and, at a later date, Fumo, to those of
Saadani, Mwi Kamba, and to those of Zanzibar and Kilwa, Mfalme. The less important
chiefs of Tanga were called Mwenyi Chambi.
3 The name Diwan was borrowed from Pate. It means in Arabic reiyning house. In
Indian phraseology the East India_Conipany was called Diwan.
278 A. C. HOLLTS. — Notes on the Itistory of Vumba, Hast Africa.
of the Prophet's race. He is, however, held in high esteem by these people, and
is much revered and almost worshipped by the ignorant Wadigo and Wasegeju.
The territory and jurisdiction of the Sultans of Vumba ranged, in olden times,
from Mawe mawili, two rocks off Kwale, some ten miles north of Tanga, German
East Africa, to Likoni, the south side of Port Kilindini, near Mombasa, and inland,
from the Usambara hills, in the south, to what is now the Duruma country, west
of Mombasa, in the north.
Although these chieftains acknowledged the Portuguese, and after the final
withdrawal of the Portuguese from Mombasa in 1729 A.D.,1 the Mazrui governors
of that town as their over-lords, yet they were practically independent until 1253
A.H. (1837 A.D.),2 when Mombasa was captured by the Albusaidi prince, Said bin
Sultan, and the hereditary governor, Abdullah bin Hamis, was obliged to settle at
Gasi. From this time dates the decline of their power. The Diwans of the
present day, however, still receive many and often valuable gifts from the
superstitious natives and others in exchange for charms. They also retain an
ancient prerogative of becoming the owner of any slave, who, wishing to change
masters, goes through the form of beating three times on the drum, which, for this
purpose, stands outside the royal residence.
The chief qualification of a Diwan is to be a Shereef, descended, either in the
male or female line, from the first Shereef Sultan of Vumba, Seyyid Abubakari
bin Sheikh bin Abubakari el-Masela-ba-Alaui, otherwise called Diwan Ruga, who
reigned from circa 1112 A.H. (1700 A.D.) till his death in 1155 A.H. (1742 A.D.).
The only other qualifications necessary are that he be rich and that certain ancient
customs be adhered to and rites performed before his election.
These are as follows: — In the first place, the candidate must marry the
daughter of a Shereef or an Arab. This marriage is called arusi ya ada,s and
the bridegroom himself receives the title of mivole, which is a promotion from
the ranks of the vijana* The fee referred to in this marriage ceremony means
a great feast to all and sundry who wish to partake of it. If oxen are slaughtered,
the marriage is called arusi ya ny'ombe,5 and the bridegroom receives more
honour than at an arusi ya ada.
Should the bridegroom give a second feast to all his youthful friends, he is
promoted another grade and is called mtenzi,6 in which case no Irijana may sit at
table with him.7
1 Portuguese State papers. Bibliotheca Nacional de Lisboa. Codice Manuscripto, No. 465.
- The Story of Mombasa.
3 Literally marriage of the fee, meaning a marriage for which a fee or customary present
is paid.
4 Plural of kijana, an unmarried youth. 6 Literally marriage of the ox.
6 Mtenzi wa kukirimu wafu means one who produces various kinds of food at a banquet.
Vide Krapf's Swahili- English Dictionary, page 254.
7 A man who marries but does not give the customary feast is called mondo. He is not
at all respected and is bound to do the bidding of a mwole or mtenzi without murmur or com-
plaint. If a man has once arrived at the rank of mtvnzi, he can demand an invitation to any
feast given in his natal or adopted town.
A. (,'. HuLLls.— AVt.s on the History of I'mulm, h'»^ Aj'ricn. 270
After the marriage ceremony a certain period elapses before the candidate is
called upon to prepare another feast. This occurs if his wife gives hirth to a
sou.
At the next function which takes place, all the living descendants of Diwan
liuga and the members of the houses Ba-Ainiri and Mwenyi Chandi1 are called
together, and at a great feast, at which they are given presents of money and
clothes, the name of the candidate is submitted to them for approval. If they are
satisfied with their presents and with the candidate himself, the latter is formally
invested with the -cHuda* He has now the right to wear wooden sandals instead
of leather ones and is styled Diwan. Messengers are then sent to the Mohindzano
clan of the Wadigo and to the Mwakamathi clan of the Wasegejua to request the
pleasure of the company of their chiefs at a small feast to be given in their
honour. During the course of this feast the chiefs are informed of the election of
the Diwan. They are further told that the enthronement will take place on a
certain day at Vurnba Kuu.
Other gifts have to be sent to the elders of Mbayayi,4 Kirui,4 Muso,4 Mkumbi,4
Mauza,4 Alene"' and Funzi," to the representatives of the twelve towns or tribes of
Mombasa and Kilindini7 and, until lately, to the reigning chief of the Mazrui and
to the Albusaidi Sultans of Zanzibar.
On the day appointed for the enthronement, the Diwan proceeds to Vurnba
Kuu, a road having been previously cut through the thick, tangled wood. He is
led by the members of the Ba-Ainiri and Mwenyi Chandi families (these people
being the only persons permitted to enter the sacred precincts of the ruined city)
to a small pile of stones, all that is left of what was once the grave of Mwana
Chanibi Chandi Ivor, the most powerful of the Sultans of Vumba.8 Here his feet
are washed and he is crowned, i.e., a worked skull-cap is placed 011 his head round
which a turban is tied.9 He then tells the senior member of the Ba-Amiri family
present, who has had the honour of crowning him, what name he wishes to be
1 The chieftains of Vumba Kuu are believed to have all belonged to the Ba-Amiri or
Mwenyi Chandi families.
- A silver chain worn above the right knee.
- Like all other native tribes in this part of Africa, the Wadigo and Wasegeju are divided
into clans, which clans are often subdivided into families.
1 Towns iu German East Africa between Tauga and the Anglo-German frontier.
- A town on the Pongwe creek. The inhabitants are called Wamwiyuni.
" A town on the bay of Funzi. The inhabitants are called Wakifundi.
' The Waswahili or natives of Mombasa and Kilindini are divided into twelve towns ui'
tribes, viz. : — Mombasa (or Mvita), Mtwapa (or Mtwafi), Kilin', Pate, Shaka, Paza, Akatwa (or
Somali), Gunya (or Bajuu) and Junda (or Jouivu), Kilindini, Tangana and Changamwe.
8 I am informed that this grave, together with several others, was broken down by the
employes of the German East Africa Company in 1896, in order that the stones might be used
for building purposes at Jasin, one of their stations on the frontier. The natives say that bad
luck will always follow the occupants of the house built from the stones of Vumba Kuu. A
stone bearing an inscription, which was taken from these ruins, was sent by a former Governor
of German East Africa, Major von Wissmann, to one of the Berlin museums.
•' This is called kcpitja kilemba, to tie the turbun.
280 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vurtiba, ttasl Africa.
called,1 after which he is carried on a native bedstead, shaded by a large umbrella,
to a place not far distant, where a great feast has been prepared, and where
hundreds of expectant people are now assembled. The head of the Ba-Amiri next
informs the chiefs of the Wadigo and Wasegeju that their Sultan has been
crowned. These two men, in their turn, impart the news to all present, and,
seizing a spear, each swears that he and his people will uphold their lord and
master and defend him from all enemies. The great feast, called Mshomara, in
then commenced, and two thousand ells of cloth (worth about two thousand
rupees) are given to the Wadigo and "Wasegeju elders. After the feasting has
been kept up for some time, all the parties indulge in dancing to the
accompaniment of the Sultan's musical instruments. These consist of two .or
three large drums, known as ngoma Icuu and goma, several smaller ones, a long
horn or siwa and two pairs of matuwazi or cymbals. After the dance the Sultan
is carried home on the bedstead.
Wherever he goes he is now attended by slaves carrying the horn, a chair and
the umbrella.2
If the Diwan's wife gave birth to a son, one more feast has still to take place.
This follows shortly after the coronation festivities and is called Kumbi la ada>
the feast of circumcision.
On the death of a Diwan there is a general mourning for forty days. During
this period no Arab, Mswahili or native of Vumba may use more than one cloth to
cover himself with ; nobody may shave, nor may a cap or turban be worn. The
house is watched from the outside by men, whilst the rooms are guarded by
women. After fourteen days have elapsed, a great feast is given, and the Wadigo
— especially the Birini clan — are permitted to take anything they like from the
neighbouring plantations. As long as the feast lasts, a certain number of
Wakifundi3 have to stand at the door of the house, and, as a sign that they .are a
conquered race, they may not complain if rice or other food is thrown or dropped
on them.
But one more custom is worthy of mention. An Arab or native of Vumba
When speaking to his sultan has to uncover and remain thus until he receives
permission to again wear his cap and turban.4 The Diwan is always addressed as
Mwcnyi (Lord).
The first Sultan or Mwana Chambi of Vumba Kuu was nicknamed
Zumbiira. This, in the Kidigo5 dialect, means to find some thing or some
place which is hidden, and is supposed to refer to the discovery of the Vumba
1 As will be seen later on, the Sultans all had nicknames. These nicknames they gave
themselves at this point in the ceremony.
2 To the present day no native of Vumba, be he Mohammedan or heathen, may use an
umbrella, except a crowned Diwan.
" Ante, p. 279, note 6 ; also p. 282, note 7.
4 This custom is all the more remarkable us it is otherwise considered, here as elsewhere, a
mark of disrespect to uncover.
8 The language of the Wadigo is willed Kidigo ; that of the Wasegeju, Kise^eju,
A. ('. Hou.is. — .Yo/rx „„ tin Ifixlory .if Vi'mbff En*l Afrim. 281
country. He is believed Lo have been en throned circa <>00 A.n. (1204 A.D.), and was
buried, as were the six following chieftains, at Vumba Kuu.
/umbura was succeeded by Mn-iktnjnu. This word is believed to mean A'"
<>na .I/"//, In tind wealth.
The third Sultan was named Kinciw. (//<o//.s ocntris). This is suppose* t to
refer to his great strength.
Kinena was succeeded by Hundekna. Jf unite, in the Kidigo dialect, means
some thing, the name of which is unknown, and Kuu is an adjective meaning
great. The signification is, therefore, some great thing, the name of which is
unknown.
After Hundekuu eaiue Mabna. This word means stalks of Indian corn
or millet, and the chieftain who gave himself this name is believed to have
wished to convey the idea that, as during the harvest season, he would not only be
content to gather in the corn but would even look after the stubble in the fields,
so he would see to the wants of the least of his people.
His successor was Niomvi. This is the name of a small bird which lives in
the rice fields.
The seventh Sultan of Vumba Kuu was Mwenyi Chandi1 bin Sheikh. His
father, Sheikh, who was a scion of a Mombasa family and hailed from the portion
of that town known formerly by the name of Saalani, married a daughter of
Mwana Chambi Niomvi. He did not change his name but was called Mwana
Chauibi Chandi. He lived to a great age and ruled well. After his death, the
Sultans of Vumba were styled Mwana Chambi Chniidi instead of Mwana Chanibi,
as heretofore.
Neither the name nor the real nickname of the next Sultan have been handed
down to posterity. He is now known as Micana Chambi Chandi Mwcndu .""
Wayalla, i.e., the chieftain who went to the Galla. At this time the Galla, a
warlike tribe from north of the Tana river, are said to have overrun the whole
country, and one day -whilst the Sultan of Vumba Kuu was on his way to Gonja, a
small town on the Uniba river not far distant, he encountered a band of these
savages. The Mwana Chambi Chandi himself and all his followers were slain.2
After a longer interregnum than usual, a successor was eventually chosen in
the person of Mwana Chambi Chandi Icor. This is not believed to have been the
Sultan's real nickname, but is probably a name given him by a tribe of people
called the "NVukilio, who, having been driven from their own lands, were granted
permission by the chieftain of Vumba to settle in his territory. In the dialect of
these people, who, as has been already stated, are now known by the name of
1 Cliaudi, in Kishwahili, is the old form for Mjuuibe, an ambassador or messenger.
* In 1589 Mombasa was attacked by some 16,000 natives, called by the Portuguese
historian Fr. JoAs dos Santos Zimbas, and by P. Pierre du Jarrie Imbits. These people came
from south (if the Zambesi river and on their march north devastated the town of Kihva
massacring 3,000 of the inhabitants (Strandes, p. 153). It is probable that the Vumba
chieftain was killed by these savages and not by the Galla.
282 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of rumba, Ead Afn'r».
Wasegeju,1 Ivor signifies an ivory ring which is worn round the right arm above
the elbow.
For many years past there had been great friction between the people of
Vumba Kuu and the inhabitants of the towns Mbayayi,3 Muso,2 Kirui,2 Mkumbi,2
Manjauli,3 Mwiyuni,4 Mdragoni8 and Kifundi,6 who, descended as they were from
the early Shirazi or Wadaburi settlers from Persia, refused to acknowledge the
Sultans of Vumba Kuu as their over-lords.
Mwana Chambi Chandi Ivor, therefore, eagerly collected together the
Wakilio and turned them into soldiers. By their help and by the assistance of
the friendly Wadigo, he managed to .vanquish the inhabitants of the eight towns
mentioned above. As a sign of their defeat, these people were forbidden, for
ever, to wear either sandals or turbans, to use umbrellas, to allow their women to
veil their faces, to have solid wooden doors to their houses or to possess any other
drum than that known as the " t'ut'u," which is so small that it can only be
beaten by one hand. The Wakifundi, moreover, owing to their prolonged and
stubborn resistance, were ordered to send some of their number, on the death of a
Sultan of Vumba, to stand at the doors of the deceased's house.7
The majority of the conquered people, however, unwilling to accept peace on
such degrading terms, left the towns o£ their birth and migrated elsewhere, some
few to Jomvu, near Mombasa, whilst others went to Mtangata and Saadani and to
other towns in what is now German East Africa. Those who remained had to
comply with the terms of the peace, and these rules are observed by their
descendants to the present clay.
There are two large drums at Vanga which are believed to have been made at
this time in commemoration of the victory over the eight towns. They are very
massive and are grotesquely carved.
In 1630 A.D., about the time when Mwana Chambi Chandi Ivor sat on- the
throne of Vumba, the Portuguese at Mombasa were all massacred at the
instigation of the Sultan of that town, named Yusuf (otherwise called Don
Jeronymo Chingoulia), who, after being educated at Goa, had been converted to the
Christian faith in 1627. Don Jeronymo seized the fort and successfully resisted
1 Ante, p. 276, note 12.
* Ante, p. 279, note 4.
:! Manjauli is now called Manza. Vide p. 279, note 4.
4 Mwiyuni is now called Aleue. Vide p. 279, note 5.
" Mdragoni was built near the spot where the Government station Shimoni now stands, on
the mainland opposite Wasin town, and the ruins of a mosque are to be seen to the present da}-.
The Wasegeju, who have a settlement hard by, have turned the site of the old town into a
burial-ground.
8 Kifundi is now called Shirazi, and is situated a short distance up the Vikuaraui stream, a
rivulet entering Funzi Bay. In point of size it must have rivalled Vumba Kuu itself, and the
ruins of stone mosques, wells, houses, walls and graves are still to be seen in a state of good
preservation. The war between the Wavumba, i.e., the people of Vumba, and the Wakifundi is
said to have lasted seven years.
; Ante, p. 280, note 3.
A. C. HOLLIS.— Notes on the History of Vumba, Ea*t Afri-n. 283
tin attack on the part of the Portuguese under the command of Don Francisco
• If Moura, who, with a large ileet, anchored off Mombasa on the 10th of January,
1632. Before commencing operations, the Portuguese General, we are informed
in " Eelac/io da perda e restaurac,ao de Mombasa do que la aconteceo," wrote to
the " Kiny of Uumba, Mana Ckaniby Chu.iulc, a neighbour of Mombasa and a great
enemy of the rebel," asking for aid. The help did not arrive, and Don Jeronymo,
having captured two of the Portuguese vessels, dismantled the fort, burnt the city
and escaped to Arabia.1
Mwana Chambi Chandi Ivor was the last of the Sultans to be buried at Vumba
Kuu. An enormous gravestone was erected over the spot where his remains were
interred, and each succeeding holder of the office has been enthroned on this
stone. Unfortunately, as has been already stated, this grave, together with others,
was pulled to pieces some three years ago, and the place is now only marked by
a few small heaps of hewn blocks.2
On the death of Mwana Chambi Chandi Ivor, Mweuyi Kae3 bin Mweuyi
Musa ba-Aniiri was elected sultan. He chose for himself the nickname of
Kitwa Kimoja, i.e., one head. It is uncertain what meaning this is supposed to
convey, and the following explanations have been given me for the name: —
1. That the sultan intended listening to and deciding all disputes himself; 2. That
he was an only son ; and 3. That he prophesied that he would be the last of the
chieftains of Vumba Kuu.
Shortly after his election, Mwana Chambi Chandi Kitwa Kimoja had the
misfortune to lose one of his sons, a boy named Mweuyi Pembe bin Sultan
Mweuyi Kae. The child had gone to Wasin island with some fishermen and was
playing on the beach when a Portuguese ship hove in sight. A boat was sent on
shore, and the boy fearlessly approached the white men. On the sailors ottering
to take him on board, he went with them and was never seen again.
During the reign of this chieftain the whole country was overrun by a
tribe called the Wadoe, cannibals, who hailed from near Dar-es-Salaam, the
capital of German East Africa. On one occasion, they went as far as Mombasa,
killing everybody who crossed their path and carrying off the flocks and herds.
Amongst others who suffered from the raid of these savages were the relations
and descendants of the late Mweuyi Chandi bin Sheikh, the first Mwana Chambi
Chandi of Vuniba. On their way home, the "Wadoe stopped at Vumba Kuu but
did no harm to the inhabitants and, having remained there a few days, they
returned with their spoils to their own country.
A short while afterwards a report reached Mwana Chambi Chandi Kitwa
1 Bibliotheea Nacional de Lisboa. Codice Mauuscripto, No. 7640. An anonymous ami
undated work written about the middle of the seventeenth century. For further particulars
concerning Don Jeronymo, vide Strandes, p. 209.
3 Ante, p. 279, note 8.
:1 Kae is an abbreviation for Abubakari. This Sultan's real name was Mweuyi Abubakari
bin Mweuyi Musa ba-Amiri.
L}S I A. C. HOLLIS. — J\Wr.s on the History of Viun~b«, Ea*t A/rim.
Kinioju that the relations and descendants of the late Mwenyi Chandi bin
Sheikh, un hearing' that the Wadoe had stopped at his town, had presumed that
he and they were allies, and had deeided to avenge themselves on the inhabitants
of Vuinba. Fearing an attaek, the people left their homes and settled at Jimbo
and at other fishing villages in the neighbourhood. Here they remained for some
years, their houses, in the meantime, going to ruin.
Kitwa Kiinoja died at Kigomeui and was buried at Bandani, a small wood
near Vanga. With him died the last of the Mwana Chambi Chandi and the last
of the chieftains of Vumba Kuu.
The next person selected to till the honourable post of Sultan of Vumba was
one Seyyid1 Abubakari bin Sheikh el-Masela-ba-Alaui, a Shereef,2 whose mother,
Mwana Mkasi binti Mwenyi Musa ba-Amiri, was a sister of the late Mwana
Chambi Chandi Kitwa Kimoja.3
Seyyid Abubakari chose for himself the nickname of Ruya, which, in the
Kisegeju dialect, means the strength of a bull. He dropped the title of Mwana
Chambi Chandi and assumed that of Diwan.
As the people of Vumba Kuu still feared an attack from Mombasa, many of
them went, with Diwan Buga at their head, to settle on Wasin island. Here
they laid the foundations to a large city, which, a generation later, rivalled in
extent and importance the former seat of the Sultans, Vumba Kuu.
The island of Wasin is some three miles in length, and, on the west side,
about one mile in breadth. It is separated from the mainland by a channel
which is three-quarters of a mile wide, and which forms one of the best harbours
on the coast.
The origin of the word Wasin is lost in oblivion. The port was doubtless
1 All descendants of the prophet, unless promoted through some act of their own or pf an
ancestor to the rank of "Sheikh," are addressed by the title Seyyid (Lord) or Sherifu (Shereef).
These titles appeal1, in some instances, to form a part of a Shereef's name.
2 Sultan Abubakari bin Sheikh's pedigree, as copied by his son, Omari, from a document
brought from Mecca by one of his ancestors into Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's
book is a* follows : — " Sultan Seyyid Abubakari, ibn Seyyid Sheikh, ibn Seyyid Abubakari, ibn
Seyyid Omari, ibn Seyyid Abubakari Masela-el-ba-Alui (the first of this family to come to East
Africa), ibn Seyyid Ahmed, ibn Seyyid Sheikh, ibn Seyyid Abubakari, ibn Seyyid Ali, ibn
Seyyid Ahmed, ibn Seyyid Abdullah, ibu Seyyid Mohamed, ibn Seyyid Alui, ibn Seyyid
Abdullah, ibu Sheikh Ali, ibn Sheikh Abdullah ba-Alui, ibu Sheikh Alui, ibn Seyyid Fakihi-
Mohamed, ibu Seyyid Ali-Mkadam-Turuba, ibn Sheikh Mohamed-Sahebu-Marabati, ibn
Sheikh Ali-Khali-el-Kasim, ibn Seyyid Alui, ibn Seyyid Mohammed, ibn Seyyid Alui (from
whom the family received its surname), ibu Seyyid Abdullah, ibn Seyyid Ahmed, ibn Seyyid
Isa, ibu Seyyid Mohamed, ibn Seyyid Ali el-Arthi, ibn Seyyid Jafer-Sadik, ibn Seyyid
Mohamed el-Bakir, ibn Seyyid Zeina-el-Abidnia-Ali, ibn Seyyid Husein, ibn Ali (who married
the Prophet's daughter Fatuma), ibn Abetwahib." The Prophet's pedigree is carried back
some fifty other generations and eventually reaches Adam. As it is given at length in the
Koran, it is unnecessary for me to record it here. The original pedigree which came from
Arabia was burnt, I am informed, at Ormuz, in 1895.
3 Mwenyi Musa ba-Amiri had one other daughter, Mwandazi, who was married to Mweuyi
Hija bin Mwenyi Husein, a grandson of Mweuyi Chambi bin Sheikh, the first Mwana Chambi
Chandi of Vumba.
A. C. HOLLTS. — Notes on the History of Vumbct, East Afi-i'-n. 285
known to the first Asiatic mariners who navigated these waters, and, according to
Drs. Tomaschek and Bitter,1 a Christian priest, a descendant of one of the Syrian
missionaries who settled on Socotra Island shortly after the death of Our Lord,
journeyed about the year 550 A.D. to Auxine (Wasin), from whence he travelled
to Taprobane (Ceylon). The name Wasin also appears in several ancient maps,
notably in one published in 1554.
The Portuguese had no settlements there, but their ships occasionally
paraded the coasts and sometimes called at the various towns. There are, at the
present day, three towns on the island, Wasin proper, facing the mainland, Kunguni,
a hamlet on the south side, built on the site of the fishing village of Mwana Chambi
Chandi Kitwa Kimoja's time, and, on the eastern point, a settlement of Wakifundi.
The town of Wasin, although not so large as it was a century and a half ago,
is still an important centre and has long been the chief market on the East
Coast of Africa for boriti wood, obtained from the mangrove trees which abound
in the neighbouring creeks. It contains several stone houses and three mosques ;
two of the latter were built some seventy years ago by Ahmed (nicknamed
Mkulu) bin Mwenyi Mkuu el-Hasraji-el-ba-Urii, whilst the third was erected by
Diwan Hasan (a son of Diwan Euga), and was completed, as we are informed by
an inscription ^ carved by Sheikh bin Mwenyi Mui el-Hasraji-el-ba-Urii, on the
birthday of Mwana Siti binti Diwan Hasan, the 23rd day of Auwal, 1162 A.H.
(1749 A.D.). There are also the ruins of another mosque which was built by
Kalaha, the agent at Wasin of Ahmed bin Mohamed, the Mazrui Governor of
Mombasa from 1194 to 1229 A.H. (1780-1814 A.D.),2 and of several other stone
houses. One of the latter, which was formerly the property of Sheikh bin
Mwenyi Husein (nicknamed Akida) ba-Amiri, is believed to have treasure buried
beneath its floors.3
Fresh water is unobtainable on the island itself, although two wells were
sunk in the soft coral rock by Diwans Hasan and Sheikh. All water required
for drinking purposes has, in consequence, to be procured from the mainland
immediately opposite Wasin town. This is done by means of water-tight boats.,
the rowers sitting in the water which is afterwards to be consumed.
There are numerous gravestones on the island, but, as none are dated, they are
of little importance. Many of the memorial inscriptions, however, which are of
some interest, have been irretrievably damaged by the chisels of vandalic china -
hunters from our ships of war.4
Diwan Euga, having established himself at Wasin, proceeded to amass great
wealth, chiefly through trading with the interior for ivory and slaves. He thus
1 Die topographischen Capital des indischen Seespiegels Mohi(, p. 29 (Vicuna, 1897).
- The Story of Mombasa.
3 Burton in his Zanzibar, vol. ii, page 110, whilst describing a visit to this island, says :
" By way of revenge, I dropped a hint about buried gold which has doubtless been the cause of
aching arms and hearts to the churls of Wasin." Is this the origin of the tradition ?
4 It was formerly customary here, as elsewhere on the East Coast of Africa, to ornament
the graves by fixing china dishes and plates into the stones.
286 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vumba, East Africa.
became one of the best known Sultans on the coast, and after Mombasa had been
re-occupied by the Portuguese in 1728 A.D., Conde da Ericeira D. Luiz (afterwards
the first Marquez de Louri^al), who was Viceroy of India from 1717 to 1720,
mentions in his Noticias da. India desdc o Jim do Governo de Vice Hey Vasco
Fernandez Cesar dthe o Jim do anno de 1738 an que governa o Vice Rcy Conde de
Landemil,1 that the King of Vumba submitted together with other princes to the
Mombasa Government. He writes as follows :—
"Dentro de poucas dias forao sogestar-se ao Governo da MombaQa, Moinha
Macombe, Eei de Oacone,2 Mcameruruba, Eei de Mitangota,3 Manmhambe, Eei de
Vumba, Moinha Chambe,4 Eei de Tanga, Bensultan Manya, Eei da Ilha de Pornba/
e por Anfalumen Assane,6 Eei de Zanzibar, foi dar obedencia em seu nome . sen
filho Muinha Mocu."
In another contemporary report the King of Vumba is called Mana Chame, and
it is stated that he together with the other chieftains mentioned above went to
Mombasa to pay homage to the Portuguese.
Diwan Euga was thrice married and had issue by his wives fifteen children.
He also had by concubines, twenty-five other children, twenty-three of whom are
believed to have died in infancy or without issue. His first wife was his cousin,
Mwana Musa binti Mwenyi Kae ba-Amiri (a daughter of Mwana Chambi Chandi
Kitwa Kimoja). By her he had issue two sons, Seyyid Ibadi (nicknamed Miongo),
the head of what was, at a later date, called " the Kigomeni family," and Sheikh,
who, according to the inscription on his grave, was buried at Kigomeni in 1202 A.H.
(1787 A.D.).
Diwan Euga's second wife, who lived at Wasin, was Mwana Jumbe binti
Mwenyi Umanzi bin Sheikh el-Hasraji-el-ba-Urii of Ozi.7 She bore him twelve
children, of whom her eldest son, Omari, died without issue on the sixth day of
the seventh month, 1148 A.H. (1735 A.D.).8 The most important of her .other sons
were Hasan, afterwards Diwan, the head of what was called, at a later date, " the
Wasin family"; Mwenyi Sagafu, who was buried at Kigomeni in 1201 A.H. (1786
A.D.)9; Idarus, who was considered a wizard, and at whose grave at Wasin, the
Wadigo, in dry seasons, offer up prayers for rain ; Alaui, the ancestor of the third
and fourth Diwans of Wasin ; and Kasim, who was the first person to settle on
the plot of ground now called Vanga. The latter was greatly liked by the
Mazaran, whom he accompanied when the governor of Mombasa, Ali bin Athman
el-Mazrui, attacked the native chieftain of Zanzibar. During this expedition
1 Bibliotheca Nacional de Lisboa. Codice Manuscripto, No. 465.
2 Is this Mdragoni? (Ante, p. 282, note 5.) According to tradition, all the inhabitants after
the fall of this town in Mwana Chambi Chandi Ivor's reign went elsewhere, and it was allowed
to fall into ruins.
8 Mtangata, a town some twenty miles south of Tanga, German East Africa.
4 Mwenyi Chambi. Ante, p. 277, note 4. s Pemba.
6 Mfalme Hasan. Ante, p. 277, note 4.
7 Ozi is a town not far from Larnu.
8 Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book. fl Memorial inscription.
A. C. HOLLTS. — Not™ on the Hixtnni <>f Vnmhi, East Afi- '«••.'. 287
All bin Athman himself was killed by his nephew Khalaf bin Khatibu bin Athman
in 1167 A.ir. (1754 A.D.) and was buried at Zanzibar.1
Pi wan Ruga's most renowned daughter was Mwana Siti (nicknamed Wa
Mwana Chambi). She was married to Abubakari (nicknamed Bajios) bin
Twahiri el-Jadid and thus became the ancestress of the Diwans of Vanga. This
Mwana Siti binti Diwan Ruga was appointed, according to an old Vumba custom,
judge in all matters in which the fair sex was concerned. These lady judges
have been regularly elected ever since, and, on the death of ones another is chosen.
Diwan Ruga married thirdly a lady of Femba, by whom he had issue one
son, Sherifu Ibadi (nicknamed Mwenyi Pati).
Diwan Ruga died on the fourth day of the first month, 1155 A.H. (1742 A.D.),2
and was buried at Wasin.
His second and eldest surviving son by Mwana Juuibe binti Mwenyi
Umanzi el-ba-Urii, named Hasan, was aged about forty when Diwan Ruga died.
The people of Wasin unanimously elected Shereef Hasan to fill the vacancy caused
by his father's death, and he was enthroned at Vumba Kuu in 1157 A.H. (1744
A.D.)." Owing to his name meaning blessed, he did not change it ; he is thus known
as Diwan Hasan.
The inhabitants of Kigomeni, at the instigation of the head of the Ba-Amiri,
Mwenyi Mkuu bin Sultan Mwenyi Kae (the eldest son of Mwana Chambi Chandi
Kitwa Kimoja) refused to acknowledge Diwan Hasan and wished to appoint, in his
stead, his half-brother Seyyid Ibadi (nicknamed Miongo) bin Diwan Ruga. The
latter certainly had a better claim, if it was a question of hereditary rights, owing
to his mother being a daughter of Mwana Chambi Chandi Kitwa Kimajo, but he
declined becoming Hasan's rival. Mwenyi Mkuu and his followers at Kigomeni,
however, still rejected the choice of the people of Wasin, and now selected a
member of another branch of the Ba-Alaui family, Sherifu Ali bin Abubakari, as
their representative. The table4 on p. 288 will show his relationship to Diwan
Hasan.
Sherifu Ali bin Abubakari el-ba Alaui was duly enthroned at Vumba Kuu
and took the name of Macrc, which means clear weather after the storm.
Thus, there was one Diwan at Wasin and another at Kigomeni.
The latter, after holding office for ten years, died on the 24th day of Rajiabo,
11 OS A.H. (1755 A.D.)." Both he and his patron, Mwenyi Mkuu bin Sultan
Mwenyi Kae were very poor, and no money was forthcoming to pa}' for tho
ordinary funeral feast. Mwenyi Mkuu at last decided to compromise with Diwan
Jin san and promised, if the latter would pay for the feast to be held in honour of
1 The Story of Mombasa.
- Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book.
» Ibid.
4 This pedigree and the dates are taken from Abubakari bin el-Fakih Mwalimu Saleh's
book.
s Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book,
288
A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vinnla, East
Abubakari bin
Seyyid Ahmed el-Masela
ba-Alaui.
Omai
Abub
Abubak
Om
Sheik
Abub
"i bin
akari
ari bin
ari
h bin
akari
Alui bin
Abubakari
Omari bin
Alui
1
Abubakari (nicknamed
Mjadid) bin Omari. Buried at
Wasin (Memorial inscription).
Sultan Abubakari Seyyid Ahmed
bin Sheikh b. Sheikh
(Diwan Ruga), (nicknamed
d. 4th day of Kitubwe).
1st month, 1155 Descendants
A.H. (1742 A.D.). now living.
Buried at
Wasin.
Sultan Ali b. Abu- Seyyid
bakari (Diwan b. j
Maere of Kigo- kari.
meni). Died 24th
day of Rajiabo,
1168 (1755 A.D.).
Buried at Kigo-
meni. I
Ibadi Alui b. Abuba-
Vbuba- kari, d.s.p.
10th day of
1st month,
1165 A.H.
(1752 A.D.).
Buried at
Kigomeni.
Sultan Hasan b. Sultan
Abubakari (Diwan
Hasan) elected Diwan
of Wasin 1157 A.H.
(1744 A.D.), and Diwan
ofallVuraba 1168A.H.
(1755 A.D.), d. circa
1217 A.H. (1802 A.D.).
Buried at Wasin.
Mwana Siti binti
Sultan Ali, d.s.p.
(only child of
Sultan Ali of
Kigomeni).
Sultan Abubakari
b. Seyyid Ibadi.
Elected Diwan
Mnyeti of Kigo-
meni in 1220
A.H. (1805 A.D.).
Buried at Kigo-
Mwana Asha binti Sultan
Abubakari (only child
of Sultan Abubakari of
Kigomeni), m. Ahmed
b. Omari b. Alaui b.
Diwan Ruga.
TABLE SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIWAN HASAN AND SHEEIFU BIN
ABUBAKARI EL-BA-ALAUI.
the death of his late rival, that he (Diwan Hasan) would alone be acknowledged
as Sultan from Kw&le to Likoni. Diwan Hasan accepted the offer and paid for
and was present at Diwan Maere's funeral feast, after which he returned to
Wasin and reigned as Sultan of Vumba until his death in circa 1217 A.H.
(1802 A.D.).
Diwan Hasan paid several visits to his mother's relatives at Ozi, and on one
occasion was presented with an ivory horn (siwa). This horn, which weighs
about sixty pounds, is still in the possession of the people of Vanga.
During the latter years of his life, Diwan Hasan was, owing to his great age,
quite incapable of performing any of the duties of his office, and his eldest and
only surviving son, Abubakari bin Sultan Hasan, who was born on the twelfth day
of the third month, 1148 A.H. (1735 A.D.),1 acted in his stead.
Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book.
A. C. Hou.is. — AVr.s on ttt<' Ifixfory of Vumba, East Africa. 289
Diwan Hasan married four times. His best known sons are Seyyid Ahim-d,
who was born on the 27th day of the Gth month, 1149 A.H. (1730 A.D.),1 and
Sherifu All, wlio was buried at Kigoraeni in 1200 A.H. (1785 A.D.).2
On the death of Diwan Hasan, his son Abubakari was unanimously chosen as
his successor and was duly invested with the vunda.3 Before he could be
enthroned at Vumba Kuu, however, Sherifu Abubakari was taken suddenly ill and
died.
A Shereef, named Sheikh Hasan bin Salim min4-Ali-Sheikh-Abubukari-bin
Salim-el-Mansabi,5 who, by his mother, a daughter of Diwan Hasan, was a great-
grandson of Diwan Ruga, and who had married a daughter of the late Seyyid
Abubakari bin Diwan Hasan, was accused by his enemies of having killed his
father-in-law by witchcraft in order to be chosen Diwan himself. Be that as it
may, Sheikh Hasan bin Salim obtained a portion of the wealth left by Diwan
Ruga, to the exclusion of the lawful heirs, was elected Diwan and was eventually
enthroned at Vumba Kuu. He chose for himself the name of Sheikh (pronounced
Shehe) in memory of his ancestor Sheikh Abubakari bin Salim el-Mansabi, who,
in his time, was a' great and learned man.
Some of the people of Kigomeni again opposed the choice of their relations of
Wasin, and the more wealthy of them collected a sum of money and appointed the
nephew of the late Diwan Maere, by name Abubakari bin Seyyid Ibadi el-ba-
Alaui, who had been earning a precarious livelihood in Zanzibar, as their Sultan.
Great friction was thus once more caused ' bet ween the inhabitants of these two
towns, and all the supporters of Diwan Sheikh living at Kigomeni were obliged to
quit their homes and settle on the island of Wasin.
This, too, formed a fresh pretext for the Wadigo to enter on a civil war — a no
very uncommon matter with that tribe — and their chief, named Kubo Mwakikonga
of the Mohindzano or Kinangala clan, enraged at the people of Kigomeni asking his
underling, Mwana Moki Mwabubu of Kilulu6 for an escort to take them to Yumba
1 Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book.
• Memorial inscription. 3 A nte, p. 279, note 2.
1 Mm is equivalent to " of the family of.':
4 Sheikh Hasan's pedigree, according to Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book is
us follows: — "Sultan Hasan, ibn Sheikh Salim, ibn Sheikh Ahmed, ibn Sheikh Nasir, ibn
Sheikh Ahmed, ibn Sheikh Salim, ibn Sheikh Ahmed, ibn Sheikh Abubakari, ibn Sheikh
Salim, ibn Sheikh Abubakari, ibn Sheikh Ahmed, ibn All, ibii Sheikh Abubakari, ibn Salim. '
Sheikh Abubakari ibn Salim's pedigree, I am informed by the Sheikh-ul-Ialam, or chief Cadi
for the East Africa Protectorate, is as follows : — "Sheikh Abubakari ibn Salim, ibn Abdurah-
man (Segafu), ibn Mahomed (Maul-Abduliwa), ibn Ali, ibn Alui, ibn Mahomed, ibn el-Fakihi
Makadam, ibn Ali, ibn Mahomed Sahebu-Marabati, ibn Ali, ibn Alui, ibn Mahomed, ibn Alui,
ibn Abdullah, ibn Ahmed, ibn Isa, ibn Mahomed, ibn Ali, ibn Jafer, ibn Mahomed, ibn
Jluscin, ibn Ali (who married the Prophet's daughter Fatuma)." It will be noticed that, with
the exception of Zeina-el-Abidnia-Ali, this pedigree coincides for some generations with that of
tin- I'.a-Alaui family.
0 Kilulu is a hill, 900 feet high, on the sea coast, ten miles south of Jasiu. Mwana Moki
had stoiit-s carried to the top of this hill and there built himself a house. After his death In-
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). U
290 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the Histoi*y of Vumla, East Africa.
Kuu, attacked the new Diwan's party while on its way to the enthronement, killing
several of its members and forcing the Diwan himself to fly for his life.
Some days later, however, chiefly through the intercession of his rival, Diwan
Sheikh, Seyyid Abubakari bin Seyyid Ibadi el-ba-Alaui was enthroned at Vumba
Kuu and chose for himself the name of Mnyeti, meaning Patience.
On the 23rd of the seventh month, 1236 A.II. (1821 A.D.),1 war was declared
between Seyyid Said bin Sultan, the fourth Albusaidi Imam of Muscat, and the
Mazrui governor of Mombasa, Abdullah bin Ahmed, \yho, on his accession in
1229 A.TI. (1814 A.D.),2 had despatched to his lord, instead of the customary
presents, a mail shirt, a flask of powder and a wooden spoon. After Pate had
fallen before the Arab invaders, the island of Pemba was threatened. On hearing
of this, Diwan Sheikh thought it would be wiser to leave Wasin until hostilities
should be at an end, so he went with all his adherents to the mainland. Some of
the people, including the Diwan himself, settled at Vanga — then only a small
fishing village — whilst others went to live at the various towns along the coast.
Shortly after the evacuation of Wasin, one of Seyyid Said bin Sultan's
generals, Amiri Ahmed bin Mahomed, called at the island on his way to Pembn,
and, presuming that the deserted town which he found there belonged to the
enemy, he destroyed all the houses and other buildings, leaving untouched only
the mosque built by Diwan Hasan.
Diwan Sheikh did not long survive his change of residence. He died in the
first year after Suliman bin Ali had been chosen Governor of Mombasa'" (1239 A.II.
or 1824 A.D.), and was buried at P>andani, near the grave of Mwana Chamhi Chandi
Kitwa Kimoja.
Diwan Mnyeti had predeceased Diwan Sheikh and had been buried with his
uncle, the late Diwan Maere at Kigomeni.
Owing to the English having placed Mombasa under their protection,4 there
was now no longer any fear of Seyyid Said attacking Wasin, and the people, witli
the exception of those who had gone to Vanga, returned to their homes and
rebuilt their houses. Those who had followed the late Diwan to Vanga remained
at that town.
Some dispute arose between the latter and the people of Wasin as to where
the feast to be given in honour of Diwan Sheikh's death should be held, cadi
party advocating its own town. The former had the better of the argument., and
the feast was consequently prepared at Vanga.
was buried with five of his brothers on the summit, and his grave can be seen to the present
day. Mwani Moki belonged to the Kombo family of the Dziribe clan.
1 The Story of Mombasa.
- Ibid.
3 Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book. According to The Xlory of Mombasa,
Suliman bin Ali el-Mazrui was chosen governor of that town in 1238 A.II. (1823 A.D.).
4 Sir Arthur Hardinge in his Report on the condition and progress of the East Africa Pro-
tectorate from its commencement to the 2Qt/i July, 1897, writes, " Suliman bin Ali placed himself
under the protection of Captain Owen of H.M.S. ' Barracouta,' in 1823. The British Govern-
ment, however, repudiated the Protectorate, which was withdrawn two years later."
A. f. IIoTJJ*. — Noffts cm tin' Ilixfori; of Vtnnln, E«*t Af >•!<-,<. 201
According to an old custom, it is necessary for all the relations of a deceased
Sultan of Vumba \vlio intend taking part in the funeral feast given in his honour
to be present when ;i certain ox is slaughtered, and if the o.\ is slaughtered whilst
any one is absent, it is considered as an insult to the absentee. The ox, which is
always the largest that can be procured, is first of all given a name. On the
present occasion it was called "Mjaka wa Chandi."
On the day appointed, one Seyyid Ahmed bin Alani bin Sultan Abubakari (a
grandson of Diwan Ruga) purposely absented himself from the revels, and the ox
was slaughtered before he arrived. When he appeared upon the scene, he called
upon all present to witness the insult which had been offered him and returned to
AVasin without taking part in the feast. He was followed by most of the Ba-Alaui
and P>a-Amiri and was shortly afterwards proclaimed Diwan. The Vanga people,
however, refused to acknowledge him and wished to appoint Sheikh Nasir bin
Sultan Hasan (a son of the late Diwan Sheikh) as his father's successor, but the
latter, now an elderly man,1 did not desire the honour and proposed a Shereef,
named Seyyid Ahmed bin Abubakari (Dani) bin Abubakakari (Bajios) bin
Twahiri bin Ahmed bin Husein el-Jadid, the son of his father's half-sister, Mwana
Alani binti Mfalme Bakiri of Zanzibar, and the great-grandson as well as the
orreat-oreat-ffrandson of Diwan Ruga.3
n «> o *~*
As there was now an open breach between the inhabitants of Wasin and
Vanga, and matters began to look serious, it was decided that the whole case
should be referred to the Mazrui Governor of Mombasa, Suliman bin Ali.
At first, the judge favoured the suit of Seyyid Ahmed bin Alaui, but seeing
that the Vanga people absolutely refused to acknowledge him and that Sheikh
Xasir bin Diwan Sheikh had inherited some of Diwan Ruga's great wealth
together with the articles appertaining to the Diwan's office, he decided that both
Seyyid Ahmed bin Alaui and Seyyid Ahmed bin Abubakari should be elected
Diwan. Thus, the houses el-ba- Alaui and el-Jadid were represented respectively
at Wasin and Vanga.
The former Diwan named himself Kikambala and the latter Pimla. The
moaning of Kikambala in the Kidigo dialect is tether. Seyyid Ahmed bin Alaui
called himself thus in order to show that, as an ox could be fastened by a piece of
cord, so would he be tied to his post by duty. The meaning of Pinda is to bend a
bow preparatory to shooting an arrow. Seyyid Ahmed bin Abubakari's idea in
giving himself this name was to make the people think that he was always ready to
receive an enemy.
Both men were much respected, but, of the two, the Wasin Diwan had the
greater influence over the Wasegeju and Wadigo, which latter tribe, under the
warlike chief Kubo Mwakikonga, was now in the zenith of its power. Diwan
1 According to Abubakari bin el-Fakihi Mwalimu Saleh's book, Sheikh Nasir was born <m
tlic r.Hh day of the 5th month, 1189 A.II. (1775 A,D.). He was therefore fifty years <>f age
when the almv recorded event happened.
» Ibi.l.
u 2
292 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vutiiba, East Africa.
Pinda was considered a great wizard and medicine-man and was much favoured by
the Mazaran, with whom he spent the half of each year.
As the Vanga Diwan had inherited the drums of Mwana Chambi Chandi
Ivor (vide p. 282) and the ivory horn of Diwan Hasan (vide p. 288), the people of
Wasin had three large drums and a long wooden horn made.
In 1241 A.H. (1826 A.D.) Salim bin Ahmed el-Mazrui deposed his cousin
Suliman bin Ali,1 and on the 23rd day of the 5th month, 1243 A.H. (1828 A.D.),2 he
was obliged to surrender the fort at Mombasa to the Muscat Prince, Seyyid Said
bin Sultan. He was, however, permitted to remain as hereditary governor of the
town and to retain one half of the revenues. When Seyyid Said had once
obtained possession of the fort, which he placed under the charge of a Jemidar,3
named Shoho, he broke his pledge to the Mazaran and appointed Nasir bin
Seliman bin Kasim Ismaili Governor of Mombasa. Incensed by this breach of
faith, Salim bin Ahmed attempted unsuccessfully to poison his enemy's
representative, who thereupon retired to the fort.
One of the Imam's generals, Alimas hadim4 Seyyid Said, was sent from
Zanzibar to recover the town of Mombasa, which had been seized by the Mazaran,
and to succour the inmates of the fort, who were in such straits for want of food
that they were reduced to eating rats.5 On his way thither, Alimas stopped at
Wasin and signed a treaty of peace with Diwan Kikambala. Noticing some cowry
shells on the sea-shore which belonged to his enemy, Salim bin Ahmed, Alimas
begged the Diwan to allow him to take them away with him to use against their
owner instead of shot. Diwan Kikambala, possibly glad of an opportunity to
avenge himself on the patrons of his rival, readily agreed, and three gizlahs (1080
Ibs.) of the shells were put on board the Zanzibar boats before Alimas set sail for
Mombasa.
On the conclusion of peace between the Mazaran and the Muscat Arabs in
1249 A.H. (1833 A.D.),C the Diwan of Wasin was told that Salim bin Ahmed was
angry with him for the part he had played in handing over the cowry shells to
Alimas, and he was advised to go to Mombasa and wait on the Governor. He
therefore went, accompanied by a large following of Arabs and, as a hint, attended
by a small body-guard of Wadigo and Wasegeju.
Salim bin Ahmed, fearing to do anything to him openly, on account of his
influence over the natives, received him well, and great festivities were given in
his honour.
On the day before Diwan Kikambala intended returning to Wasin lie was
taken slightly ill, and Mahomed bin Ahmed, Salim's brother, gave him somo
medicine. Shortly after he had drunk the concoction, he became much worse
and expired in a few hours. He was buried in the grave-yard, called " Kw.i
Masheikh," in the " Mji wa kale " portion of Mombasa.
1 The Story of Mombasa. - Ibid.
3 Ajemirfa/- is a native subaltern officer. ' The meaning of kadiw is "the slave of."
5 The Story of Mombasa, ff
A. (.'. HoLUS.- Xnh's nil tlt< Ilixtni-i, nj' l'l>ntl«>, A'".s/ Aji'ini. 20.",
Having ridded himself thus successfully of his enemy, Salim bin Ahmed
thought it advisable in disperse the relations of the deeeased. In consequence, he
ordered them to return to their homes, to break down their houses and to go and
live mi the mainland. This they did, remaining at Vanga and at other coast towns
till the final capture of Mombasa by Said bin Sultan, who treacherously seized
liashid bin Salim, a son and successor of Salim bin Ahmed, and sent him with
twenty-four of his relations to starve in the dungeons of Bunder- Abbas,1 when
the Wasin people again took up their abode on the island.
In the meantime, Diwaii Pinda had quarrelled with the Mazaran, owing to
their brutal treatment of one of the Mwenyi Charubi of Tanga,2 and had joined
I heir enemy, Seyyid Said bin Sultan, at whose court he now spent the greater part
of his time. He twice accompanied the Sultans of Zanzibar to Siu,3 being present
at the defeat of Seyyid Said's forces by the chieftain Mataka, and later, at the
bombardment and taking of that town by Seyyid Majid bin Said. Diwan Pinda
also twice visited the chieftain of Usambara,4 by name Kimweri, at the latter's
capital, Vuga. Although he rarely stopped at Vanga, the Diwan put that town in
a state of defence by encircling it with a stone wall.5
In 1275 A.II. (1858 A.D.) the country was visited by cholera. According to
the diary of one Abubakari bin Kasim bin Mwaliinu Twahiri el-Jadid, no fewer
than two hundred and sixty-two persons died of this disease at Wasin in thirty-
seven days.
Vanga was attacked in 1276 A.H. (1859 A.D.) by a horde of Masai, a war-
like and nomad tribe inhabiting the plains between Kilima Njaro and Victoria
Xyanza. Although at first repelled, they returned in greater numbers than before
and finally forced the inhabitants to take shelter at Kigomeni. The invaders did
but little damage to the town and contented themselves with driving off the
cattle.
Sultan Ahmed bin Abubakari el-Jadid, otherwise called Diwau Pinda, died at
Vanga in 1280 A.ir. (1863 A.D.) and was buried at Bandaui.
On the return of the Wasin people to the island home of their ancestors in
1253 A. II. (1837 A.D.), they decided to elect a successor to Diwaii Kikambala. The
choice full on Seyyid Ahmed bin Xasir bin Alaui bin Diwan Ruga, who, however,
died before he could be enthroned. His brother, Seyyid Alaui bin Nasir bin Alaui
1 Tliis event took place, according to an inscription in the Friday Mosque of Haniis
Mohamed AU Rokhesh in Mombasa, on the 20th day of the 3rd month, 1253 A.H. (1837 A.D.).
- Ante, p. 277, note 4.
1 Ante, p. 277, note 2.
1 Usambara is the name given to the highlands at the back of Tauga, German East Africa.
Oil the slopes there are now numerous coffee plantations. As a safeguard against attack, the
natives build their villages in the middle of its densest woods, or on the summits of its highest
hills.
5 This seems to be the unanimous statement of the inhabitants of Vanga, but Sir Arthur
Hard in go in his Report on Uie condition and progress of the East Africa Protectorate from its
commencement to the 20tk Jufy, 1897, writes, " Vanga (in 189-1) was surrounded by a stone wall
said to date from the Portuguese times, portions of which are still in existence."
294 A. C. HoLLls. — Notes on the History of Vuuda, East
bin Diwan lluga, was then chosen in his stead. The latter, I am told, was a line,
handsome man with a long flowing beard ; but, shortly after his election, he had
the misfortune to become totally blind. The superstitious natives attributed both
the death of Seyyid Ahmed bin Nasir and the blinding of his brother to the
sorcery of Diwan Pinda ; and this idea took such a firm hold on the minds of the
people that it was decided to await the Vanga chieftain's death before Seyyid
Alaui bin Nasir should be enthroned. In the first month of 1281 A.H. (1864 A.D.)
Seyyid Twahiri bin Abubakari (Dani") el-Jadid, who had been chosen by the people
J «/ \ / «/
of Vanga to succeed his brother, the late Diwan Pinda, was enthroned together
with Seyyid Alaui bin Nasir el-ba -Alaui at Vumba Kuu. The Diwan of Wasin
chose the name of Ukunyu, meaning dawn, and the Diwan of Vanga that of
Kilimia,1 meaning the Pleiads. The former thus likened the long interregnum
which had followed Diwan Kikambala's death to a tropical night, whilst the
latter wished to show that, as the Pleiads are invisible for a short period during
the year, so the people of Vanga had not been long without their chief.
The only work of note performed by Diwan Kilimia was to improve the wall
built by his brother round the town of Vanga.
During the month of llamathan, 1286 A.H. (December, 1869), a terrible wave of
cholera again passed over the laud. Four hundred and thirty persons died in
fourteen days at Vanga and Wasin, amongst them the Diwan of Vanga himself,
Sheikh Kasim bin Abdullah el-Menthiri (Diwan Kikambala's Cadi) and eighty-two
Arabs, of whom ten were virgins.2 The Diwan, who died on the tenth of the month,
was buried at Bandani.
In 1288 A.H. (1871 A.u.) Seyyid Ahmed bin Sultan Twahiri el-Jadid, a son
of Diwan Kilimia, was selected by the people of Vanga to succeed his father. He
chose for himself the name of Maritliia (a corruption of Marithawa, which
means plenty), as a prediction that, so long as he lived, there would be no
famine in the land. He is, however, better known by his former nickname
tilinl'V.c, which is a corruption of Chulcua, and means take.
Diwan Ukungii of Wasin died in 1295 A.II. (1878 A.D.) and was buried with
great pomp in the grave of his ancestor Diwan liuga. In 1300 A.H. (1883 A.D.) a
successor was chosen in the person of Seyyid Nasir bin Alaui bin Diwan Kikambala,
who, however, died on the 22nd of the 4th month, 1302 A.H. (February, 1885 A.D.),U
before he had been enthroned at Vumba Kuu. No other successor to Diwan
tJkungu has since been chosen, and the drums, silver chain, wooden horn and
1 Kilimia means literally " that by which to cultivate." The Pleiads are not seen for two
or three weeks in May or June, and their reappearance marks the commencement of the
Indian corn and millet harvests. The following is a common native proverb : — "Kilimia kiki-
zama kwa jua huzuka kwa mvua, kikizama kwa mvua huzuka kwa jua," or " When the Pleiads
set in aun, i.e., in sunny \veather, they rise in rain ; when they set in rain, they rise in suu.:;
(Taylor : African Aphorisms.)
- Numbers, date and particulars taken from the diary of Abubakari bin Kasim bin
Mwalimu Twahiri el-Jadid.
3 Entry in Nasir bin Alaui'a Koran made by his sou Alaui bin Nasir.
A. ( '. HOLLLS. — Notes on the Hilton/ <>j Vumba, East Africa. 29.~>
umbrella, etc., pertaining to the ollice of Diwan of Wasin arc now in the possession
• if Seyyid Alaui bin Nasir bin Alaui bin Diwau Kikaiubala bin Alatii bin Diwau
Ituga, the Government Arabic clerk at Shimoiii.
After the death of Seyyid Nasir bin Alaui bin Diwau Kikaiubala, the members
of the I5a-. \lani family at Wasin were continually quarrelling as to who had the
best right to be elected Diwan, and, in the years 1310 and 1311 A.ll. (1892 and
J 893 A.D.), assaults and disturbances of all kinds were of frequent occurrence. The
I.15.KA. Company's District Superintendent at Shimoni, tired at length of warning,
ordered on one occasion, seven Shereefs to recei\pe twenty-five lashes each. This
sentence had the desired effect so far as the Company's officials were concerned,
but it is probable that no Diwan of Wasin will ever again be chosen, so heartily do
the rivals now hate one another.
Troublous times followed the election of Diwan Mirithia. Shortly after his
succession, Sheikh Mbaruk bin liashid el-Khelani-el Mazrui of Gasi sent him a
haughty message demanding a free woman of Vanga as wife. The people refused
and asked for and obtained aid from Sultan Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar. Sheikh
Mbaruk attacked Vanga but was repelled with loss.
In 1302 and 1303 A.II. (1884 and 1885 A.D.) the country was stricken by
famine, contrary to the Diwan's prediction, and thousands of the natives died.
In 1304 A.H. (1886 A.D.) Sheikh Mbaruk bin Kashid rebelled for a second
time against the authority of the Sultan of Zanzibar, and remembering his defeat
some years before at the hands of the people of Vanga, he surprised that town
and burnt and sacked it. The Diwan and most of the inhabitants lied to Manza,
in German East Africa, where they remained until Sheikh Mbaruk was eventually
compelled by General Mathews to make his submission at Zanzibar to Seyyid
Barghash.
On July 24th, 1895, Sheikh Mbaruk again attacked and burnt Vanga.1 One
of his generals, Ali bin Abdullah el-Mazrui, at the same time seized as hostages
the persons of the Diwan and his Cadi (the present Li wall of Vauga) and scut
them, under a small escort, to the Mazrui fortress at Mwele.-' On the road they
.stopped for the night at Miongoni, on the Uniba river. The Mdigo elder of this
village, one Mvuuo of the Mwiyombo clan, remained true to the oath taken by his
chief at the Diwan's enthronement. He beat his war-drums, collected a large
number of his tribesmen and rescued the prisoners, who escaped to Kwale in
German territory, where they remained till hostilities were at an end.
Diwun Marithia. who during the last few years of his life was recognised as
Diwan of all Vumba, died childless on the Oth day of the Oth month, 1315 A.H.
1 Vide Blue Book, Africa, No. 6 (1896), p. 12.
- Mwele is a hill, lying ;it the southern end of the Shiinba group, twenty miles to the west
of liasi. From its summit a wonderful view can be obtained, the snow-covered heights of
Kilima Njaro, surmounting a long expanse of plain studded with isolated peaks, being visible
on the one side, whilst, from the opposite slope, can be seen the whole coast line, the Indian
Ocean, and in the distance the Island of Pemba.
206 A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the Hisiory of Vumba, East Africa.
(August 8th, 1897), and was Lulled at Bandani. In accordance with a
proclamation issued by the Sultan of Zanzibar, Seyyid Ali bin Said, on the 1st of
August, 1890, the late Diwan's slaves — ninety-six in number — were all set at
liberty.
Since Diwan Marithia's decease no one has, as yet, been chosen to succeed
him. There are, however, two claimants, viz. : — his brother, Sherifu Abubakari
bin Diwan Kilimia el-Jadid and Sherifu Nasir bin Hasan bin Hasan bin Abubakari
bin Seyyid Ahmed bin Diwan Ruga el-ba-Alaui, whose mother was Fatuma binti
Diwan Kilimia, but neither of these persons have sufficient means wherewith to
pay for the various feasts necessary before the election can take place. A rumour
is being circulated that a woman, Mwana Shasha binti Diwan Kilimia, a wife of
the Cadi of Wasin, Sheikh Eashid bin Kasim el-Menthiri, is also anxious to
become Diwan; notwithstanding this lady's high position and great wealth,
however, she has received but feeble support from the electors. Nevertheless, it
is to be hoped that the ancient title will not be allowed to fall into complete
abeyance, but that some duly qualified candidate may yet be chosen to make once
more the time-honoured journey to the ruined city in the wood and thence return
a crowned Diwan of Vumba.
NOTES ON THE PEDIGREE OF THE DIWANS OF VUMBA.
Plate XXIX.
1. Author of book in which the records of Vumba Ndogo were kept. This book was
finished on the 7th of the 3rd month 1133 A.H. (1721 A.D.) after mid-day prayer.
2. Elected 1st Diwan of Vumba circa 1124 A.H. (1712 A.D.). Nicknamed Ruga. Died 4th of
1st month 1155 A.H. (1742 A.D.). Buried at "Wasin.
3. Elected 1st Diwan of Kigomeni, 1158 A.H. (1745 A.D.). Nicknamed Maere. Died 24th of
Rajiabo 1168 A.H. (1755 A.D.) buried at Kigomeni.
4. Father of Abubakari bin Ibadi, who was elected 2nd and last Diwan of Kigomeni in
1220 A.H. (1805 A.D.). Nicknamed Mnyeti. Died before 1239 A.H. (1824 A.D.) and
buried at Kigomeni.
5. Died 10th of 1st month 1165 A.H. (1752 A.D.). Buried at Kigomeni.
6. Born circa 1117 A.H. (1705 A.D.). Elected 1st Diwan of Wasin in 1157 A.H. (1744 A.D.),
and 2nd Diwan of Vumba in 1168 A.H. (1755 A.D.). Nicknamed Hasan. Died circa
1217 A.H. (1802 A.D.). Buried at Wasin.
7. Born the year Hasan bin Diwan Ruga cho'sen Diwan of Wasin (1157 A.H. or 1744 A.D.).
8. Elected 3rd Diwan of Wasin in 1239 A.H. (1824 A.D. ). Nicknamed Kikambala. Poisoned
at Mombasa in 1249 A.H. (1833 A.D.). Buried in Mombasa.
9. Born 12th day of the 3rd month 1148 A.H. (1735 A.D.). Elected Diwan but died circa
1217 A.H. (1802 A.D.) before he was enthroned. Buried at Wasin. Issue several
children.
10. Elected Diwan of Wasin but died, before he was enthroned, in 1253 A.H. (1837 A.D.).
Buried at Wasin.
11. Elected 4th and last Diwan of Wasin in 1253 A.H. (1837 A.D.) Enthroned 1st month
1281 A.H. (1864 A.D.). Nicknamed Ukungu. Died 1295 A.H. (1878 A.D.). Buried at
Wasin.
12. Issue several children. Buried at Wasin. One of his sons, Nasir bin Alaui, was elected
Diwan of Wasin in 1300 A.H. but died, before he was enthroned, in 1302 A.H.
(1885 A.D.).
A. C. HOLLIS. — Notes on the History of Vtunba, East Africa. 207
13. Issue several children. Buried at Wasin.
14. Elected 2nd Diwan of Wasin, circa 1218 A.n. (1802 A.D.). l)ied in 1239 A.II. (1824 A.D.).
Buried at Bandani near Vauga. Nicknamed Sheikh. No descendants living.
15. Elected 2nd Diwan of Vanga in 1280 A.II. and enthroned 1st month of 1281 A.II. (1864 A.D.).
Died 10th day Ramathan 128G A.H. (1869 A. P.). Nicknamed Kilimia. Buried at
Bandani near Vanga.
16. Elected 1st Diwan of Vanga 1239 A.H. (1824 A.D.). Nicknamed Pinda. Died 1280 A.II.
(1863 A.D.). Buried at Bandani near Vanga. Descendants living.
17. Living at Tanga, German East Africa. Candidate for the office of Diwan of Vumba.
18. Elected 3rd Diwan of Vanga in 1288 A.II. (1871 A.D.). Nicknamed Marithia. Acknow-
ledged as 3rd Diwan of Vumba after 1311 A.H. (1893 A.U.). D.x.p. 6th of 6th month
1315 (August 8th, 1897). Buried at Bandani, near Vanga.
19. Said to be candidate for the office of Diwan of Vumba.
20. Her son, Nasir, is a candidate for the office of Diwan of Vumba.
[EDITORIAL NOTE. — We are indebted for the MS. of this valuable paper to the kind ness
of the Foreign Office ; in tendering our thanks we should like to point out how much
Government servants, both in the colonies and in foreign countries, could do for Anthropology
if their attention is once directed to the scientific and political importance of close observation
of the races with whom they are brought in contact.
It has not been found possible to publish all the genealogical material ; the unpublished
MSS. are accessible to students, and can be examined in the Library of the Institute.]
VUMBA - EAST AFRICA
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX, Plate XX VII.
. Iff,,,,,
^^ •*.£;''» o
TARU PLA.N
- Authorities -
Admiralty Chart Cbale Pt to Pangani
Doctor Oscar Baumann s map for the Deutsche
Antisklaverei Comite
Map to Illustrate operations in E Africa 1
Mombasa- Victoria Lake Railway 1 D W O No 051
t .,.,
vJimboOr v': Wasin tslaod
'Mbayavi
VTTMBA KUTJ - EAST AFRICA
— Authorities —
Surrey of Angk>-O«rm»D Boucd.ry Ckimml
Drawing bj ImUB Sbanf Khu B»b«du
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXV11I.
*SX0GogV
~rr/ _ .-— — • — — A
Poagwe Bay
Kuu
Mbayayi /'~\.,.J. „ f
/ >Midira Reef
Kilulu Mt Muso
Mansa
(Maryaull
S{* &a
, — »f Mwawe Mawlli
V \Mnasini
VXcr Kwale I.
,Lt.fl. double ev 10! we
Quiengel.
From a drawing by A.C.Hollis
B. V.Darbishire & O.J.R.Hovartk
Engl Miles i
0 5 10
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF VUMBA.
(7'/<t' central part of t/te upper map on Plate XXVII: on a larger seated
Oxford iyo/
( 290 )
UNCLASSIFIED WOBKED FLINTS.
BY H. STOPES.
MAY ISTII, 1000. WITH PLATES XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV,
XXXV.]
THE number of worked stones still surviving is very great. A considerable
proportion have been saved from destruction by those acquainted with their value,
and the number of men interested in the generally recognised forms is rapidly
increasing. So we may confidently look forward to very considerable accessions t<>
all our museums and other collections.
The interest in these stones is being awakened by so many thinker.1!
recognising the fact that in them we have the sole surviving evidence of man's
condition for by far the larger part of the long period during which he made
tools, or used as instruments the stones he found adapted to his needs.
Of the countless ages during which tools (if they may be so called, and it is
difficult to see why they should not) were used, but not intentionally fashioned,
the stones themselves are the only surviving evidence we yet have, or may hope
to procure for some time to come. Later, when our eyes and perceptions are
trained to see and understand more than we now do, much evidence, hidden from
us now, will l»e revealed, and we shall intelligently learn a good deal concerning
our forefathers from the indications of wear still left on the stones they used.
Meanwhile, of the evidence, which we have and partially understand, too
little use is made because we are fettered by prejudice, or cannot shake oil' our
mental inertia.
Many of the views held until quite recently, and some also which we still
cherish, are not in accordance with facts even as known to-day. In no branch of
human study is it more desirable to be able to cultivate an inquiring habit of
mind than in the opening chapters of human history. We know so little. Vet
the little we know is so richly indicative of the ease with which we could add
to our knowledge if only we would.
A used stone, however rough, is very often able to give certain indications of
the manner of its use. Sometimes it shows the degree of cultivation of its
user, although few deductions can be safely drawn until ample confirmatory
evidence is to hand from other sources. Every stone, therefore, used or fashioned
by early primitive peoples from all parts of the globe, demands preservation and
consideration.
At present it is greatly to be feared that all collectors err in leaving to
300 H. STOVES.— Unclassified Worked Flint*.
perish myriads of stones which, did we but know more about them, would be ay
jealously guarded as are many of the treasures of the antiquary.
One sure method of adding to our stock of knowledge is to train our eyes to
see. There are many indications of use and distinctions of outline in forms
intentionally made, with which the majority, even of students, are as yet
unfamiliar. To understand these we must take advantage of the philosophic
method of exemplification, and multiply cognate specimens.
If I may be permitted I would refer to a plan I adopted many years ago, and
have persistently adhered to, of visiting as frequently as possible certain pits in the
gravels of the Thames valley where much removal of top-soils goes on continually
to secure the supply of chalk below them for large cement works. Every stone I
see there, which catches my attention, is carefully examined. If it shows any sign of
use, it is kept. If entirely distinct from others, it is placed in a position where it
is brought under my notice very frequently. Others with similar characters are
nearly sure to be added from time to time. Eventually more turn up, showing
clearly the purpose for which the type was used, the reason why they had the
special form, or have upon them indications of use ; and the whole group at
once becomes quickened, as it were, into a living conception.
Take as an instance the ordinary axe or Jidche with which some of our gravels
teem in such bewildering variety. Many of these have points and edges which
clearly show that they could never have been used in order to cut by hitting. Many
years ago I found one with the point so obviously left long and slender on purpose,
that, as I practically understand the use of many tools, I could no longer resist the
conviction that such points had their use. This one stone enabled me to look at every
" axe " with different eyes, and to differentiate scores of types. I mentally classify
the majority of these new types as graving-tools. Many of them are admirably
shaped to make incisions, grooves and hollows. Others again have led me- to the
conviction that many so-called axes could not have been used as choppers, even if
nothing in their shape leads to such a suggestion. The worn edges are frequently
utterly devoid of chips on one side, whilst hundreds of little flakes or splinters
have been removed from the other side by the actual wear of common use. It is
requisite, therefore, to notice very carefully all indication of wear and tear as well
as of form in determining the names of many stones. It is obvious to all who
handle many of these specimens that it would be of the utmost utility and con-
venience if we could determine certain names which could be universally adopted.
I would venture to suggest that a new classification of very many so-called axes,
and other nominally familiar types, might leud to useful results. A possible
method of nomenclature and classification of all worked and used stones might be
secured by a system which could be universally understood and applied. Let
a small committee of real workers on the subject be appointed by the
Anthropological Institute, with power to invite similar organisations in this
country, Scandinavia, Germany, France, America, liussia and Egypt to agree to
give to all stones some definite terminology. We should then know with precision
H. STOPES. — Uwlns*((iril ll'm-ln? flints. 301
what was meant to bo expressed in all communications, in any language, just as all
chemical substances can follow the formulae agreed upon and commonly recognised,
no matter how the local or national names may vary.
A large number of tools, as I have said, show clearly that although very
extensively used for rubbing or scraping, they never hit a blow of any force upon a
hard substance. It is misleading to continue to call them axes. We may assume
that they may have been used on bone, ivory and hard woods, for it is certain that
men who had attained the skill they had in fashioning flint and other hard stones
would freely use many materials, of which thus far no example has been identified,
probably because the bulk of them have perished. They will assuredly be found,
and it is our duty to look for them. We should regard a profusion of tools much
worn by special use as a proof of work, nearly as strong as if we found the products
of such use.
Sling-stones may be regarded as proof of knowledge of the art of slinging
nearly equal to finding a sling. Missiles abound. We shall be glad we have
preserved them, if some day a sling should be discovered. The real marvel is that
none have as yet been found. A still more puzzling circumstance in connection with
all stratified gravels containing implements is the total absence of any sign of the use
of fire. I have picked up myriads of crinkled pebbles, hoping to find traces similar
to those on the " potboilers," so abundant in neolithic camps, but thus far have not
been satisfied with any one scrutinised. Such a stone or charcoal would be proof of
fire. Many of them might show how the fire was used. An anchor-stone points to
fashioning and use of canoes, or a sinker to the use of nets. It may be long
before we find nets, or even the fragments of a canoe. Yet some of us will rejoice
that we religiously cherish all anchors and net-weights, even when they occur in
apparently impossible positions. We have to learn to free ourselves completely
from the inferences based on the supposition that the want of evidence is
equivalent to negative evidence. There are still many gaps to be filled in, and
positive proof of very many things has still to be most patiently looked for. It is
desirable most carefully to weigh the most improbable indications, or evidences,
so slight that merely to suggest them is to provoke ridicule. Of this class good
illustrations are furnished of clues left remaining on some stones of how they were
handled or hafted.
The chief method of arrangement arid classification I adopt is to group all
tools by form and use, regardless of locality and age, although of course every
stone is very carefully marked and fully catalogued. Thus hammer-stones, anvils,
and potboilers from many places have been axes of splendid types. In some
cases these may carry untouched edges as sharp as when first made. In the drawers
<>f sundry of my cabinets maybe found stones almost identically alike, brought
from countries in each quarter of the globe, and of several materials such as
quart/, Hint, chert, porphyry, or any other of the numerous hard stones that have
used in the past or are still employed.
The ureat difficulty in arranging by form is the impossibility of drawing any
302 H..STOPES. — Undated Worked Flint*.
hard and fast line of separation between one class and another — in some oases
even between several classes. There is no strict division between drills, scrapers,
spoke-shaves, arrow-tips, spear-heads, graving. tools, etc.
It is now quite clear that many tools have doubtless been used for a diversity
of purposes. Hence the need for a broader classification founded upon form and
use, and perhaps differentiated by age and locality. Form is rarely confined to
locality, and still less is it dominated by the material used.
We can find out much by grouping, and by closer scrutiny of the specimens
in large collections. So-called savages can follow a trail with greater certainty
and ease than our ablest scientists, merely because they attend to and under-
stand detail which we in our superior knowledge ignore. To learn once more how
our primitive forefathers lived we shall need to train our eyes to look at
the faint, and in places nearly obliterated, trail they have left with keener
insight and intelligence than that attributed to the best hunters of the backwoods
of America or the bush of Australia, Fortunately stone best retains the traces
left. When we add to our scientific preparation the insight and keenness of the
savage who knows the value and use of almost invisible indications we shall see
relatively in many stones more than we already discern. A few generations ago
our most scientific men were utterly blind to facts now generally admitted, and so
we too may believe that ere long we may read easily a language of which we are
at present only forming the alphabet,
The paper was illustrated with twenty lantern slides and 370 specimens,
Some of these are figured in the following plates.
Every stone figured is representative of a class, numbering in many instances
hundreds of specimens, and in only one case including less than a dozen similar
tools of the same dimensions and with like indications of use, No regard
however is paid in the arrangement to locality or materials used.
The object of the work done is to help to determine the origin of common
types of tools many of which have survived until the present day. A few of the
stones shown have been intentionally selected for resemblances to other types,
the purpose of which is supposed to be quite unlike. Enough is already known
to show that indications of wear and use are more instructive than attention to
form or the material of which the tool is fashioned.
The difficulty in obtaining photographs has prevented fuller illustration of
unusual types of tools, and has led to delay in the publication of the paper.
Explanation of Plate*.
Plate XXX.
This plate represents three stones each in six positions. C 1 is the full front view of a superbly
worked flint (palaeolith) from the Thames Valley Terrace gravels in Kent 80' O. D.
where it was associated with a rich Pleistocene fauna. The signs of use on the whole
of this implement, but especially at the smaller point, clearly indicate that notwith-
standing its size and weight (2 Ib. 7 ozs.) it had not been used as an axe. The side
C 1 is very heavily abraded and worn from extended use, whilst the other side C 6
H. STOPES. — Unclassijifd Worked Flint*. ?»03
retains its cutting edge as sharp as in a fivsh fracture. Tho whole of the edges •'»•••
heavily patinated and in spots dentritical markings are distinct enough to show in
the photograph and the admirable engraving.
P. is one of the hard sandstone semi-ground (so-called) palfooliths from Madras, India. The
cutting edge is on the larger rounded point or butt, but a heavy blow was never struck
with it upon any hard material.
A, from Somaliland, is of porphyry and has never been used for any hard work, not even for
cutting soft wood.
These stones are selected to show remarkable similarity in differing material from widely
scattered areas and (presumably) of very different age. All distinctly confirm the
suggestion that they have not been used as axes.
In each of the stones represented in Plates XXX and XXXI the views show both fronts, sides
and ends. Thus in Plate XXX, A 1 and A 6 are front and back, A 2 and A 5 right
and left edges, A 3 the butt or thick end, and A 4 the point or supposed cutting end.
In Plate XXXI, rows 1 and 3 are the end views.
Plate XXXL
These nine .stones are sharpened flint nodules and have all been used for heavy bruising or
cutting, most probably the splitting of marrow bones. Each one is typical of many
like itself, although the differences in the selected set do not seem very apparent.
Many similar tools occur with very sharp or slightly worn edges. The majority tit
the left hand. The markings of use on the stones shown, point to very heavy blows
having been dealt with them, but not sufficiently heavy to leave signs of hammering
upon substances harder than bone.
The advantages of having all six sides of a worked stone under the eye at one glance are not so
apparent in this plate as in Plate XXX,
Plate XXXI L
The stones are here figured by two front views only. They show the knocking away of one
corner for security of hafting, or the utilisation for this purpose of the natural con-
formation of flint nodules. They represent eleven groups of which G is the smallest,
numerically (9), but all this group, G in particular, are very beautifully fashioned.
The hafted ends, in some cases, show signs of wear, through lashing, which do not
correspond to the indications of use on the (presumably) cutting edge, if they were
used as tomahawks or battle axes.
The shape in every instance admits of secure attachment to a handle by lashing, rather than by
growth in saplings.
Plate XXXI1L
Two flat views are given of each of eleven stones, which, for want of a better name, are called
graving (or grooving) tools. Each one represents a considerable class. Apart from
the improbability of such fine points as some of them possess ever having been used to
strike blows, the whole of the indications of wear are upon one edge only, and show
attrition by pressure which is invariably in one direction. A 1 or F 1 for instance
would lose their points with a very moderate blow upon any hard substance. G has
every sign of enormous use, yet the edge, G 2, shows not the slightest chipping on the
cutting point. Many of the points on stones in this group, a few of which are in
Plates XXXIII and XXXIV, show clearly that the makers did not fashion them
with the intention of using them as axes.
Plate XXXI V.
This is a continuation of Plate XXXIII, in which grooving tools could readily be mistaken for
drills on the one side and spokeshaves on the other. Were such points, as in B D and
L, given only half a turn in any substance as hard as ivory or dry oak, they would
snap. As shown in N 2 the edge is free from flaws and could have been used in
several different ways. This specimen is representative of an enormous class of tools
which seem t«> have performed several functions. Together with all those shown in
804 H. STOPES. — Unclassified Worked Flints.
Plate XXXV they could not under any circumstances have been used to drill any hard
or tough substance. Many hundreds of these tools also show abrasion on two edges, in
the pi'ecise positions one would expect if they had been used in plain up and down or
reciprocal movements, but with the third edge untouched, which could not have been
the case had they been turned round, as drills.
Plate XX XV.
Of these twenty- one stones the most noteworthy are U and V, which commence a series of over
700, leading up to and overlapping the peculiar escutcheon shaped stones from Egypt
said to have differentiated from the hammering out of the edges of bronze tools. These,
however, occur frequently in Pleistocene gravels in Kent. The combined spokeshaves
and drills, J-O rows 2 and 5 are very abundant in the drift and later gravels of many
localities. P is typical of the numerous class that, resembling drills and fabricators,
show clearly signs of wear arising from graving or scraping.
Q and E are exquisitely fashioned and the signs of abrasion remaining upon them entirely
preclude any idea of their having been used as drills.
Journal of the Anthropological Inntitute, J'ol. .V.V.V. i'l,,h- XXX.
SIX VIEWS EACH OF THREE IMPLEMENTS.
A. PORPHYRY, SOMAL1LAND. B. SANDSTONE, MADRAS.
C. FLINT, KKNT.
(FDLL SIZED SCALE IN INCHES BELOW A.)
A B
Journal of the Anthropological luttitute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXXI.
C D E F Q H J
E
SIX VIK\VS KACH OK 9 THICK ROUGH IMI'LEM KVl'S FROM THE THAMES VALLEY
TKIMtACK GRAVELS.
(sc'ALK IDENTICAL WITH PLATE XXX.)
.1 nui-iiill of till- A iilliriifKiliiiiifiil I/n/ittitf, I'nl. .V.V.V. f'/ufi- .\'.\'.\'//.
TWO VIEWS KACH OF 10 IMPLEMENTS FUOM TIIK TIIAMKS VAI.LEV TERKAPE (JKAVKLS.
(SCALE IDENTICAL WITH PLATE xxx.)
Journal of fhe Anthropuloyical Inxtitute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXXfll.
TWO VIEWS EACH OF 11 GRAVING TOOLS.
LOCALITIES VARIED.
(FULL SIXKD SCALE (6 INCHES LONG) BELOW j, 1.)
Journal of the Anthropological fnxtitiite, Vol. .Y.X'.Y, Pltiff XXXII'
TWO VIEWS EACH OF 18 GRAVING TOOLS.
LOCALITIES VARIKP.
(FULL SIZED SCALE, (j INCHKS LONG, BKLOW g R l
Journal of the Anthropological ImttHutv, I'ol. XXX, PiitfXXXI'
TWO VIKU'S KACHjOF 21 TOOLS, VARIOUS.
L'tCALlTIKS MIXEI*.
(SCALE FULL, SIZKD, 6 INCHES LONG.)
Jfe>
.
( 305
srii'VIVALS AMONG THE KAPl'ADOKIAN KtXILUASH (HEKTASH).
BY J. W. CROWFOOT.
[WITH PLATES XXXVI TO XXXVIII.]
LAST summer (1000), with the kind assistance of the Craven Committee in Oxford
and the Fellows of Brasenose, I was sent with Mr. J. G. C. Anderson to make,
archaeological researches in the ancient provinces of Lykaonia and Kappadokia. I
knew that there were several settlements of Kizilbash sprinkled over the latter
province, and in the hope of securing fresh anthropological matter, I applied
to the Council of this Institute for the loan of some instruments. For their kind
accession to this request, I offer my warmest thanks to all concerned : my only
regret is that I was able to make such scant use of the loan. This was due
mainly to the proverbial impossibility of serving two masters : the archaeological
evidence directed us invariably to roads where there were no Kizilbash. At last
it was only by separating from my companion and making a private excursion in
the 1 ast week of our sojourn that I was able to collect the following material. At
any other time of the year I could have got more, but in August harvesting was in
full swing, the villagers slept near their crops or their threshing-floors, and only
the old and the rich remained in the villages. On the other hand, I had one great
advantage in the company of a servant whom we have tested in three consecutive
seasons — Michali Ulkeroglu, — to whose tact and bonhomie I am largely indebted
for such success as I had.
Throughout the summer I made repeated inquiries as to the character of the
Kizilbash and obtained the most various answers. The Christians were agreed
that they were good people, and that I should meet with no difficulties, whereas
the orthodox Turk hates and despises them. The name Kizilbash is in fact an
offensive nickname born of this animosity : literally it means Red Head and is at
least four centuries old ; many fanciful stories have been told as to its origin in
Red Caps and so forth, but in Turkey it has now simply an obscene meaning. It
is very loosely used, a certain Khaimakam, for instance, was pointed out to me
as a Kizilbash : why ? Because he drank wine and made no public prayers.
Another name almost as vague is Allevi, worshipper of Ali, but the name the
people I visited used among themselves was Bektash. One giving orders to another
calls out " Hie ! Bektash ! " The name is at least 600 years old : it was borne by
a famous dervish and handed down by him to an order of a half-military type
closely connected with the Janissaries. The most valuable account of the
Kappa dokian Kizilbash known to me is that in Murray's Guide, from the pen of
Sir Charles Wilson : as it does not run to more than twenty lines it will be
admitted that there is room for more detailed information. Sir Charles Wilson
(ed. 1895, p. [66]) describes them as " a large section of the population which is
either Shia in faith, or professes a religion which is a strange mixture of Shiism,
Paganism, Manichaeism, and Christianity, — sometimes one, sometimes another
clement predominating. . . . They appear to be partly derived from Sliias of
VOL. XXX (N.S. III). X
300 J. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals amony the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Sektaah).
Turkish origin, who were forcibly transplanted from Persia during the reigns of
Selira I and Suleiman I ; and partly from the original inhabitants who, after having
been worshippers of the Great Goddess Ma, adopted Christianity, became deeply
tainted with 'Manichoeism, and, later, embracing Islam during the Seljuk period, were
exposed to Persian religious influences." It is clear that the Kizilbash vary very
much in different regions (they are found as far east as Afghanistan) and in all
that follows I should like it clearly understood that my words apply only to those
I have personally studied and may therefore be quite inapplicable elsewhere.
(See also Humann and Puchstein, Reiscn in Kleinasicn, p. 83.)
I.
The villages with which I propose to deal lie both in the province of Angora,
close to the eastern bank of the Halys. Two important roads run eastwards from
Angora ; the northerly one crosses the river by the bridge of Kaledjik, the
southernly one leading through Kirshehr and Hadji Bektash to Oresarea, crosses
it at Cheslmir Keuprusu. At the latter I heard of two Kizilbash villages in the
neighbourhood — Haidar-es- Sultan and Hassan-dede, and of these the last was
described as the larger, wealthier and more intelligent : towards them accordingly
I set my face. (See Map, Plate XXXVI.)
Cheshnir Keuprusu is built just at the point where the Halys enters a. narrow
ravine ; to the south the country is open, northwards on both banks the steep
rocks which wall in the river, reach back towards high and barren hills. After
crossing the river, the carriage road goes in a south-easterly direction, making a
more or less gradual climb, but the straightest road to Haidar-es-Sultan is a rough
horse-path, which leaves the main road on the right and zigzags up the hills. In
an hour-and-a-half we got over the crest of the ridge, lost sight of the river and
found ourselves overlooking the village, which lies thus perched on a high upland,
shut in on all sides, close to a great military and trade route, but so entirely
secluded from it and with such scanty intrinsic attractions, that not one in a
thousand passing along the road would ever hear of its existence. This
combination of circumstances is common in Asia Minor, and seems naturally
adapted to provide " cities of refuge " or backwaters of ancient custom, but is not
favourable enough to stimulate the refugees to develop a new and vigorous culture.
In this district the nearest town of any size is Denek Maden, and the most im-
portant people living in the neighbourhood are Turkomans, who have been settled
here for about nine centuries : besides these, there are a few Kurds, Yuruks,
Armenians, and " Turks," but from all alike the Kizilbash stand severely aloof.
Haidar-es-Sultan, the first village we reached, is divided into two parts, but
together they do not contain more than thirty houses. In the smaller division is
a walled court, and in it stands the village mosque, the turbeli or tomb of a
great man, a wonderful well, and the rooms and stabling set apart for guests. The
whole enclosure is built upon the site of a Christian monastery, as the Sheikh
pointed out to me, and as the remains, marble columns of rough workmanship and a.
J. W. CKOWFOOT. — ,SV /•/•//•"/* ammif/ ///»• A'"/ >/»"// //-zVw Kizilbash (Uektath). 307
block with a cross upon it, clearly show. The early name of the site is unknown ;
the present name is derived from the occupant of the tomb, of whom more anon.
The tomb inside the tur'beli is covered with the usual green hangings, and in
one corner of the building stands the banner of Ali ; the other appurtenances
consist of a wooden club, a small wooden dagger which has been blessed by a holy
man and therefore still possesses mystical powers in the hands of the faithful, and
two curious bronze implements, one like a long spoon, the other like a spear head,
and both said to have been used in war. Mosque and tomb were restored about
50 years ago and externally differ innowise from the types common in Anatolia.
The one unique feature in the enclosure is the well, which is strongly impregnated
with sulphur and covered with a white slab of marble with a hole cut in it, large
enough to put the head through. The Sheikh said it was a mystical matter, and
refused at first to answer any questions thereanent. Later, however, he told me
of a wise woman in the village who could foretell the future, but when I asked to
be allowed to consult her myself, they demurred that I did not know enough
Turkish to understand all she would say. On my offering to take my Greek
servant as interpreter, they objected that he might learn more about my future
than I should care to have him know. But finally a fee removed their last
scruples, and the sibyl was fetched. An old woman, unveiled and dressed in the
ungainly fashion of the country, of short stature, with reddened hair, a thick nose
and a pasty, doughlike complexion ; there was nothing romantic in her outward
appearance. She looked suspiciously at me — probably I was the first European she
had seen, — but had the expression of a stupid, sluggish- witted rustic, the last person
to play an elaborate joke upon one. Silently she led me to the well and told me
to look down and sniff the sulphur. Then she threw herself flat upon the
ground, thrust her head well through the hole, and inhaled long breaths of the
foul air until she began to groan. Lifting her head slightly, she uttered a few
words, but the inspiration was incomplete and she had to put her head through
the hole again and draw in breath after breath once more. She groaned again and
began to kick convulsively, so the Sheikh's son knelt by her side and held her
under the armpits, and thus supported she delivered the rest of the divine message.
Like some other oracles, in spite of all her efforts this was disappointingly vague.
" I was not so pious as I should be : if I would only walk in the path of God, He
would give me the desire of my heart, and at last I should brilliantly achieve the
quest now absorbing my thoughts. One day I should return with my servant to
Haidar-es-Sultan, and, as an earnest of my repentance, it behoved me to offer an
oke of candles and sacrifice a sheep." The getting of the oracle quite exhausted
the old woman, and she remained about with us in the enclosure for about an hour
in a dazed state, without uttering a word : then she walked off alone as silently
as she had come.
Just as the priest is called a Sheikh, the prophetess is called a Sheikhin, and
her power was described as a deodand : when one prophetess died, God sent this
gift to another but always to a woman, and the office was not hereditary, like the
x 2
308 J. W. CROWFOOT. — tiuroivids anwuj the Kapp&dokian Kizilbash (Bekta&h).
Sheikh's, which went by strict primogeniture. The people said she was much
frequented, but I did not learn the character of any other of her oracles. The
method of obtaining them and her sex suggest of course ancient examples of
hydromancy, but I know of no shrine where the procedure was exactly the same.
I take the original idea implicit in it to be that there is a spirit in the well : to it
the inquirer must introduce himself, hence I was obliged first to inhale the fumes ;
then the spirit is able to communicate his knowledge to a chosen prophetess, when
she has reached a properly ecstatic condition : lastly, the spirit in question cannot
be wholly dissociated from the occupant of the tomb.
Besides inquirers into the future, diseased people, especially the blind and the
weakminded, came to the shrine, and the window-bars of the mosque had one of
the largest collections of rags I have ever seen. Murray speaks of a great
sacrifice of sheep in summer at this tekke ; the only great sacrifice I could
hear of was held in September, and corresponds to a Persian feast, but it is
a common thing for a good Kizilbash or a grateful visitor to offer a sheep at
any season of the year. Similarly, Sir Henry Eawlinson describes a sanctuary
of the Ali-Illahis in Hoi wan called the tomb of David, which he never passed
"without seeing the remains of a bleeding sacrifice," and which was visited
by pilgrims from all parts of Kurdistan. (Journal of the Royal Geographical
Society, ix (18:39), p. 39.)
The second village to which I went, Hassan-dede, lies close to the Halys on the
eastern bank, two and a half hours south of the easy ford at Yakshi Khan and
three and a half hours west of Denek Maden. It contains from ninety to a
hundred houses, and I found the people much more intelligent and quick-witted
than those at Haidar. They received me with a dignified courtesy which I have
never seen surpassed even among the Turks ; the Sheikh introduced those present
in the " Odah," adding with a conscious pride the family name in some cases, and
giving three or four of the more considerable the title of Effendi. They struck me
as more serious than the average villager ; evidently they kept up and valued their
own traditions, and, though quite communicative up to a certain point at least,
did not ask the usual questions about my country, which merely idle curiosity
might prompt. They were, too, energetic and prosperous, and volunteered to show
me what they thought likely to be of interest.
In the southern outskirts of the village stands a large well-built mosque with
a minaret in which is built a stone from Mecca, and beside it two turltehs where
lights were burning when I rode into the village late after sundown. One
tiirlx-h covers the coffin of Hassan, draped as usual with a military banner in one
corner, the second his two sons and daughter, the former each surmounted by a
white woollen fez similar to that worn by the present Sheikh. Certain revenues
had been set apart, by the Sultan Mustapha they said, for the maintenance of the
mosque, formerly amounting to 6,000 piastres a year, but the financial stress of
recent years has compelled the present Sultan to reduce this by two-thirds, let us
hope only temporarily.
J. W. CROWFOOT. — ^nn-im/* »t/mi/>/ ///< Kappadokian Kizilba&h (Bektash). 309
Tn this village T was able to correct and amplify the traditional history I had
1 ticked up in the former place. The Sheikh at Haidar-es-Sultan said that Haidar
was the son of the King of Persia and came from Khorassan from a town named
Yassevi : he was also called Khodja Ahmed1 and was the disciple of the famous
Hadji Bektasli. With the latter he travelled to Cresarea, and there took a Christian
named Mene to wife, and together they came to the place of his tomb, where they
begat children and died — the whole village now claiming descent from him. This
took place, said the Sheikh, long before the Osmanlis came into the country,
" about the time of Mohammed " ! In Hassan-dede they said that Haidar and
Hadji Bektash came there 670 or 650 years ago, and the fourteenth century, the
date given by historians for the famous dervish who gave the Janissaries their
name and emblem, tallies more closely with this. The connexion between
Haidar-es-Sultan and Hadji Bektash is intimate enough to-day ; the present Sheikh
told me that he had visited the shrine of Hadji Bektash, which is about three
days to the south, nine times, and further that they received frequent visits from
Bektash dervishes. I met one of the latter at Kirshehr, and he too said that they
came from Khorassan, before the time of the Osmanlis. Hassan, the hero of
Hassan-dede, came from the same place, but only 400 years ago ; however, being a
holy man, he had known his precursors in a previous state and his teaching was
the same — a chance betrayal of the belief in metempsychosis which underlies so
many of the strange identifications one hears. The present Sheikh claims direct
descent from him, and introduced me specially to several of his kinsmen ; their
family name was Salah-ed-din, and in all there were over twenty houses in the
village filled by the same stock, the rest of the village being Bektash, but descended
from natives whom Hassan found there on his arrival. All the Salah-ed-din were
buried together close round the tombs of their ancestors ; some are rich, some poor,
and as they intermarry freely with other Bektash, but never with Osmanlis, the
purity of their stock is no greater than that of their fellows. The Sheikh himself
told me most of these particulars and took me round the tombs, but on purely
historical questions he frequently bowed to the correction of others. The Seljuk
Turks they all professed to hold in pious memory, and referred to the Mevlevi
dervishes at Konia and those of Hadji Bairam at Angora almost as kinsmen.
On the other hand I was astonished to hear them repeat twice that they loathed
the Janissaries as their bitterest enemies.
II.
The fragmentary memories which I have recorded above have at least one
indisputable value : they illustrate to what an extent the modern Anatolian villager
1 An early sheikh of the Nakshbendi order, who hailed from Yassevi. Hamrner-
Purgstall (Gesch. des Osman. Reiches, I, p. 36) refers to a Turkish book, Neschhat (misprint for
Retchkat) ainul hajat, for full particulars of his life. He is mentioned also by Ramsay as a
miracle worker : " I have observed the veneration of Karaja (sic) Ahmed at (two villages in
Phrygia). At the latter sick persons sit in the turbe all night with their feet in a sort of
stocks, and thus are cured" {Religious Veneration in Asia Minor, 9th Congress of Orientalists,
London, 1893, pp. 381-391).
310 J. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals among the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Bektash).
lives in the past, and I venture to think that they show that his traditions have
been rather unduly depreciated. These legends, confused as they may be, do refer
to definite historical occurrences, and though I must leave the graver problems
which they raise to others to solve, I may be allowed to add a few notes which will
vindicate a respectable antiquity for these stories, if not historical accuracy. •
The two names which they bear, Bektash among themselves, and Kizilbash
among the Turks, give us a key to their true position. The open animosity which
now prevails between Bektash and Osmanli is not a century old, it dates from the
disappearance of the Janissaries, which was followed by a general persecution of
the Bektash. The latter remain, however, in great numbers in many parts of the
Turkish empire ; in Cairo, for example, they have an important tekke. But
the recent persecution was not the first cause of difference between the two ; an
Egyptian friend has, for instance, given me a reference to Hadji Bektash from a
collection of memoirs called The Anemone (duOUjtJJl ^jJULu*!!), published at
Cairo in 1277 Hegira, but written by a Turk of Constantinople in the sixteenth
century (A.II. 9G5). " His tomb is in Turkey, and over it a cupola, and it has a
small mosque. And in this our time certain heathen (A^L* — a strong word) with
false pretentious pretend to belong to him, but he denies them without doubt."
Wherever they are found, the same mysterious and discreditable tales cluster
round them, and it seems certain anyhow that they reach back at least to the
fourteenth century, the time of the " Anatolian Decarchy," and that kings of the
earth delighted to honour them once and do so no longer.
The name Kizilbash, on the other hand, has different connexions, and
is not, I believe, by any means generally applied to Bektash ; the two are
quite distinct, and I was surprised to hear the former using it among
themselves. The double name can, however, be very easily explained, and
sufficient material to answer my immediate purpose is to be found in the
writings of an old Elizabethan historian. Samuel Purchas published the third
edition of His Pilgrimage in the year 16171; he was a City clergyman who
made a great compilation of all that was known of the religious history of the
world, in which he incorporated much unpublished material supplied by the
travellers and merchants he met in London, men gifted with the keen observation
and feeling for detail characteristic of the time. Of the Kizilbash movement he
gives a tolerably full account, based in many parts upon the testimony of European
eye-witnesses ; some slight contradictions may be here ignored as immaterial to
our quest. In the latter half of the fifteenth century the dominion of the
Osmanli JSultans over the eastern parts of Anatolia was still extremely precarious ;
several princes, both Muslim and Christian, still maintained their independence,
and Persia, then under Uzun Hassan, the greatest of the White Pelt dynasty
(Turkoman), was a really formidable rival. Uzun Hassan was connected by
marriage with the Emperor of Trebizonde, and a daughter of his married a great
1 See pp. 430 foil. Compare vou Hammer, Gescluchte, ii, p. 334 foil, and Zinkeisen, Geschichte,
ii, p. 343 foil., }>. 547 foil.
.1 W. CROWFOOT. — ,SW/-/,W.< mining the Kappadokwn Rizilbasli (Bektasli}. 311
sheikh named Haidar. Haidar came of a famous family of mystics long settled
at Erdebil, and relying in part no doubt upon his connexion with the king,
aimed at political power ; finally he was killed in a semi-religious war in 1488.
The death of Uztm Hassan and the murderous rivalry and final extinction of
his house made more easy the success of Ismail, the son of Haidar, who eventually
became master of Persia, and founded the Saafi-ed-din dynasty. Both father and
son combined religion with politics and naturally set themselves at the head of
the learned mystics, the Sufis; they preached All and posed as protectors and
patrons of those Sufis, who remained in Anatolia as a relic of the Seljuk empire,
which of course was highly offensive to the Osmanlis. According to Purchas,
Ismail took as his cognizance the Red Cap, and, whether this be so or not, the
name Kizilbash now appears applied generally to his followers. Like his father,
he invoked curses on Abu-bekir, Osman, and Omar ; to this day no Bektash will
use their names. Purchas repeats as one alternative version the story of Haidar's
marriage with a Christian named " Martha, daughter of Lady Despina, who was
daughter of Kalo Joannes, Emperor of Trebizonde." The names only and the
places have been slightly changed in the modern tradition; the Christian
connexion abides and answers to a real reciprocity of friendship and fellow-
feeling. The actual occupant of the tomb which I saw, if there be one at all,
certainly cannot be Haidar, for the sphere of Haidar's life and death was far away
to the east, but he is no less certainly identified with him by the villagers.
Again Purchas (pp. 441, 2) tells the story of two disciples of Haidar, " Chasan
Shelife and Schach Culi," who fled to Armenia Minor ; there they lived for a while
as austere dervishes, and gradually spreading their fame abroad, at last gathered
round them an army of fanatical Kizilbash and were only defeated and slain after
overrunning the greater part of Asia Minor. The date given me by the people at
Hassan-dede and the name make it probable that their hero was this same disciple.
Other details will prove how faithfully the Bektash have clung to their old
practices. I was told that they shave the beard sometimes but never the
moustaches, and Professor von Luschan makes the same report of the Lykian
Tachtadji. Purchas says, " Ismail was of faire countenance, of reasonable stature,
. . . shaven albut the mustaches." In return for the opprobrious nickname of
Kizilbash, I heard that the Bektash nickname the Osmanli "Hounds" — Hazyr.
Purchas says "the Sophians ( = Sufis) are enemies unto Dogs, killing all they find,"
and Ismail himself " killed all the Dogs in Tauris" ( = Tabreez). And speaking of
a later period he adds, " It is the common opinion that the greatest part of the
Mahumetaus in Soria and of Asia Minor are secretly of that sect " ; and so too
wrote Marcautonio Barbaro in 1573 (quoted by Zinkeiseu, iii, p. 567).
These Bektash, then, are, as they say, true representatives of a "moment"
before the rule of the Osmanlis ; when the latter triumphed, the Bektash were men
already learned in the wisdom of the day and ever since have chafed under the
foreign yoke. The name of Kizilbash they owe to the attempts which they made
about the year 1500 to win independence, and the banners and weapons of battle
312 .1. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals among the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Bektash).
which they keep in their tekkes are trophies of these vain religious wars, in curious
contrast with their present retiring tranquillity. The incidents of their rise and
fall will remind many of another episode enacted on the same stage and with the
same result, the revolt of the Paulician heretics in the ninth century.
III.
Enough has now been said to make clear the historical place of these Bektash
during the last six or seven centuries, but this by no means exhausts our tale. As
Ramsay has repeatedly shown, survivals of ancient rite and custom still linger all
over Anatolia, alike among Christians and Muslims, but among certain heretical
sects these survivals are far more numerous and form indeed the heart of the
people's life. Professor von Luschan, in his famous discussion of the Tachtadji
(Archiv far Anthropologic, 1891, pp. 31-53, or in Petersen and von Luschan, Eeisen
in Lykien, Wien, 1889, p. 198), has thus stated the question which this fact
provokes : Are we to regard these scattered sects, Tachtadji, Yezidi, Ansariyeh,
and so forth, as more or less degenerate offshoots of Shiitic Islam or as stray relics
of a very ancient heathen culture ? The influence of Islam is very strong in some
cases, but it is none the less possible that in other cases these sectaries have
preserved, as faithfully as the Parsees or the Brahmans, the old natural religion
of the land; they may be islands of a submerged continent. Professor von
Luschan treats the Tachtadji from the physical or anatomical side. My own
material is too small to permit me to follow him far in this field ; such as it is, it
will be found in the appendix. The evidence which von Luschan collected, however,
enabled him to connect anatomically the Tachtadji with the Lykian Bektash ; it
would be reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the Kappadokian Bektash may also
fall into the same circle, and my own notes give some colour to this. It seems
worth while, then, to pursue the subject in another sphere, the psychological, and
ask whether we find here fragments or more of the culture which, as ive know,
prevailed over this area before the invasion of any of the great world-religions.
In both the villages I have described the tomb of a saint or great man fills
by far the largest place in the sentiments of the people ; the tomb and not the
mosque is the dominating centre of attraction. As a rule the Anatolians here and
elsewhere, beyond a general superstitious respect for the cemetery which varies
very much in different parts, bestow no tender solicitude upon the dead, and the
appearance of a village graveyard is miserable beyond words. This neglect is a
good foil to the care taken of the turbeh ; it is an object of pride anil
veneration, and the villagers tell you stories of the cures wrought there and the
sanctity of the deceased. The occupant of one of these tombs receives no doubt,
to some extent, the same honour that is paid to a saint, Christian or Muslim, in
the Mediterranean area (see Lane, Modem Egyptians, c. x.), but there is one
important difference, made especially clear by the practice in the two villages I
visited. The service and cult of the saint is in the hands of people who claim to
be lineally descended from him, and often profess to have some esoteric truths,
.1. W. CROWFOOT. — Survival* amony the Kappadokicm Kizilbaxh (Bektash}. 313
which they transmit only to their children ; this it is which links them to the
pre-Christian worship of heroes. Very often one comes to a deserted turbeh,
where all inquiries as to its occupant prove fruitless ; this simply means
that the family which claimed descent from the saint, however fictitiously, is
extinct, and no one has stepped into their place. In classical lands we can point
to an exact parallel : heroes held the same position, and those who carried on their
worship were obliged to discover some connexion with them either by blood or by
adoption. In Greece one hears of many shrines where the name of the hero was
forgotten and a nameless ripws worshipped, and the cult reaches back to a time
before the Dorian invasion. The choice of a name famous in legendary history
like that of Haidar or David is analogous to the many heroa named after Midas or
Herakles. In fact, the one non-Hellenic trait lies in the spiritual pre-eminence
of the modern hero and the possession of esoteric doctrines connected with this,
and these are older than El Isbtm (see the passage from Eusebios quoted below).
Connected with the turbeh at Haidar-es-Sultan we found the sacred well and
the reputation of the saint as healer and prophet. The combination is almost
necessary for the permanence of the cult, for in a place where ancestor worship
and the worship of the vulgar dead has long disappeared, the hero can only
maintain his dues by giving the worshipper a practical return for his loyalty. The
form of this return is so common everywhere that I need not collect parallels.
Holy wells are as much venerated to-day as in antiquity among both Christians
and Muslims ; the triple combination of hero, healer, and prophetess is much
rarer, but we have an exact analogy at Delphi now that we know that the worship
of Apollo was engrafted on an earlier cult of the dead.
It is not necessary here to repeat the arguments which have been often urged
to support the theory of a single homogeneous culture connecting Greece with
Asia Minor ; suffice it to notice that the core of a living Anatolian religion is the
old worship of heroes.
Second only in importance to their religion must be a people's marriage
customs. Last summer I was told by a Christian that it was generally reported of
the Bektash that they made incestuous marriages, fathers with daughters, and
brothers with sisters. On such a delicate subject it was difficult for a traveller to
make full inquiries, and nothing I could learn supported the charge at all. The
Bektash averred that they married Bektash only, were monogamous, and admitted
no divorce, and even my informant did not pretend to believe the canard. But
Professor von Luschan heard of two certain unions of this kind among the Lykian
Tachtadji, and the permanence of the scandal is a striking case of survival. In
Karia we know such marriages were common, and Greek ideas of " prohibited
degrees " were profoundly different from the Roman ; in Greece under certain
circumstances a man was practically obliged to marry his niece, but in Rome by so
doing the Emperor Claudius outraged the public sense of decency. And in
Kappadokia itself we have an interesting witness in the person of Basil.
Epiphauioft, a Cypriot bishop who was compiling a massive work on heresies,
314 J. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals among the Kappadokiati Kizilbash (Bektash).
questioned him about some people called the Magousaioi, and Basil replies thus
" The Magousaioi, as you were good enough to point out to me in your other letter,
are here in considerable numbers, scattered all over the country, settlers having
been long ago introduced into these parts from Babylon. Their manners are
peculiar, as they do not mix with other men. It is quite impossible to converse
with them, inasmuch as they have been made the proy of the devil to do his will.
They have no books, no instructors in doctrine. They are brought up in senseless
institutions, piety being handed down from father to son. In addition to the
characteristics which are open to general observation, they object to the slaying of
animals as defilement, and they cause the animals they want for their own use to
be slaughtered by other people. They are wild after illicit marriages ; they
consider fire divine, and so on. No one hitherto has told me any fables about the
descent of the Magi from Abraham ; they name a certain Zarnuas as the founder
of their race " (Letter 258, § 4). Epiphanies (Expos. Fid., p. 1094) adds nothing
material to this, but Eusebios is more explicit, and I will quote him also in full
(Prcef. Evanycl., vi, p. 275). " Among the Persians it was the custom to marry
daughters and sisters and mothers, and not only did they make these impious
marriages in their own country, but those who have left Persia also, the so-called
Magousaioi, practise the same iniquity, handing down in succession (Kara BtaSo^v)
the same laws and customs to their children. There are many of them at the
present in Media and Egypt and Phrygia and Galatia." In the time of Eusebios
Galatia included the villages with which we are concerned, and in the face of prac-
tices such as we have mentioned, practices which, however common at one period,
must have been bitterly opposed by every religious teacher, Christian or Muslim
(see Burton, Arabian Nights, I, p. 110), since the time of Basil, we cannot refuse to
recognise an unbroken continuity between the Magousaioi of the past and the modern
Kizilbash. Only the open practice of their faith — the worship of fire and so forth —
has through fear of persecution fallen into abeyance, and the lights which I saw in
the turbeh at Hassan-dede may be a survival of this (see also Qiwterly Review,
1897, 2, p. 425, and compare Bent's account of the " Ansairee," Cornhill Magazine,
1891, New Series, vol. xvi, p. 68, foil.). A few notes may be added on these two
passages which will bring out the whole point in clearer relief. The phraseology
of Basil is curiously like the terms still in use among the Turks. " They have
been made the prey of the devil" — the Turk calls them devil worshippers in. many
places, Layard's account of the Yezidi or Luschau's account of the Tachtadji will
show with what justification. " They have no books" — this is rightly explained
by the writer in the Quarterly to refer to religious books and is exactly parallel to
the modern Turkish description of them as people " without a book," i.e., Koran or
Bible. " The senseless institutions " are probably rites of initiation and esoteric
doctrines of manifold incarnations, eschatological matter, and so forth (see Bent,
he. cit., and other travellers, e.y., Van Lennep, Travels in Asia Minor, 1, p. 293,
foil.) ; with Basil's epithet few who have read about the Druses and Ansariyeh will
care to quarrel. Zarnuas I suppose to be one of the many corruptions of
J". W. ri:«i\vr<)i)T. — Survivals amoivj tlic Kapi>rxlnl;ian Kizilbash (Bektash}.
Zarathustra's name. As regards the name Magousaioi, those who like to find a
geographical origin for every sect will be able to point to a town in Arabia named
Magousa (Pliny, N. H., vi, 32; Strabo, pp. 118, 619, 780): the word is used in
modern Arabic = fire-worshippers. Of superstitions connected with animals I
could find no trace, except that they, like so many others, regard the hare, which
they call " Ali's cat," saying that he petted it as others keep pet cats, with special
respect. Nor had they, like the Tachtadji, any special fear of particular colours.
Two other survivals from the pre-Islumic period may next be mentioned,
compelling us to the same conclusion. One of the first things you hear from a
Turk about them is that they drink wine and do not fast, and the Sheikh at
Haidar-es-Sultan gave us a vivid picture of the joys of winter, when it was cold
outside and there was nothing to do but light a fire and tipple by it from morning
till night. In their drinking, which is otherwise orthodox enough, they have one
peculiar custom : however small the cup out of which they drink may be, they
hold it with both hands. The dervishes at Hadji Bektash do the same, as I was
told on good authority, and Luschan reports it also of the Tachtadji, calling the
practice " vollig unldar in seiner Bcdeutung." But some light is thrown on the
subject by a sentence in Ainsworth's Travels and Researches (1842, vol. ii, p. 188).
Of the Yezidi he says they " speak often of wine as the blood of Christ, and hold
the cup with both hands, after the sacramental manner of the East, when drinking
it." It seems to me highly improbable that the Yezidi or the Anatolian Allevi
have got the custom from the Christians and extended it to common use ; far more
likely that the latter should have consecrated and confined to a special rite a
custom once universal in the East. One is tempted to ask whether such a custom
does not underlie the form of the classical drinking cup, the Icylix, which invariably
has two handles. The large eyes of Ionian origin which are the commonest
decorations of these kylikcs in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., and which were no
doubt intended as apotropaia to avert the evil eye, seem indeed to point to a phase
when a religious or superstitious significance was attached to every act of drinking.
Again, Professor von Luschan mentions the extraordinary ornaments which he
saw in the ears of Lykian Bektash dervishes ; Purchas similarly describes huge
earrings as being worn by most of the dervish orders in the sixteenth century,
hi classical literature and in the Bible there are frequent references to the earring
us the mark of the Oriental, and the monuments, Assyrian and " Hittite," tell the
same tale. Juvenal, for instance, writes, " Natus ad Euphratem molles quod in aure
fenestm.1 arguerint," and I could apply the term "window" without much
exaggeration to the huge hole which I saw bored in the ear of the dervish from
Hadji Bektash whom I met in Kirshehr.
This evidence proves that we have in these villages stumbled upon the
certain fragments of a pre-Islarnic civilisation. In the previous section I tried to
fix the position of our villagers during the last few centuries in which the
country has been under Muslim rule ; we can now carry the process farther back
and .sketch in outline their earlier development.
.'51 6 J. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals among the Kappadokian Kizilbash (Bektash).
Officially they rank as heretical Mussulmans ; their traditions bring some of
them at least from Khorassan. These facts must not be blinked ; on the contrary
I am ready to accept both, and regard as probable on all grounds (nee appendix) a
fusion between the earlier population and some of the first Muslim immigrants,
who were driven by Mongol pressure from their seats in Bokhara and Samarcand
and elsewhere. But neither must the bearing of certain other facts be blinked.
The descent of these refugees from Khorassan is but a single wave in a rhythmic
stream which has been flowing for thousands and thousands of years. Even in
neolithic times Kappadokia appears to have turned to the east rather than the west ;
the form and material of the stone implements found there point to Armenia and
inner Asia. In the Hellenistic age Hellenism, as then understood, made no
progress against the intense nationalism of the native states, which were ruled by
kings who prided themselves on descent from one of the Seven Persians. Droysen
describes the country as " rn.it iranischcn Wcsen crfullt (iii, p. 84). In the
Christian period Basil and Eusebios repeat and amplify the witness of
Strabo. Already, therefore, before the time of Alexander the inhabitants of
Kappadokia had come under oriental influence and developed a religious theory of
their own which made them impervious to Greek and Christian missionaries ; and
this religious theory the brief notices I have quoted enable us to identify with
the practice of the living Kizilbash. Not only have we thereby obtained a new
authority from which to reconstruct the past, but the mere fact of its permanence
throws fresh light on the intervening centuries, on the spread and character of
Christianity in Kappadokia, and the tolerance and assimilative powers of the
Seljuk Turks, and the true inwardness of several anti-Sunnite movements which
owed their strength to an alliance of new dissenters with old pagans. And yet
even this " Persian " culture was only a compromise and a pouring of new wine
into old bottles. Behind it we see traces of a simpler, less specialised civilisation
which once stretched at least from the Persian mountains to the mainland of
Greece. This lay at the foundations both of the Persian system and also of
Hellenism, and by removing the upper strata we can recognise in the temenos at
Haidar-es-Sultan a living embodiment of the humble origins of Delphi, before
the Dorian Apollo's advent raised it to a pan-Hellenic significance. Archaeologists
who have busied themselves in distinguishing the various layers accumulated on
an ancient site will, I hope, acknowledge in this method a rough comment on their
own successive periods, and one that can, alas, be only rarely made.
APPENDIX.
For reasons which have been already mentioned, I was unable to take as many
measurements as I should have liked. In all I measured fifteen, five at Haidar-es-
Sultan and ten at Hassan-dede, but one of the latter (No. 15) had such an unsy in-
metrical and abnormal head as to be quite worthless; I only measured him because
he was a rich man whom I dared not offend. The Sheikh at Haidar was the only one
who refused to be either measured or photographed, and this " because he was a holy
man "; others, including his own son, he compelled to submit to my tender mercies.
.t. W. CUOWFOUT. —
in/Hi, i;/ Hi'-
Kizilbaxh (Bfktash}. 317
,.™
* <x, <y> -* t~ **
•~ -t
-f CO
CO S5
I
1
CO
NOTES.— Of these. Nos. 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 were taken at Haidar-es- Sultan ; Moussa (No. 3) was a younger son of the Sheikh. The rest are all natives
of Hassan-dede, Nos. 1, 6, 8 being described simply as Bektash, the remaining seven (Nos. 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15) being Salah-ed-diu. Veli Effendi (No. 10)
was the Sheikh of the village and therefore head of this family. For the portraits of 1, 9, 10, 12, see Plates XXXVII, XXXVIII.
Three had blue eyes, and all dark brown hair or grey.
Abbas (No. 9) had no face hair whatever.
Omitting Suleiman Effendi, we have, therefore, measurements of fourteen Kappadokian Bektash to compare immediately with the measurements taki-n
by von Luschan in Lykia, that is, with thirteen Tachtadji and forty Lykian Bektash. This can be done most simply by armugiug the three groups in
tabular form according to the three most important indices.
l-H
05
<N (N Q t» <N
O5 O5 O5 O5 O5
to oo
00 CO
(N rH
05 05
•«* l^
O5 CO
•xapui ^qSiaq
Xq q^Saaq;
00
t- 05 lO if
5 00
CO 00
Tf CO
^ Q
O5
CO
-r
a
CO
eo
eo
00 -
H o t\ -t
O rH
?•) O5
00 t^-
CO !>•
•xapui
oi['eqd9£)
l-H
05
O5 CO !•» t— CO
00 00 00 00 00
(N tO
cb 3*
00 00
eo PH
CO 00
05 t-
« CO
00 00
i>i
CO
T**
Ji
cb
'89^9
90UTTJSJQ
CO O
eo co
(M
CO
O
CO
i eo
1 CO
o to
eo co
1 CO
1
!
(N
eo
'980 a
jo qip»?9.ig
%
CO rf iO -* 00
CO CO CO CO CO
co cb
CO CO
CO CO
O5
CO
•
a
CO
'98OU
jo q^Sugrj
CO
rH CD CM 00 CO
CD tO CO tO CD
tO to
I- tO
iO to
iO O5
tO iO
iO
rs
§
•uiqo
O1} UOISIJS^
05
to
O5 I-H CO i— I to
(N CO CO CO CO
tO CD
fN (M
Tf r-l
CO CO
CO ^
eo (N
(M
CO
iO
CO
(M
jo qipi3?aq
oi^uioSjCzig
CN
O5 i— I t- ^ CD
CO 00
"•* CO
iO CO
I-H I-H
05
CO
rH
IO
iO
jo q^p^gaq
CM
I-H
rH O !>• CO "^
i-H rH O O rH
O CM
rH rH
0 rH
O r^
(M
to
rH
o
•snjhu) .iB9
g
CO 00 CM t- l»
CM (7<l CO G^l CO
CO O
CO CO
CO CO
oo co
<M eo
OS
CO
$
§
•p«9q
CD CD tO CO O tO
CO CO
CO to
CO O5
iO tO
o o
§
8
CO
•ptjaq
jo qqSugrj
CO
05 co t- to eo
i- i— oo i— oo
O5 I-H
CO CO
iO O5
oo oo
i- 05
CO i^
00
co
ri
O5
•^qStajj
CO
CO
O5 -^
O r-
00 tO
tb co i
• iO CO I
1^ CO
CO 00
00 tO
<*
i— i
•*
tO (M
CO 0
CO O
CD i-
!>• O
CO CO
5!
X
tO
tO
a5
!=C
00
to
O rH O O CO
Tji (N O CO 10
i^ 00
(N CO
O iO
CD CD
O -f
-t tO
0
CN
tO
eo
00
eo
1
Mehmed
Haiclar Effendi
Moussa
Emrullah Effendi ...
TVfplirmsli
Suleiman Effendi ...
Hussein
1 |
Abbas
Veli Effendi
Mehmed
Djaffir
Mouslou
rt
P
a
M9quxuN
I-H <M CO ^ O CO
1- X
Ci 0
rH CM
CO
-T
tO
318 J. W. CROWFOOT. — Survivals among the Kap-padokian Kizilbash (Bektash).
TABLE II.
Comparison of cephalic indices.
TABLE III.
Comparison of length by height indices.
c
0
ri
.
.5
, •
Indices.
|1
1
"o
0 .
!S p^3
— cS
Indices.
ta
^|
f
1
&J
k> W
gH
o PQ
* w
H
o W
W
n
-*
W
CO
•*
i— i
•«*
80 - 85
5
6
- 70
4
o.
0
85-1 -90
6
7
34
70-1 — 75
8
3
10
90-1-
1
1
0
75-1-
2
10
30
TABLE IV.
Comparison of facial indices.
d
eg
,j
J* .
jg«
g
Indices.
14 Kappado
Bektash
M
rt
H
i— i
11
-90
3
10
37
90-1 — 95
9
1 2
95-1-
2
2
1
I f we looked at the cephalic index only it would be easy to group all these
together as an entirely homogeneous brachycephalic race, but, the other indices
speedily dispel this pleasing illusion. The Kappadokian villagers present startling
differences even within the limits of a single family. Looking, however; as is only
right, at the individuals here measured, two at least, Mehmed and Djaffir (Nos. 1
and 12), stand out as evidently akin to the Lykian group. Through Professor
von Luschan's kindness I was able to throw upon the screen photographs of a
Tachtadji and a Syrian Fellah (Ansariyeh) and the likeness between these and
the two former convinced all, I think, of their mutual connexion. They have the
same broad, high skull, so straight behind that some have supposed its form to be
due to artificial deformation ; for this latter hypothesis, however, resuscitated by
W. Z. Eipley, there is not a shadow of evidence. The short-headed Armenian child
lies in a cradle of the same type as the long-headed Anatolian Greek, and the shape of
the former's head is that of Homo Alpinus wherever he be found. The antiquity of
this type in Anatolia is proved partly by the evidence of Hittite monuments, partly
by various ancient skulls that have been found in North Syria (Sendjirli), Lykia,
Phrygia (Boseyuk),and Assos, and is further corroborated by its latter-day extension.1
1 See the references given by Mr. Duckworth in Journ. Attihrop. Inst. (N.S.) II, p. 145,
foil., and to these add Virchow, Ueber alte Schiidel vcn Aosos und Cypern, Berlin, 1884, and
Verhandlungen der Berliner anthropologischen Gesellschaft, 1896, p. 123.
J. W. CllOWFOOT. — Si'i'i-it-dl* inmitiii //n JfitjijHlilti/.-t'i'ii: Klzillinxli (lii'L-tn.xli). .'!1(J
The differences between the Kappadokians and the Lykians may lie due to
immigrations during the Seljukid period or perhaps earlier, for even in the most
archaic times of which we are likely to find traces we shall probably find various
types existing side by side.
DISCUSSION.
Sir C. WILSON: I have listened with much pleasure to Mr. Crowfoot's
interesting paper. My experiences amongst the Kizilbash agree generally with
what he has told us. They are disliked by the Sunni Moslems, possibly because
they will not intermarry with them ; and are accused of all kinds of obscene
conduct without, as far as I could ascertain, the slightest foundation. They seemed
to me a cleanly, inoffensive people, friendly to strangers, and ready, if no Sunni
were present, to talk freely upon all subjects but their religion. The women are
allowed much more freedom than amongst Sunni Moslems, and, except in presence
of a Sunni, do not veil. Their customs differ in various localities, and some of
them have certainly come down from the Christian period during which Kappa-
dokia was Hellenised though, perhaps, not so completely as has generally been
supposed.
I have never heard the Kizilbash called Bektash, and was not aware that
they used that name amongst themselves. The names, in their original applica-
tion, are so wide apart, that I do not understand how they have come to be applied
to one people. I can only suppose that the villages visited by Mr. Crowfoot were
on land which formerly belonged to the Bektash Dervishes, and that the villagers
had been protected by the Bektashes when the fraternity was powerful.
The term Kizilbash (" red-head ") came into use during the rise of the Safavi
dynasty, which reigned over Persia for more than two hundred years (1499-1722).
It was used to distinguish the Persianised Turks, or Turkish Shi'as, who formed
the ruling class and wore red caps, from their enemies the Sunni Turks and Tatars
to the East, who wore green felt caps and were called " Yef hil-bash " (" green-head ").
When the term was first used in Asia Minor I do not know, but suppose it must
have been after the campaign of Selim I in Persia (1514), when Shi'a Turks from
Persia were settled in Asia Minor, apparently under the belief that they would
eventually become Sunnis.
Hajji Bektash was a native of Nishapiir, who seems to have found his way to
Asia Minor about the time when Orkhan was conducting his early campaigns
against the Byzantines (1326-46). He is known to have taken a leading part in
the capture of Mudania (1351) and appears to have been more of a fighting
dervish than of a philosophic devotee such as the celebrated Meolana of Konia.
Hajji Bektash gave the Janissaries their name, Ycni-chcri, and their standard;
and his followers were closely connected with the Janissaries until their suppres-
sion (1826). At that time the Bektashes held extensive lands throughout the
Empire, and had become a great power. Their lands were nearly all confiscated,
and their power completely broken by persecution. The exemption of the
monastery of Hajji Bektash from the general confiscation seems to have been due
to its having been on land granted to the founder for military service.
There is no more interesting study than that of the original population of
Asia Minor, to which the name Proto- Armenian has been supplied. In many
localities the early types appear to be well-marked, and if the Society desires to
320 «T. W. CROWFOOT.- Survivals amony the. Ka/ppadokian Kizilbash
continue the class of research which Mr. Crowfoot has so successfully conducted, I
would suggest three districts in which I think interesting and important results
would be obtained. (1) In the compact Kizilbash population of the Livas
Vilayet, especially in the Amasia Sanjok. (2) In the volcanic district north of
Nigdeh, especially amongst the mixed Christian and Moslem population of the
underground villages which I have described in Murray's Handbook (p. 168 ff).
(3) Amongst the large Kizilbash population of the wild mountain district of
Dersim which lies between Erzingan and Kharput. No great road has ever
traversed this district, and it has always been a harbour of refuge for tribes driven
into the mountains by invaders. The people are friendly, and the country
contains fine scenery. I should wish to add my testimony to the importance
of Mr. Crowfoot's work and express the hope that it may be continued.
Mr. G. L. GOMME: I cannot pretend to any knowledge of the subject by
personal knowledge of the people, but perhaps I may venture to emphasise the
importance of local ethnographical details such as the author has given us. "When
one gets physical types, and survival of customs grouped together in local studies,
we are likely to get evidence of the most important nature. I was much struck
with the priestess element in the well ritual, and was inclined to ask the author
whether it was accompanied by any evidence of women of superior influence in the
house. But Sir Charles Wilson partly answered this by an observation he made
upon this point. I would however ask the author what he exactly meant by the
term hamlet. Are these divisions tribal, or upon what basis are they made ? He
did not mention anything equivalent in the second village, and. I should like to
know what the term exactly implies.
Dr. GARSON : The form of head which is shown by the photographs of these
natives is a common one in cases where the skull is short, that is to say, brachy-
cephalic people. The author did not mention the mean cephalic index of these
natives, but they appear to me to be highly brachycephalic. There is no deformity
present as far as I can judge by the pictures, the straight and flat appearance of
the back of the head is due to the form of the skull and cannot be attributed to
any form of cradle in which as children they have been laid.
Sir T. HOLDICH : In the course of his most interesting paper the lecturer
referred to Khorassan as the probable original habitat of the Kizilbash. It may
therefore be of some interest to point out that there are many Kizilbashis still
resident in Khorassan — not the Khorassan of modern Persia, but the Khorassan
of the Durani Empire (a century and a half ago) which included Afghanistan,
Baluchistan and a part of the Punjab. This is Khorassan as it is probably known
to the Kizilbash of Armenia now. The largest colony of these people is to be
found at Kabul, where they are a peaceable trading community, Aryan in type and
feature, merchants (mostly) by profession, Shiahs by faith, and invariably favour-
able (as are the Shiahs of all frontier communities) to England and British
interests. The old woman who endeavoured to extract truth from the well
for Mr. Crowfoot's benefit might answer, in his description, to any old Kizilbash
woman of Kabul. There are (or were) a few Kizilbashis in the ranks of the
Indian Army. I once possessed a Kizilbash orderly, drawn from the native
cavalry, who was a specially smart and capable soldier. There can, I think, be
little doubt about the connexion between the Kizilbash of Afghanistan and the
Kizilbash of Kappadokia.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Tol. XXX, Plate XX XI' I.
TO ILLUSTRATE
THE DISTRIBUTION
OF THE
BEKTASH1S
J. G. C. Audersou </••/.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX, Plate XXX I IF.
MEHMED (1).
AI513AS (9).
HEKTASIII PORTRAITS. FULL FACK AND 1'ROFILK.
Journal of the Anthropological InxtiMr, Vol. XXX, Plate XXXVIII.
VELI EFFENDI (10).
THK SHKIKII OF HASSAN-DEDE.
DJAFFIK (12).
BKKTASHI PORTRAITS. FULL FACE AND PROFILE.
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. I Summary of the Proceedings of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain o
ainl Ireland: January — June, 1900. ^
Ordinary Meeting, January 9th, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in the
Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed. Messrs. Holt and
Walhouse were appointed Auditors.
Professor Flinders Petrie's paper, " Sequences in Prehistoric Remains," was
taken as read. It is printed in full in this Journal, vol. xxix (N.S. ii), pp. 295-301.
Mr. H. M. Chadwiclc, of Clare College, Cambridge, read a paper on " The
Oak and the Thunder-God," which was discussed by Messrs. W. Gowland, M. J.
Walhonse, Dr. Kingston, Mr. G. M. Atkinson, and the President. It is printed in
full in this Journal (vol. xxx, pp. 22ff). A vote of thanks to Mr. Chadwick was
carried unanimously.
Dr. Kingston communicated " Notes on some Caves in the T'Zitzikama or
Outeniqua district, near Knysua, South Africa, and the objects found therein," and
exhibited a number of objects which he had collected, and also lantern slides of
natives and scenes in South Africa. The " Notes " are printed in full in this
Journal (vol. xxx, pp. 45ff).
Mr. F. C. Shrubsall contributed "Notes on Skeletons found in the T'Zitzikama
and Knysna Caves," to which Dr. Garson added some farther remarks. A vote of
thanks to Dr. Kingston and Mr. Shrubsall was carried unanimously.
Annual Meeting, January 30th, 1900. — (See Journal, vol. xxx, p. Iff.)
Ordinary Meeting, February ISth, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President,
in the Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election was announced of Dr. F. P. Moreno, Professor Baldwin Spencer,
and Dr. E. Dupont, as Honorary Fellows of the Institute. Messrs. J. W. Crowfoot,
B.A., and L. R. Farnell, M.A., were elected Fellows of the Institute.
Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth read a note on the Congress of the German and
Viennese Anthropological Societies held in Lindau in September, 1899, which is
printed in this Journal, vol. xxix (N.S. ii), p. 31.4.
Dr. Reginald Koettlitz read his " Notes on the Somali, Galla, Abyssinian, and
Shangalla People, and their Manners and Customs," which were illustrated by lantern
slides and are printed in abstract in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 50ff). The paper was
discussed by Messrs. Ravenstein, Lewis, and others, and a vote of thanks to Mr.
Koettlitz was carried unanimously.
Ordinary Meeting, March 13M, 1900.— Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, M
in the Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election was announced of Mr. Wm. McDougall as a Fellow of the Institute.
On behalf of Mr. E. S. Hartland, the Secretary oxhibited and explained a lantern
( 3 ) • 1-2
Nos. 5-7.] Anthropological Itcvieivs and Miscellanea. [1900.
slide of a war god from Bonna in the Congo State, now in the Leiden Museum. The
President noted that a very similar one was in the collection of Miss Mary Kingsley.
Mr. A! L. Lewis, read a paper on " The Stone Circles of Scotland," which was
discussed by the President, Mr. Gowland, Dr. Garson, and Mr. Gomme. It is printed
in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 56ff). A vote of thanks to Mr. Lewis was carried
unanimously.
Mr. J. L. Myres exhibited a series of photographs and lantern slides of the
Megalithic buildings of Malta and Gozo.
5 Ordinary Meeting, March 27th, 1900.— Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in
the Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election of Dr. W. H. R. Rivers and Mr. T. V. Hodgson, as Fellows of
the Institute, was announced. The Secretary read a list of the books presented to
the Institute since the last Meeting.
Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., and Mr. Charles Hose exhibited and explained a
number of lantern slides, illustrating " Native Life and Customs in Sarawak." A
discussion followed in which Mr. Hose stated, in answer to Mr. Myrss, that he did not
consider that the people of Sarawak were cannibals. A vote of thanks to Professor
Haddon and Mr. Hose was carried unanimously.
6 Ordinary Meeting, April 24tth, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in the
Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election of Mr.. Anthony Wilkin, B.A., as a Fellow of the Institute, was
announced. The Secretary read a list of books presented to the Institute since the
last Meeting.
Dr. W. H. R. Rivers read a paper on " A Genealogical Method of Collecting Social
and Vital Statistics," which he had practised in Torres Straits and British New
Guinea. The paper is printed in full in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 74).
Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., described a number of lantern slides illustrating the
native industries of Torres Straits and British New Guinea (cf. Journal, vol. xxx,
Miscellanea, Nos. 72-3, and Geogr. Journal, xvi, p. 414ff). The paper was discussed
by Mr. G. L. Gomme, Dr. Japp, Mr. Gowland, and the President, and a vote of
thanks to Dr. Rivers and Dr. Haddon was carried unanimously.
Mr. J. L. Myres read portion of a letter from Mr. Arthur J. Evans describing
the important discoveries made by the latter in Crete.
y Ordinary Meeting, May loth, 1900.— Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in the
• Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election was announced of Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie and Mr. C. G.
Seligmann as Fellows of the Institute.
The President called attention to the great loss the Institute had sustained
by the death of Lieutenant-General Pitt-Rivers, who had been twice its President.
The Secretary communicated a note by Mr. F. Haverfield, F.S.A., " On Certain
Objects of Chalk from a Romano-British Site at Clanville, Hants." The
communication was discussed by Professor Tylor, Mr. W. Gowland, Mr. J. Allen
Brown, and the President, and it was agreed that there was no evidence of human
workmanship on the objects which were exhibited.
Mr. J. Allen Brown, F.G.S., read a paper " On Stone Implements from Pitcairn
Island," which is printed in full in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 83ff). The paper was
discussed by Professor Tylor, Dr. Montelius, Messrs. Howarth, Gowland, Rudler, and
Lewis. A vote of thanks to Mr. Allen Brown was carried unanimously.
( 4)
1900.] Anthropology^ Jtovinot and MiaedlanM. [Nos. 8-10.
Mr. H. Stopes read a paper "On some unclassified Stone Implements," and
exhibited lantern slides and a largo selection of flint implements from his own
collection. The paper will be printed in fall in this Journal. After a brief
discussion a vote of thanks to Mr. Stopes was carried unanimously.
Ordinary Meeting, Nay 29th, 1900.— Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in Q
the Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were rend and signed. ^
The election was announced of Dr. A. H. Japp, LL.D., F.B.S.E., as a Fellow
of the Institute. The Secretary read a list of books presented since the last Meeting.
Professor Oscar Moiitelius, of Stockholm, gave a discourse on " The Earliest
Communications between Italy and Scandinavia," which is printed in full in this
Journal (vol. xxx, p. 89ff). Discussion was carried on by the President and Messrs.
Myres and Lewis. A vote of thanks to Professor Montelius was carried unanimously.
Extraordinary Meeting, June 5^, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Bead, F.S.A., President, Q
in the Chair. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed. ^
The Secretary read a letter from Mr. Arthur J. Evans, giving farther details of
the recent discovery of Myceneean remains in Crete.
Dr. J. G. Garson read a paper on " The Metric System of Identification used in
Great Britain," which is printed in full in this volume of the Journal. The paper was
discussed by Mr. Maclver, Colonel Garsia, Mr. Francis Galton, Major Clayton, Sir
J. Cricliton Browne, and Mr. Coffin. A vote of thanks to Dr. Garson was carried
unanimously.
Ordinary Meeting, June 12th, 1900.— Mr. C. H. Bead, F.S.A., President, in 4 f\
the Chair. The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read and signed. * "
Dr. J. Deniker, Librarian of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and an Honorary
Fellow of the Institute, was welcomed by the President in suitable terms.
The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr. H. Swainson Cowper, a primitive
figurine from Adalia, in Asia Minor, and pointed out its resemblance to the "owl-
faced figures" discovered by Dr. Schliemann at Troy. The figurine will be described
and figured in this Journal.
Mr. B. H. Pain read a paper by Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth and himself " On a
contribution to Eskimo Craniology," which was discussed by Dr. Deniker, Dr. Garson,
Mr. Duckworth, Mr. Shrubsall, and the President, and is printed in full in this Journal
(vol. xxx, p. 125). A vote of thanks to the joint authors of the paper Avas carried
unanimously.
Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth read a paper " On a collection of Crania, with two
skeletons, of the Mori-ori, or aborigines of th e Chatham Islands ; with a note on some
Crania from the same islands in the Museum of the Boyal College of Surgeons,"
which is printed in full in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 141), and was discussed by
Dr. Garson, Mr. Shrubsall, and the President. Mr. Shrubsall exhibited a series of
drawings of Crania of similar races. A vote of thanks to Mr. Duckworth was
carried unanimously.
Mr. John Gray, B.Sc., read a paper by Mr. James Tocher and himself, " On the
Physical Characteristics of School Children and Adults in East Aberdeenshire," which
is printed in full in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 104). A vote of thanks to the joint
authors of the paper was- carried unanimously.
Autumn Session. — For reports of the Meetings of the Anthropological Institute
in the months of November and December, see below, No. 120.
Nos. 11-12.] Anthropological Reviews and Miwdlani-n. [1900.
Anthropological Lantern Slides. Anthrop. Institute.
A A Regulations for the Use of the Loan Collection of Lantern Slides, organised,
' ' jointly, by the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and ly the
Folklore Society.
In order to encourage the study of anthropological subjects, and to provide
teachers and lecturers with suitable illustrations, with the minimum expense, the two
societies above named have appointed a joint committee to organise a Loan Collection
of Anthropological Lantern Slides, for the use of the members of the two societies in
the first place, and also of teachers and lecturers who are not members.
The Joint Committee has issued the following regulations for the use of the
slides, which come into force in October, 1900: —
1. The lantern slide collection shall consist of slides which are (a) the property
of individuals, deposited on loan, every depositor to have the loan, free of charge, of
five slides in every year, in respect of every slide so deposited ; (b) the property of
the Folklore Society ; (c) the property of the Anthropological Institute.
2. The slides shall be available for use, under the conditions hereinafter specified,
(a) by members of the Folklore Society and members of the Anthropological Institute,
who shall be responsible for the safe return of the slides borrowed, or for their
replacement in case of loss or damage ; (6) by non-members, introduced by a member
of one or other society, who shall be responsible for the safety and return of the
slides. But slides may be hired by non-members only in certain entire sets suitable for
lecture purposes.
3. The slides shall be kept, for the present, in the rooms of the Anthropological
Institute, and shall be under the charge of the Assistant Secretary, who shall send
them out and receive them back as required.
4. The rate of hire for members, not being depositors, shall be threepence per
slide prepaid, exclusive of postage ; but one penny per slide shall be remitted if the
slides are received back within three days from their despatch from the rooms of the
Institute.
5. The rate of hire for non-members shall be five shillings a dozen prepaid :
together with a deposit of five shillings as guarantee.
The Collection consists at present of between one hundred and t\vo hundred
slides, covering a variety of subjects. The thanks of the Joint Committee are due
to a number of Fellows and others who have generously contributed to the collection
already; in particular to Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.B.S., and to the Anthropological
Photographs Committee of the British Association for the loan of a number of
valuable negatives; and to Mr. E. S. Hartland and Mr. R. E. Guise, for their gifts of
slides. Fellows of the Institute are invited to assist, by gift or deposit of slides, and
by the loan of suitable negatives, in making it more complete and more generally
useful. A subject Catalogue of the whole Collection will be published in due
course.
Anthropometry : General. Eivers.
A o The communication which follows, from Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, of St. John's
* ^ College, Cambridge, has been under the consideration of the Council of the
Anthropological Institute: —
" Nearly every year members of savage or barbarous races are exhibited in London
in large numbers. At present, little or nothing is done to utilise the anthropological
material which is thus brought to our doors, although in other countries, and
especially in Germany, much useful work has been done.
( 0 )
1900.] Jitf/ir<'ji<i/<>i/ii'<'/ li< •/•/'•//•x find Mixcrllmi"'. [No. 13.
" I have no doubt that the proprietors of exhibitions would be much more ready
to grant facilities for investigation to the representatives of a scientiBc body than to
private individuals, and T therefore wish to suggest to the Council of the Anthro-
pological Institute that some steps might be taken to further the organization of work
in this field.
" It seems to me that much would be gained if the proprietors of exhibitions
would allow accredited representatives of the Institute facilities for investigation
(luring hours when the exhibitions are not open to the public, and it is especially
desirable that the facilities should be given soon after the arrival of the natives in
England before they have been ruined for purposes of scientific study by the British
public.
" Any measures which might be taken need not involve the Institute in any
expenditure, as the necessary expenses for rewards, etc., would probably be willingly
defrayed by the individual workers."
The Council of the Anthropological Institute has accordingly resolved to make
representations to the proprietors of such exhibitions, and to issue letters of
introduction to qualified observers who wish for special facilities. Information as to
the arrival of natives for exhibition should be sent to the office of the Institute,
3, Hanover Square, W.
OBITUARY.
Mary Kingsley. Toulmin Smith.
Miss Mary H. Kingsky, 13th October, 1862-3rcZ June, 1900. Communicated A o
by Miss L. Toulmin Smith. ' **
This remarkable woman, whose untimely death on 3rd June last is a loss to
science and humanity, was born in October 1862, at Islington, her parents removing
the following year to Highgate, near London, where they remained till 1879. Her
father, George H. Kingsley, brother to Charles and Henry Kingsley, was a doctor
who travelled, and as his daughter shows in her charming Memoir, he was above all
things imbued with the love of nature and natural objects. From her childhood
upwards Mary was amidst books, chiefly scientific, — frequently referred to on receipt
of the traveller's letters — of which she became an omnivorous reader ; while her
mother's numerous pets — cats, dogs and birds — and a rambling garden claimed her
practical care and love for years. From zoology and natural history she eagerly took
up modern works on ethnography and anthropology — Darwin, Huxley, and Tylor her
masters. She pursued with ardour the study of mathematics and German, and dived
into the mysteries of chemistry and electricity. At Bexley Heath, where the family
lived for a few years, she became acquainted with the electrician, C. F. Varley, but in
Cambridge, where they removed about 1884, the opportunities of study and discussion
which she enjoyed enabled her to make excursions into many subjects attractive to
her independent mind. Devotion to her invalid mother and anxiety for her father's
health weighed heavily on her capable powers for some years, till in the spring of
lb'J2 they both passed away. A visit to the Canaries shortly after restored her tone
and gave her a taste of the joy of exploration into untrodden regions, for even here
she did not content herself with the beaten path. Removing to London with her
brother, she formed a plan of going to the coast of West Africa to study law and
religion among the natives, and at the same time undertook a commission to collect
freshwater fish and insects for tho British Museum. Starting in 1893 with a sense
of freedom, she visited St. Paul de Loauda, Labcnda, and other places, and returned
curly in the following year, bringing a valuable collection, among which were many
(7 )
No. 14.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
new species, gathered amid dangers and difficulties in countries unexplored before.
In high spirits and health she gathered her forces and started a second time in
December, 1894, ascended the .Bonny and Ogowe rivers, and climbed the Carnerooiis,
and after a year's absence, brought back many valuable additions to her ethno-
graphical and other collections, together with stores of information carefully noted.
The two volumes Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899)
contain her record of the results of these journeys ; brimful of humour illuminating
the serious study, they are authorities on the subject to-day. The traveller's abilities
and intrepidity were recognised with gratitude by the West African traders, and soon
attracted public notice ; she lectured widely on many sides of West African life,
especially desii'ing to make known the principles of African law and religion and pro-
perty, which she did at Oxford, in 1897, and at Bristol (before the British Association)
in 1898. She read a paper on the " Fetish view of the human soul " to the Folklore
Society in June, 1897, and was elected a member of the Anthropological Institute in
June, 1898 ; here she read no paper, but joined in discussions on West African subjects
(March and April, 1899). Her unceasing efforts had important influence for good on
West African affairs.
Her other published works are The Story of West Africa, an historical resume
written for H. Marshall and Son (1899), and a Memoir of her father prefixed to Notes
on Sport and Travel, but recently issued (1900), a delightful presentment of George
Kingsley, pervaded with his daughter's humour and transparent to her personality.
On March 28, 1900, she landed at Cape Town, hoping to be of some use during the
war, and to gather more materials ; in Simons Town Hospital she found that nursing
the sick Boers was her first call, and here to the deep and universal regret she
succumbed to enteric fever herself on June 3. She was buried at sea on the following
day by her own desire. Thus was cut short a most valuable life and a brief career
of splendid performance ; with a character full of womanly tenderness and unselfish-
ness she was able and wise, dealing with great issues from a large-minded outlook, and
to courage joined the modesty of true genius. West Africa, no less than science, must
mourn an inestimable loss.
Mary Kingsley. Kingsley Society.
A A The Proposed National Memorial to Mary Kingsley.
* * The desire has been very widely expressed among Miss Kingsley's many
friends, and among the still larger number of those who knew her through her
writings and lectures, to establish a permanent Memorial to her.
It is in a great measure owing to Miss Kingsley's writings and her absolutely
unique researches into native customs and institutions that so much interest has
recently been taken by the general public in West Africa. She herself took a deep
interest in all that might in any way tend to the improvement of the conditions of life
in that part of the world, both of Europeans and of the natives.
Liverpool, owing to its very large West African interests, was frequently visited
by Miss Kingsley, who there, as also in Manchester, formed many close friendships
with those engaged in the West African trade. Immediately after her death a
movement was set on foot by certain Liverpool and Manchester merchants to
perpetuate her memory by associating her name with a small Hospital for the
treatment of tropical diseases to be established in connection with the Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine.
Other of Miss Kingsley's friends desire that her name should also be associated
with a Society for the study of Native Customs and Laws, which was her first object
and occupied the greatest part of her time and energy, and that " The Mary Kirgslcy
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 14.
Society of West Africa " should be established to stimulate research and to collect
from all sources information concerning West Africa.
Miss Kingsley held that the right way to bring out the full value of British
West Africa is, not in the direction of trying to force European civilisation and
customs on natives who already have a different, if rudimentary, social system of their
own, but first to study this indigenous system, which must to some extent be suited
to its environment, and then to select from this, and to develop the better and more
useful elements. It is believed that much information of the required kind as to
West African Sociology is already on record, scattered through the works of the
older writers on those parts, as well as in more recent books of travel, in papers
published in periodicals, in blue books, and in official reports ; and a very great deal
more may still be gathered by Government officials, traders, missionaries, traveller.-5,
and by the small but remarkable band of natives who are already educated.
It is proposed that the " Mary Kingsley Society " should employ a trained
ethnologist, both to collect and arrange in scientific form the material which is thus
already on record, and to institute and direct research for farther material of the
same sort ; and it is intended that the Society, after the manner of the Royal Asiatic
Society, should periodically publish the results which it obtains, and should thus
provide additional knowledge by which European relations with West Africa may be
most safely and effectively directed, with profit both to the natives and to the Empire.
Several meetings of Miss Kingsley's friends have been held in London to discuss
the matter, and it has been decided that the memorial should include both the
Hospital and the Society, and that an appeal should be made to the public for support
to both ; the subscriptions being assigned to either the Hospital or to the Society,
according to the wish of subscribers.
Contributions for the " Mary Kiugsley Memorial Hospital " should be sent (o
Mr. A. H. Milne, B. 10, Exchange Buildings, Liverpool, and for the " Mary Kingsley
Society of West Africa" to Mr. George Macmillan, St. Martin Street, Leicester
Square, London, W.C.
Unless specifically assigned by the donors, all contributions sent to Mr. Milne
will be devoted to the "Mary Kingsley Hospital," and those sent to Mr. Macmillan to
the " Mary Kingsley Society of West Africa."
The following have consented to act on the Provisional Committee : — Dr. E.
Adam ; Mrs. Antrobus ; Mr. H. Balfour ; Dr. C. F. Harford Battersby ; Mr. J. Batty ;
Mrs. Bishop ; Sir T. Lander Brunton ; Lady Brunton ; Connt C. de Cardi ;
Dr. Carter ; Lady Chalmers ; Mrs. Clark ; Sir Andrew Clarke, G.C.M.G., C.B. ;
Viscount Cromer, G.C.B., G.C.M.G. : Major Leonard Darwin; Dr. J. G. Frazer;
Rt. Hon. Sir George Taubman Goldie, K.C.M.G. ; Mrs. J. R. Green (Hon. Sec.) ;
Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard; Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S.; Mr. E. Sidney Hartland,
President of the Folklore Society ; Mr. John Holt ; Mr. J. A. Hutton ; Mr. Everard
Im Thurn, C.B., C.M.G. ; Mr. James Irvine ; Lady Johnston ; Mr. Alfred L. Jones ;
Rev. Dennis Kemp; Sir Alfred Lyall, K.C.B., G.C.I.E. ; Sir William MacGregor,
K.C.M.G.; Lady MacGregor; Mr. George Macmillan (Hon. Treasurer); Mr. A. H.
Milne (Hon. Treasurer) ; Mr. J. L. Myres, Secretary of the Anthropological Institute;
Major Nathan, R.E., C.M.G. ; Mr. G. W. Neville ; Dowager Countess of Pembroke;
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart. ; Mr. Charles H. Read, President of the Anthropological
Institute; Professor William Ridgeway ; Major Ronald Ross; Mr. H. Ling Roth;
Sir John Smalraan Smith ; Miss Toulmin Smith ; Colonel J. G. B. Stopford ; Mr. J.
St. Loe Strachey; Mr. F. Swanzy ; Professor E. B. Tylor, F.R.S. ; Mrs. Humphry
Ward.
Nos. 15-16.] Anthropological lie views and JJ/?VW/"/?"/ [1900.
Oscar Baumann. Felkin.
Oscar Baumann, Ph.D. 25th June, 1864-1 2M October, 1899. Contributed by
R. W. Felkin, M.D., F.R.G.S.
By the death at Vienna of Dr. Oscar Baumann, Avho had been for some years
Austrian Consul at Zanzibar, ethnology has lost an earnest student, a careful
investigator, and a writer on the anthropology of Africa of considerable merit.
Baumann was born at Vienna on the 25th of June, 1864, and his premature death
has been greatly regretted by his friends and is a distinct loss to science. He
studied at Leipzig, where he graduated as Doctor of Philosophy, and after serving
as an officer in the Austrian army and preparing for exploration in Africa, he went
to the Congo in Dr. Lenz's company in 1885.
After his expedition to the Lower Congo, Baumann went to Fernando Po, and
since then his sphere of work was transferred to the east coast of Africa. He was
there in 1888 during the rebellion in the German territory ; he visited Usambara for
the German East African Company in 1890; and he subsequently made a journey
through Masai Land to the Victoria Nyaiiza. After his appointment as Austrian
Consul in Zanzibar, he investigated and described Zanzibar and the neighbouring
islands ; in fact it was this work, which he performed when out of health, that led to
his premature decease.
Apart from Baumaim's geographical work, which was of considerable value, he
rendered considerable service to anthropology by the careful descriptions he gave of
the natives with whom he came in contact, their habits and customs, dwellings,
weapons, and implements. His monograph on Fernando Po is certainly the most
complete which has ever been written concerning that island and its inhabitants, and
he strongly advocated its development. His description of the natives of Usambara
and the neighbouring districts is the best which we possess, and the account of his
journey to the Victoria Nyanza is replete with valuable information.
Baumann had great tact and sympathy with the natives. He soon won their
confidence and was therefore able to get more accurate and detailed information
respecting their ideas than any other travellers who have been in the same districts.
Although his investigations were carried out in great detail, his writing is concise, and
he manages to convey a very accurate general view of the condition of the people he
describes.
Baumann made friends wherever he Avent by his sympathetic and genial
disposition. He will be greatly missed. He died in Vienna on October 12, 1899.
His principal works were as follows : — Fernando Po, 1889 ; In Deutsch-Ostofrika
wahrend des Aufstands, 1890; Usambara und seine Nachbargebiete, 1891; Durch
Masailand zur Nilquclle, 1894; Die Insel Sanzibar, 1897; Die Insel Pemba und Hire
Kleinen Nachbarinseln, 1899.
AFRICA.
Algeria: Ethnography. Maclver and Wilkin.
An exhibition of Algerian and Kabyle objects was held in the rooms of the
Anthropological Institute, from Monday, June 18th, to Saturday, June 23rd.
Such an exhibition is a new departure on the side of the Institute, and was fully
justified by the result, for a considerable number of Fellows and others took the
opportunity of studying the large and representative collection which was thus put at
their disposal, and it was eventually found desirable to keep the exhibition open even
beyond the date originally announced.
( W)
1900.] Anthropological /Ar/- "•-• ><n<l Mix<-dl«nca, [No. 17.
The objects which were exhibited were collected during a recent journey by two
Fellows of the Institute, Mr. David Randal 1-MacIver, B.A., Laycock Student of
Egyptology at Worcester College, Oxford, and Mr. Anthony Wilkin, B.A., of King's
College, Cambridge, whose result.s will, it is hoped, be shortly placed in full before the
Institute and the general public.
The exhibits comprised : —
A. Objects from the ('luncin ii-iln-s <>f the .!«/>.- Mountains, such as (1) thorough
hand-made pottery, undecorated, and of very primitive forms, which is made by the
women and is used for domestic purposes in all the villages of the Auras ; (2) speci-
mens of all the typical kinds of jewellery made in the Aures Mountains by the local
silversmiths, the metal for which is obtained from old silver coins, while the coral,
which is highly prized, is imported from the coast ; (3) wool-work bags and cases,
showing the native patterns ; (4) snuff horns with incised patterns, wooden water-
bottles, flutes, traps for animals and birds, and so forth.
B. Objects from the Kabyle tribes in Little Kabylia, east of the Sahal River, and in
Great Kabylia, near Fort National. (1) The most important exhibits among these
are the specimens of finely decorated pottei'y, some classes of which are identical with
the pottery of the prehistoric Egyptians (circa 6000 to 5000 B.C.). The manufacture
of this pottery is confined to certain villages in the heart of the mountains. The
exhibitors visited these villages to obtain their specimens, and studied in detail the
processes of the manufacture. (2) The brushes and pigments used for painting the
pottery were shown, and also a series of photographs illustrating the stages in the life
history of the pots. (3) Other exhibits included specimens of silver-work like those
from the Aures, and specimens of wood-carving and models, baskets, knives, etc.
The exhibits were accompanied by a large number of photographs, including : —
(1) Views of the mountain country, villages, and houses of these Berber tribes; (2)
the arts and industries of the people, e.g., pottery making, silver-working, spinning,
weaving, pressing of olives and manufacture of olive oil, etc. ; (3) the dolmens
and other megalithic remains from four different sites, with drawings of the skulls
found in the dolmens by General Faidherbe in his excavations ; (4) anthropological
portraits of a large number of Berbers, taken in their own villages.
Morocco : cf. J.A.I. XXIX (N.S. II), p. 252. Lang.
(linn and Fairies. Communicated by Andrew Lang. A •»
On reading Dr. Westermarck's interesting account of the beliefs of the * *
people of Morocco about Ginn (Journ. Anthrop. lust. XXIX (N.S. IE), pp. 252-269), I
was struck by the close resemblance of Arab to Celtic superstition. The Ginn, in
almost all respects, correspond to the People of Peace, or Fairies, of Irish and Scottish
folklore. Nobody, perhaps, has yet tried to derive our fairies from Totemism, and
Dr. Westermarck has refuted that curious theory, as applied by Professor Robertson-
Smith to the Ginn. In my humble opinion the Ginn are Fairies, neither more nor
less. Doubtless they are much older than Islam, or Christianity, but the Arab
account of (*t«M, like the Scotch theory of fairies, is influenced by the prevailing
religion. Dr. Westermarck writes, " The gn-un form a special race of beings, created
before Adam. In various respects, however, they are like men. They eat and
drink, they propagate their species, they are subject to death. . . . They even
form sexual connections with men."
Let us compare the Rev. Robert Kirk's account of the Fairies (circa 1690). Mr.
Kirk's tiecret Cummomvealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies was edited, from a MS.
by Scott, in 18 15, and by myself, in 1893. "The tiith . . . are said to be
( 11 )
No. 18.] Anthropological lie-views and Miscellanea. [1900.
of a middle nature betwixt Man and Angel. . . . They have Children, Marriages,
and Deaths even as we. . . . They are clearly seen by men of Second Sight to eat
at Funerals and Banquets. . . . There be many fair ladies of this aerial order,
which do often tryst with young men ... in the quality of lightsome
paramours."
So far, then, the gniln and the Fairies are identical. The yuan, at Fez, live in
an old fort. So they do in Ireland, to this day, and Mr. Kirk mentions that they
abide in the motes, or mounds, near churches. Such motes, hard by the church, exist
at St. John's Town of Dairy, Parton, and Balmaclennan, in Galloway, being the bases
of ancient fortified dwellings. " Their native country is below the earth," says Dr.
Westermarck. "The earth being full of cavities or cells," says Mr. Kirk, " these are
their ordinary dwellings." The gmin "live in tribes or nations, of which each has
its sultan." "The Fairies live in Tribes and Orders," and the Fairy king and queen,
" aristocratical ruler?," are known to everybody. " The gniln . . . may assume
almost any shape they like." The Fairies " grovele in different schapes," says Kirk.
Whirls of sand or dust are caused by gniln. They are also attributed, in Scotland, to
Fairies, who ride, causing the tourbillon, to the cry of "Horse and Hattock." The
gnun produce diseases by shooting arrows. So do Kirk's Fairies. " Their weapons
are much of stone, like to yellow soft Flint spa (sic) shaped like a barbed arrow-head,"
and Mr. Kirk treasured several of these neolithic weapons. The gniln are afraid of
salt and steel. " Iron hinders all the operations " of the Fairies, and a piece of iron is
put into the bed of a woman in labour. As to salt, a dish thereof is put on the breasts
of corpses before burial, to keep off evil influences. The Bible is as efficacious as the
Koran. The seance witnessed by Dr. Westermarck is the old Maori and modern
spiritual seance, down to the "materialised" hand of the ginn. "The gniln are
frequently supposed to be guardians of hidden treasure." Kirk gives Fairy examples,
and I have met cases both in Sligo, and, oddly enough, on Flodden Field.
Obviously the ginn are fairies, and the fairies are ginn. But nobody will say that
the fairies were evolved out of Totem animals; and, indeed, though they can take
many shapes, we hear little of them in animal form. On the other hand ghosts of
men dead do appear very frequently, in this country, as beasts, and I am inclined to
think that both fairies and ginn are more or less evolved out of ghosts. At all. events,
whoever wishes to derive ginn from Totems ought also to derive fairies from Totems,
a thing which probably not the wildest Totemist will dream of doing. The Totem is
almost as much overworked as the Sun, and the Spirit of vegetation in modern
theories. Meanwhile Dr. Westermarck has, perhaps without thinking of it, proved
the identity of a great province of Scottish and Arab or Moorish folklore.
Egypt: System of Writing. Griffith.
On the System of Writing in Ancient Egypt. Communicated by F. LI. Griffith,
M.A., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 6th, 1900.
Egyptology has now reached a position among the sciences from which it may
contribute trustworthy information for the benefit of kindred researches. Egyptian
writing consists of Ideographic and Phonetic Elements, the signs serving as — 1, Word-
signs ; 2, Phonograms; 3, Determinatives. The highest development shown is an
alphabet, which, however, is never used independently of other signs ; it is apparently
not aci ophonic in origin ; it represents consonants and semi-consonants only,
vocalisation not being recorded by Egyptian writing. No advance can be detected in
the system from the beginning of the historic period to the end, notwithstanding
( 12)
1900.] Anthro-polof/icfil ficriew* and Miscellanea. [No. 19.
some improvements in practical working which facilitated the use of cursive writing.
Phonograms derived from word-signs. The end of the native system was brought
about by the gradual adoption of the Greek character — beginning, perhaps, in the
second century A.D. If any radical improvement was ever made in the Egyptian form
of writing, that improvement must have taken place at or after adoption by another
people : e.g., some have supposed that our alphabet was derived by the Phoenicians
from Egypt ; but any such derivations are at present entirely hypothetical.
Although the Egyptian system of writing may not be actually a stage in the
history of our alphabet, it throws a strong light on the development of th6 alphabetic
system : and the survival of its pictorial form (for decorative purposes) enables ns to
recognise the highly ramified connections between the forms and meanings of
characters to an extent which is impossible at present in any other system, whether
in Mesopotamia, China, or elsewhere.
The results of recent Egyptian philology indicate therefore that Egyptian was
originally a Semitic language, though its character changed early. The main lines of
the grammar being at length established, the materials for a complete dictionary are
now being collected and classified.
Egypt: Language. Erman.
Die Flexion des aegyplischen Verbums. Von Adolf Erman. (Sitzungsberichte A Q
der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. XIX. pp. 317ff.) * &
At a recent meeting of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, whilst dealing with
some technicalities of Egyptian grammar, Professor Erman gave expression to some
new philological results which are of importance both to the historian and to the
anthropologist. His own studies had already in 1892 rendered a close connection
between Egyptian and the Semitic tongues hardly dubious. But ai the same time
the most striking characteristic of the Semitic languages, namely, the derivation of
the vocabulary from roots of three radicals, seemed to be absent from Egyptian, which
appeared, on the contrary, to have a preference for biliteral roots. This difficulty has
now been removed by the researches of Dr. Sethe upon the Egyptian verb (see
Kurt Sethe, Das aegyptische Verbum, of which tAvo volumes have already appeared,
and a third, containing indices, is in preparation). It has become clear that most
Egyptian biliteral verbs have become such through the decay of a weak consonant,
and were accordingly, in their origin, trilateral. As a farther consequence of this
discovery, fresh similarities in the vocabulary have been brought to light, greatly
adding to the evidence hitherto available. Professor Erman has now no hesitation in
classing Egyptian among the Semitic languages. It is noteworthy that this
conclusion has been reached without any investigations into the field of comparative
syntax, which would, as any one acquainted with the languages in question must
know, indubitably lead to valuable results pointing in the same direction.
Professor Erman then turns to the historical aspect of his conclusion. He com-
pares the movement which carried the Semitic idiom from Arabia to Egypt and East
Africa with the Mohammedan invasion which overran the same countries in the
seventh century of our era. The parallel is complete, except that whereas the later
stream of conquest gave birth to one extensive, yet united nation, the more ancient
failed to do so. This difference he attributes with great show of reason to the fact
that the Mohammedan invasion imposed a religion, while the earlier invasion did not.
The greater decay of the Semitic idiom in Egypt he assigns to an original difference
of race. As to this race, he surmises that they resembled those Nubians who live in
the barren stretches between Assuan and Dongola. These have preserved their one
language intact in this region which no invader has taken the trouble to conquer ;
( 13 )
No. 20.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
and it is a language unrelated to any kno\ra idiom, and doubtless — like the Basque —
the relic of a tongue which once covered a far wider area. Here we probably have
the original tongue of the indigenous Egyptian. Thus Professor Erman arrives at the
supposition that the Egyptians were " semitised Nubians," a conclusion which has
been advanced on other grounds, and which will probably be corroborated as soon
as the archaeological evidence has been properly sifted. A. H. GK
Egypt.: Physical Anthropology. Macalister.
Oft ®n Pcrforate Humeri in Ancient Egyptian Skeletons. Communicated by
£|" Professor A. Macalister, M.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September llth, 1900.
In sorting out our Cambridge collection of Egyptian bones, I have noticed the
frequency of supra-articular perforation of the humerus, especially in the bones from
Libyan graves. I did not begin to count the number of examples until more than
three-fourths of the series had been put away in store-cases, but out of the last
twenty boxes opened, I found that out of 682 humeri, 390 were perforate and 292
imperforate. The percentage of perforation is therefore 57'2.
This exceeds anything hitherto published. Of ancient North Americans the
percentage of perforate bones out of 300 specimens is 40 per cent. In one collection
from the Gila Vallejr, in Arizona, 48 perforate bones were found out of 89, a percentage
of 53'9 ; but this is exceptionally high, and the number of bones is not large. In
our Cambridge collection, when I began to count, I found out of the first 115 bones
that 65 were perforated ; so, had I none bat this series, the percentage would have
come out 56'5.
The Libyans may therefore, I think, claim to hold the record. In our dissecting
room there wei'e three instances out of the last hundred bodies examined. (Other
statistics will be found in Messrs. Matthews and Lamb's article on the subject. Mem.
Amer. National Acad. Sci., vi, 217.)
The authors just quoted are most probably correct in considering this as an
acquired character. The youngest specimen obtained was in a humerus of a child
probably 7 years old. I have not seen any genuine approach to this condition
among 100 foetal hnmeri examined for the purpose. As far as I know, it has never
been found in a foetal bone.
It is a perforation of the shaft well above the epiphysial junction line. The
distal extremity of the diaphysis thickens below the hole down to the place where the
epiphysis is set upon it.
It is always in the intra-articular part of the olecranon fossa, below the line of
reflexion of the synovial membrane that crosses the middle of the fossa. It is,
therefore, quite distinct from the vascular holes with which Topinard associates it, as
these are always extra-articular (the vessels are chiefly derived from the inferior
profunda).
Of these perforate hnmeri, 172 were right, and 218 were left. As far as could
be determined from size, shape, and from the accompanying pelvic bones, 192 were
male, and 198 were female. There is thus the same preponderance of left and female
over right and male bones, which was noticed by the describers of the Henienway
collection, leading one to speculate as to the nature of the work which predisposed
to the perforation — the mill, the shadoof, or the mattock.
As to the sizes of the holes, they were mostly oval or elliptical, with the long
axis transverse or nearly so, and the distribution of these sizes are shown in the
accompanying table : —
900.]
Anthropological 7.v/-/V//v>% cin,i
[Nos. 21-22.
Length of long axis in nun.
Male.
IV male.
Right.
Left.
Bight,
Left,
1—4
17
:. I
14
1
9
58
:M
•1
12
52
•2-2
0
10
63
89
0
5—9
10 — 12
(iViT 12
Total
86
106
80
112
In the few recent examples, which were large, the hole was actually open in the
recent state; when small, it is usually closed by membrane ; 27 were young bones
with an un-united upper epiphysis, 5 co-existed with the snpra-condylar process.
The opening is veniform or belobed in 33.
This note is only preliminary, as the subject is sufficiently important to require
still further study. I have, however, been able to determine that while in ordinary
extension and flexion, the tops of the processes do not press upon the humerus, yet
by forced extension and forced flexion contact can be made to take place, especially
when the elbow is forcibly extended, with the hand in the position of pronation.
Egypt: Prehistoric. Forbes.
On a Collection of Stone Implements in the Mayer Museum, made by Mr.
H. W. Seton-Karr, in mines of the ancient Egyptians discovered by him on the
plateaux of the Nile Valley. By H. 0. Forbes, LL.D. From Bull. Liverpool Mas.
II, 3-4, p. 77ff. See Plate A, which, by the courtesy of Dr. Forbes, reproduces
figs. 1-8 of the paper.
The earlier discoveries of Mr. Seton-Karr in Somaliland, and a pi-eliminary
notice of the collection here described, will be found published in this Journal,
vol. xxvi, p. 65, 109 ; xxvii, 90.
The circumstances of the discovery and the ancient flint mines are described and
illustrated by photographic plates. The implements are classified and described
according to types ; and the question of their probable date is discussed. Dr. Forbes
concludes that the deeply stained patina, and the apparently "palaeolithic " forms of
these implements " cannot be depended on to fix the date of stone implements where
there is no possibility of determining the geological age of the strata whence they
have come, and in tho absence of associated faunistic remains," and that none of the
surface " palaeolithic " implements from Egypt and Somaliland have yet been proved to
belong to that period ; and that probably the bulk of them are much later. J. L. M.
Legge.
22
Egypt : Prehistoric.
The Carved Slates from Hierakonpolis and elsewhere. By F. Legge. Proc.
Soc. Bill Arch., XXII (1900), pp. 125-139, with 9 plates; which are repro-
duced by permission in Plates B. C. D.
Mr. Legge has earned the gratitude of students of prehistoric Egypt by this full
and well-illustrated account of all the known examples of these peculiar and
interesting objects. Two fragments indeed are omitted as not certainly belonging
to the same group (one in the Louvre, Eev. Arch. Ill, Ser. ix, p. 37ff : the other at
( 15)
No. 23.] 'Anthropological Rcr-ieics anil Miscfllanra. [1900.
Gizeh, JEgyptlaca (Festsclir. fiir G. libers'), 1894, p. 124): the rest, seven in all, are
reproduced from photographs. — The Roman numerals refer to the plates in Proc. Bibl.
Arch., XXII : and the letters B. C. D. to the plates which accompany this review.
•I. Gizeh: from " the lowest layers below the temple" at Hierakonpolis.
p, T> 1 (Obverse and reverse.)
II. Part in the Louvre, part in the British Museum, perhaps from
Abydos : [the three surviving fragments are represented pieced together.
-III. Oxford (Ashmolean Museum) : from the same site as that on Plate I.
(Obverse and reverse.)
IV. Louvre: provenance unknown: cf. Heuzey, Bulletin des correspond-
Plate C -^ ences Helleniques, XVI, 312 : attributed to Abydos, by Sayce, Proc. Soc.
Bibl. Arch., XX, 99. (Obverse and reverse.)
V. Gizeh : provenance unknown : fragmentary : cf . de Morgan, Eecherches
sur Vorigine de VEgypte, II, Plate iii.
Plate D =VI. British Museum : provenance unknown : to this belongs an
unpublished fragment in the Ashmolean Museum which Mr. Legge
publishes separately (Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., XXII, p. 270, PI. X).
Plate C = British Museum : provenance unknown.
Plate D =VIII and IX give details and illustrations of the representations on the
Slates.
The author discusses the purpose for which these slates were used. He criticises
the theory of Mr. Quibell and Professor Flinders Petrie (cf. Nagada and Ballas,
Plate L), that they were palettes, and regards the ring which forms the central
ornament of all the more perfect specimens, not as the margin of a receptacle for
paint, but as a representation of the sun ; suggesting that it may have been filled
with gold foil or glass to heighten its significance. Comparing the form of the more
perfect tablets with that of the shields represented on that in Plate II, he proposes
to explain the tablets themselves as representations of such shields, used for ritual
purposes, like the ancilia of Rome.
From the occurrence among the objects figured on these tablet?, of the double-
bladed axe, which he regards as peculiar to Asia Minor, and from the representations
of greaves and what he regards as woollen clothing (both appropriate to a mountaineer
people), he infers that the makers of the tablets were pre-dynastic invaders of Egypt,
coming from Asia Minor, and probably of the same race as those who founded the
civilisation of the ^Egean, and perhaps of the Western Mediterranean. He gives,
however, no evidence of the limitation of the double axe to Asia Minor ; and the
argument from greaves and clothing justifies his inference even less. J. L. M.
Egypt : Prehistoric. Petrie.
Note on a carved Slate. By Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie. (Proc. Soc.
Bibl. Arch., XXII, 140-1.)
To Mr. Legge's paper summarised above (No. 22), Professor Petrie adds a note
on the topography of the falsified enclosures represented on the fragment from Gizeh
(PI. C. V: = Legge, I.e. PI. V: de Morgan, Eecherches, II, PI. iii). Each of these
enclosures contains a single object, which in each case can be recognised as a form
of a kuown hieroglyphic symbol. Following this clue Professor Petrie identifies the
enclosures with towns (four in Middle Egypt, and three in the Delta), whose names
contain the phonetic equivalents of the symbol. He defends, against Mr. Legge, his
view that the carved slates are ceremonial paint-palettes and compares the elaborately
carved mace-heads which are found with them (Hierakonpolis. Plate xxvff). J. L. M.
(16)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and MiacellaneOi |No. 24.
Egypt: Rekhmara. Newberry.
"TAr ///' <>f lirkltninrtt." By Percy E. Newberry. London: Constable and
Co., 1900.
In a recent work which has justly attained some degree of celebrity, the doubt
was expressed whether the real history of Egypt was susceptible of satisfactory
investigation, owing to the lack of a literature in that land. It may be that the
writer was misled by the ambiguity of the word " literature," or misinformed as to the
extent of the occurrence of literary evidence in Egypt. However this may be, the
first instalment of Mr. Newberry's work on the tomb of Rekhmara contains a mass
of undoubted literary evidence of a kind which will shed a flood of light on the
nn tare and methods of internal administration under the Pharaohs of the eighteenth
dynasty.
Rekhmara was governor of Thebes, and vizier of Upper Egypt in the reigns of
Tliothmes III and Amenhetop II. Mr. Newberry prefaces his work by an interesting
account of Rekhmara's family, showing that the office of vizier had been hereditary
in it for three generations. It need hardly be said that the laudatory inscriptions in
Rekhmara's tomb give us no true insight into his personal character. The conven-
tional virtues of the Egyptian aristocrat are therein ascribed to him, as well as
some special traits such as would well become a man of his high station. It is
at this point that the above-mentioned generalisation concerning Egyptian history
comes nearest to the truth. Literature in general communicates what bald official
lists and what that which an eminent anti-archa3ologist has termed " crockery " do
not, namely, personal ideals and personal policy. There is, truly, little literature of
this kind to be discovered in Ancient Egypt. Yet it should be remembered that in
an oriental country such as Egypt variations of individual character, even if they
existed to any considerable degree, can have possessed nothing of the importance
that they possessed in Greece or Rome. On the other hand, the general stress of
custom must have tended to break down individual peculiarities, and to have moulded
individual character in its own likeness. Indeed, progress in Egypt, when left to
itself, seems to have proceeded much more automatically than elsewhere : the writer
whose view has here been criticised himself stated in another place that all great
impulses to progress there have been the outcome of foreign intervention. So that
the absence of an insight into Rekhmara's character in no way impairs the importance
of the historical material provided in Mr. Newberry's book.
As regards the official functions of Rekhmara we have a long account, in which
the various details of his duties as vizier are specified under twenty-seven heads.
From this we learn that Rekhmara judged both in civil and criminal cases, that he
had to attend to the assessment and payment of taxes, as well as to the levying of
troops, and the appointment of subordinate officials of all kinds. Another important
text describes the mode of investiture followed in the case of viziers, and the advice
which the king was wont to give on such occasions. The particular application of
these texts to the person of Rekhmara is slightly lessened by the fact that they are
found, at least in part, in duplicate in the tombs of other viziers in the Theban
necropolis. However all the copies belong to pretty much the same period, and the
fact of their repetition is to some extent a guarantee of their truthfulness. In a
group of interesting scenes the occupations of Rekhmara in his position of steward of
the Temple of Amen are depicted. As such, he had to superintend all buildings
devoted to the god, as well as the revenues that accrued to the god's vast estates.
Of about equal importance to that of these documents is a wall-painling
representing the receipt of the taxes of Upper Egypt. The mayors of townships, the
( 17 ) 2
No, 25.] Anthropological Ilcricws and Miwelhrnm. [1900.
commandants of fortresses, and the surveyors of districts are depicted each with some
of his suboi-dinates, and the amount and nature of each one's contribution are recorded
together with his name and origin. The circumstantial way in which the several
items are detailed, as well as the moderate figures accompanying them, render it
highly probable that the scene is constructed from official documents. The taxes
were paid in local produce, oxen, fruits, or cloth, as well as in measui'ed blocks of
gold and silver, the Egyptian equivalent of coinage. Future study may succeed in
deducing from this scene the relative importance of the various localities of Upper
Egypt at this epoch. A particular case may be mentioned. The town of Dendei-ah is
represented by no official, though the surrounding district possesses its own surveyor.
Now Professor Petrie's recent excavations point in the same direction. Few monu-
ments of the eighteenth dynasty were unearthed. Probably therefore Denderah was
an almost deserted town at this time.
Such are a few of the results to be gleaned at once from this important work.
Only some of the more striking facts could here be pointed out. Future research, is
required to obtain from the ample material here provided its full yield. Some of the
inscriptions and scenes had previously been published, but neither accurately nor fully.
The get-up and arrangement of Mr. Newberry's book are all that could be desired.
It is much to be hoped that he will continue the work which he has began so
admirably, and continue it speedily. If he does so, he will confer a great benefit on
philologist and historian alike. A. H. G.
Egypt: Modern. Worsfold.
The Redemption of Egypt. By W. Basil Worsfold, M.A. London: George
Allen. 1900.
A hurried glance through Mr. Worsfold's pages would leave upon the mind the
impression that his book is superfluous, that its " popular " aspect has nothing new
about it, and that his observations on the ancient and modern architectui'e and on the
industrial regeneration of the country can be found elsewhere in the works of the
great authorities. But a more patient investigation of the contents of The Redemption
of Egypt leads to the conclusion that this book is by no means superfluous. It appeals
to a class of readers who rarely open an original authority, and it contains many
shrewd and valuable criticisms. In short the work is " popular " enough to attract
readers and scientific enough to teach them a great deal as they read. The Redemption
of Egypt belongs to a fortunately increasing category of books in which the author
assumes that his public is neither uninstructed nor unwilling to be further informed.
To the anthropologist, as might be expected, Mr. Worsfold makes no direct appeal.
Still there is not a little in what he says to interest and attract the student of
mankind.
The chapter on the mosques of Cairo "as illustrating the development of Arabian
Art in Egypt" is particularly good in this connection, though, it would be impossible
here to give even a resume of it. Mr. Worsfold quotes many examples to show the
debt that the architecture of the Arab owes to European, Persian, and Coptic
models, but he scarcely lays sufficient stress on the fact that the Arab, in his native
Arabia, had practically no architecture at all. It was (as usual) a folk-wandering, a
mighty flux and fusion of races, which, under Mohammedan auspices, gave rise to
Sai-acenic Art.
We disagree with Mr. Worsfold when he says of the statues of Prince Rahotep
and his wife Nofret that they had " just such faces as we might see to-day in France,
Italy, or even in England." From our own recollection of these statues we should say
(18)
1900.] Avf/lfi'/iofi'i/H'ttf /,'< /•/',, rs ,1,1,1 M'unlld ,1,'fi. [NO. 26.
they were exceedingly good types of upper class ancient Egyptians, and that, as
Mi'. Worsfold adds, though they have neither the "effeminacy of Asia," nor the
" animality of Africa," still they have even less the characteristics of any European
race. One interesting point our author does not note. Rahotep is painted red-brown
and his wife yellow ; so in Egypt of to-day the man who labours in the fields is dark
as copper wherever his skin is exposed to the sun and wind, but, when he first strips
for the shadoof, he reveals as light a colouring as his wife who sits within the homo
and only goes abroad (for water) at dawn or dusk.
On another point we must join issue with Mr. Worsfold when he states that " the
civilisation of ancient Egypt was the highest to which any people had attained before
the development of Greece and Rome." PJvery year that passes shows the Euphrates
Valley to have been the home of a very high culture before even the Pyramids were
reared. It is moreover by no means certain that the prehistoric JKgea.n peoples did
not surpass in progress their contemporaries in the Valley of the Nile, and the belief
gains ground that Egyptian civilisation was only one among niany civilisations, the
one which has been best preserved, perhaps, but by no means assuredly the best.
Again, it is hardly fair to speak of the Pyramids as man's first essay in
architecture, for they are not even the first essay in architecture of the Eg'yptians
themselves.
Mr. Worsfold does not hold out much hope that Englishmen will ever make
Egypt their permanent home. Physically, this does not seem impossible, morally, it
is perhaps (as in India) inadvisable.
The copious extracts from ancient authors are excellent and are even a new
feature which is worthy of the flattery of imitation.
Much as we should like to quote many of Mr. Worsfold's interesting statements
about modern Egypt, the schools, the money-lenders, the cultivation of sugar and
cotton by European Companies, the irrigation works of English engineers and
contractors, they hardly fall within our province. It will be enough to ask : " How
long will the coming increase in the water-supply suffice for the needs of a rapidly
increasing population?" "How is the condition of the fellahin to be naturally
improved when in the future, as at present, they will be reduced again, after a
temporary respite, almost to the verge of starvation ? " Would it not be well,
while we lay out millions on works which will add to Egypt, out of Nature's
inexhaustible storehouse, little but dusky peasants and shining sovereigns, to spend
a few thousands in restoring to the light of day what can never be replaced ?
The coloured illustrations and the splendid pencil drawings add another attraction
to an attractive book, but why are the Pyramids depicted as if from a standpoint
several hundred feet high, when there is no such standpoint nearer than the Citadel
of Cairo ? However, when so much is good it is ill to cavil at trifles, and The
Redemption of Egypt takes a place among the very best modern books on that
fascinating country. A. W.
Bantu Languages. Meinhof.
Grundriss einer Lautlehre der Bantu Sprachen. By Carl Meinhof. From the
Journal of the German Oiiental Society. Leipzig, 1899, 8vo. Presented by
the Author.
In Africa there are six subdivisions of the language-field, and the Bantu
languages occupy the whole of the continent south of the equator, with the exception
of the small area of the Hottentot Bushman forms of speech. This learned essay treats
exclusively of the Bantu languages.
( 19 ) 2-2
No. 27.] Anfhropoloyicctl Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900
In the beginning of this century we knew very little of the scientific aspect of
languages ; it was sufficient to find the meaning of the words in the dictionary, and to
be able to group these words into sentences for the purpose of speaking, reading, and
writing. Things are very much changed now ; the structure of the different forms of
speech is studied scientifically, and along the great line of languages from the English
and the schoolboy's Latin on the extreme right to the articulate sounds emitted by
the voice of the South African barbarian the study of a linguist is subdivided
into " sound- lore," "word-lore," "sentence-lore," and the essay, which we are passing
under review, is the " lautlehre," or " sound-lore," of the Bantu languages of South
Africa. It was necessary to make this statement to enable the genei-al reader to
understand what the essay was about.
What is " sound-lore " ? Ideas are formed in the brain of the human race by a
divine power conceded to that race alone amidst the multiform animal creation. It is a
divine gift, but the machinery employed by each man to convey his ideas to his fellow-
man is essentially human. The wind is propelled up the larynx and out of the
mouth, modified by contact with the teeth, tongue, thr-oat, or palate, and becomes the
vehicle of the ideas, according to the fancy or necessity of different tribes and
individuals, each separate form of speech differing essentially from any other.
The author of the essay has applied himself to six Bantu languages, the Suto,
the Svvahili, the Herero, the Uuala, the Konde, and the Sango. The speakers of
these languages are barbarians, and had no form of script. Their words were caught
up by the European stranger as they fell from their lips, and entrusted to the Roman
written characters, modified so as to suit the sounds of each language. The
author discusses the sound-lore of each language at a considerable length, and most
elaborately, but no one but a profound linguistic scholar could follow him in the
details, and no doubt on so deep a subject the last word has not yet been said, and
the reading of the details is about as interesting to the general public as the reading
of a dictionary.
At the close of the essay is a statement (1) of the best known Bantu word-roots,
(2) of the literature of the Bantu language-family, which has come into existence in
the lasfc half-century ; with (3) a copious word- index. It is a most meritorious work,
and students of African languages will be grateful to the author. R. N. C.
Central Africa. Henderson.
Northern Nyasaland. By the Rev. James Henderson. (Scottish Geographical
Magazine, 1900, pp. 82-9.)
The author summarises observations accumulated during several journeys made
between 1895 and 1899 in the territory which lies west of the northern half of Lake
Nyasa. The following extracts are of anthropological interest.
" The produce of the native gardens in the coast plains and on the lower slopes
are cassava, sweet potatoes, ground-nuts, several kinds of millet, maize, beans,
pumpkins, tobacco, bananas, and plantains ; as well as, where internal influences
have been felt, rice, lemons, pineapples, papaus, custard-apples, and mangoes. A
kind of hemp is grown by the fishermen for making nets, and in the swampy plains
a pith- tree called mabingive is found, which yields a substance nearly as light as cork,
used for floats. In the neighbourhood of Bandawe, the wild arrow-root plant is
plentiful. The Konde people round Karouga ornament their villages with rows of
cotton trees. . . . The quality of the soil, except where it is alluvial, is poor, and
where it has been long continuously under cultivation, as in the Usisya Plain, it
appears to be quite exhausted." (p. 83.)
( 20)
1900.J A. a/// /•<>/, a/of/ i'ni //,'<•,-/, //-.s ii,ni Misi-flliniKt. [No. 28.
'• 1'ntil fom- or live years ago, sheep and goats were the only food animals kept
on the lake shore except at Karongii, where cattle were always abundant, but since
Him cattle have been successfully introduced into most of the villages. There i>
little doubt that with the pi-aetical disappearance of the buffalo, owing to the rinder-
pest, tin- tr>rtse-8y has also been got rid of from districts that were formerly infested."
(p. 83.)
" Lion Point, which separates Florence Bay from Young Bajr, presents, at the
water's edge, a yellowish white face of soft rock, which has been hollowed out by the
action of the waves, and by weathering. It contains a number of small caves and
grottoes. Some of these arc covered with crude representations in charcoal of native
pictorial art, showing figures of men and animals in Egyptian-like profile, some
stationary, others in motion." (p. 84.)
" The inhabitants [of the Tumbuka terrace plateaus behind the shore plains],
who are of the Tumbuka, Henga, and to some small extent Poka tribes, show some
skill in agriculture, cultivating successfully all the crops in common use on the lake
shore." (p. 85.)
"The Tumbuka and Henga tribes are skilled in the smelting and working of
iron. Their ruined furnaces, spread over a wide area in surprising numbers, give
evidence both of the general prevalence of iron ore, and of the extent to which the
working of it was carried on in the past." (p. 87.)
" Passing on now, we come to consider the mountain range which we saw in
rear of the northern section of the Tumbuka plateau, to which the name Nyika is
generally applied. Nyika is not a proper name, as used by the natives. It is simply
the uplands,' and in that sense it is in very common use. Tanganyika, I venture
to think, is nothing more or less than Nyanja ya Nyika, ' the lake of the uplands.' "
(p. 87.)
" The Poka inhabitants of the Nyika plateau, probably the aborigines of the
country, and very low in the native scale of civilisation, have little skill in cultivation.
Keeping a few goats and sheep, more for barter than for use, they subsist mostly on
pease. Their huts are built with a view to concealment, and are formed by scooping
out the ground, and covering the hole with sticks and turf. Placed, as many of them
are, among the heaps of rock debris, it is almost impossible to detect them from any
distance. On the west, the gardens are made in the open, but near the east face they
are to be found on the steep sides of the gorges." (p. 88.)
" As a whole, the district, which I have been describing, is very thinly peopled.
The inhabited country is only a fraction of the uninhabited. From the head of the
Henga valley to the Rumpi River there is not a single village. The few Poka
villages scattered over the Nyika plateau are hardly worth counting as occupations.
The Vipsya [the southern extension of the Tumbuka plateau] is entirely without
people, and in tlie far west, until the traveller has descended a long distance into the
Loangwa valley, he rarely encounters more than two or three villages in a day's
march. The great centres of population are Bandawe among the Tonga tribe,
Ekweudeiii and Hora among the Ngoni and Tumbuka tribes, Kondowi among the
mixed Heuga and Poka, and Karongu among the mixed Henga and Konde. No
exact census has yet been made." (pp. 88-9.) J- L. M.
Central Africa. Lloyd.
In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country. By A. B. Lloyd. London: Fisher
Unwiu, 1899. 8vo. pp.385. Price 21s.
Mr. Lloyd's route starts from Zanzibar, or takes him through (ierinaii Ka>t Africa.
( 21 )
Nos. 29-30.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
to Uganda. His object was to take up lay missionary work under the Church
Missionary Society in Taro, west of Uganda ; but the Soudanese rebellion deranged
his plans, and, his health giving way, he was ordered home. He decided, however, to
return by way of the Congo, and so to explore a new bit of the dense forest country
of Central Africa. He was fortunate in establishing friendly relations with the
pygmy people of the forest, and was able to collect a considerable amount of
information as to their habits and beliefs, though he was not allowed to approach
their settlements. He found them to be about 4 feet in height, but powerfully built ;
" broad chested, with muscles finely developed, short thick neck, and small bullet
head; the lower limbs were short and massive to a degree. The chest was covered
with black curly hair, and most of (he men wore thick black beards. Each carried
either bow and quiver of arrows, or short throwing spears. Round their arms they
Avore iron rings, and some of them had these round their necks also. The women
were very comely little creatures, and most attractive, with very light skins, lighter
even than the men, being of a light tan colour; they had the usual flat nose and thick
lips of the Negro, and black curly hair; but their eyes were of singular -beauty, so
bright and quick and restless they were, that not for a second did they seem to fix
their gaze upon anything. .They were smaller than the men."
The " Cannibal Country " which gives to the book the second half of its title is
that of the BangAvas, between Avakubi and Basoko. Here too Mr. Lloyd succeeded
in making friends with the natives, and was much impressed with their " great depth
of character," from which he hopes great things later on.
The book contains several good maps, and is Avell illustrated, though a canoe
accident destroyed a number of Mr. Lloyd's best plates. J. L. M.
South Africa. Keane.
The Boer States: Land and People. By A. H. Keane, F.R.Gr.S. London:
Methuen and Co., 1900. 8vo. pp. 313. Presented by the Author.
Mr. Keane may fairly claim to have written a book of more than ephemeral
value. He has approached his subject with competent knowledge and an open mind,
and has fairly and successfully, as we conceive, to be just to the Boers as well as to
the other races inhabiting South Africa. His account of the features of the country
is concise, but to the point, and in his account of the Boers he shows very instructively
how racial origin, and system of government, no less than geographical environment
have moulded their character, mental and physical. The book is one which well
repays perusal, and is sure to correct opinions hastily farmed on imperfect or one-
sided information. E. Of. 11.
South Africa. Hartland.
0« the Imperfection of our Knoiuledye of the Black Races of the Transvaal and
the Orange River Colony. Communicated by E. Sidney Hartland, to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September 10th, 1900.
This important paper was designed to lead to a discussion of the legal and social
status of the native races of South Africa, in view of the legislative and adminis-
trative changes which must follow the recent annexations. Our information on the
customs, institutions, and beliefs of the native races of those countries is derived chiefly
from fragmentary notices by missionaries, Avhich are not to be implicitly trusted.
The black peoples of South Africa are Bautus and Bushmen Hottentots. Though
there was a general similarity of custom among them all, yet there are important
differerces of which we kiiOAV little. After going into an account of the punishment
( 22 )
1900.] Anthropological J!<'ri(-ir» a-tirf ,\fi.w-//{( lira. [No. 3O.
of theft, Mr. if artland discussed (he marriage customs. The prohibited degrees of
kindred appeared to bo much wider than with us, though most of the tribes were
poljgamist. OHO of tlie modes of oppression of blacks in the Transvaul had been the
refusal to recognise those marriages. That policy we should bo compelled to reverse;
and we must start by informing ourselves what marriages were regarded by the
natives of each tribe as legal. The most valuable evidence we possessed on t In-
subject was contained in the report of the Commission, appointed by the Cape
Government twenty years ago. In this they had information on the custom of
delivery of the bride, known as " Lobola " or " Ukulobola," and the question was
whether the transaction was a bargain and sale of the biide, and, therefore, according
to our law, immoral, or if not, what it was. A church missionary of twenty-three
years' experience described it as being the " direct sale of the girl" in its purest state.
But other missionaries had said they could not condemn the custom. He could not
now go into the question of beliefs, which was, however, not less important than that
of customs. We ought to govern the native races according to their own laws and
not by ours. If we had so much difficulty in understanding their laws, no wonder
they had so much difficulty in understanding ours. They were so much attached to
their own customs, which were, indeed, part of themselves, that they could not
imagine any others. Such, then, were seme of the difficulties experienced by
Europeans, even when long resident among the natives and intimately acquainted
with them in regard to the real meaning of their institutions. An accurate study of
the native customs, institutions, and beliefs was an urgent necessity both for
missionaries and for purposes of government. In view of these difficulties the
committee of the section of anthropology had decided to propose to the general
council of the British Association, that that council should suggest to her Majesty's
Government that as soon as the condition of the Transvaal and the Orange River
Colony should permit, and prior to any legislation affecting the natives, a commission
should be appointed to inquire («) into the customs and institutions of the natives of
those States ; and (&) into the relations between the natives and the European
settlers, with power to make recommendations for the purposes above referred to ;
such commission to consist, so far as possible, of persons familiar with native life in
South Africa, and, in addition, of at least one person, unconnected with South Africa,
of recognised eminence in the study of savage customs and superstitions in general.
In the discussion which followed :
Mr. CROOKE, in warmly supporting the proposal for an ethnographical survey of
these races, ventured to caution its advocates against depending too much on official
action. Except in some isolated cases the attitude of our Colonial and Indian
Governments towards anthropological inquiries had been characterised by apathy and
indifference. They had been satisfied to muddle along, and preferred to collect such
information piecemeal so as to meet the necessities of some immediate legislative
projects. Facts thus hastily collected were forgotten as soon as the need for which
the effort was made had passed away. The business of that section was to persevere
in endeavouring to induce the Indian and Colonial Governments to adopt a more
sympathetic attitude towards ethnographical inquiries. The best chance of success in
the present investigation was not to permit it to continue purely official, but to
associate in the inquiry the leading anthropologists of South Africa, and to enlist the
aid of all persons qualified by practical knowledge and experience to advise the
commission on the questions which it would be its business to investigate.
Dr. HADDON congratulated Mr. Hartland on the temperate and judicial tone of
his statement ; as it was often difficult to express in a temperate manner the attitude
No. 31.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
of white men to natives. He himself recently had the opportunity of seeing the
other side of the picture; in British New Guinea that excellent; late Governor,
Sir William Macgregor, following the traditions of Lord Stanmore, then Sir Arthur
Gordon, in Fiji, caused his resident magistrates to inquire into native customs, laws,
and beliefs, and these investigations were printed in his annual reports. From New
Guinea Dr. Haddon went to Sarawak, where the present Rajah, who was an
irresponsible sovereign under the protection of Her Majesty, carried on the system
of government inaugurated by that remarkable man Rajah Sir James Brooke. In
Sarawak the native customary laws were respected by the Rajah. It was most im-
portant that we should take the present favourable opportunity to study and record
the traditional laws and customs of the natives of the Orange River and Transvaal
Colonies both for the sake of science and of the natives themselves. J. L. M.
West Africa: Jukos, &c. Pope-Hennessy.
Notes on the Jukos and other Tribes of the Middle Benue. Contributed by Lieu-
tenant H. Pope-Hennessy.
The writer was sent in September, 1898, from Jebba, on the Niger, to join an
expedition under Captain Lynch, the object of which was to penetrate from Ibi, on the
Benue, into the kingdom of Bauchi. He was at some disadvantage in collecting
information, as he was but slightly acquainted with the Hausa language, and all his
inquiries had to be conducted through an interpreter ; but great pains were taken to
verify the statements of the latter by all available means.
There are two routes from Ibi to Bauchi, the more usual going by Waze, but
the shorter by Jepjep and Pongru. The latter, however (which was that traversed
by the writer), is not popular with native traders, for ifc passes through the territory
of three pagan tribes, the Tangale, the Urku, and the Ligori, which hold the hills and
have a bad name for raiding weak caravans. In the same district the writer had the
opportunity of observing the Jukos, who live about the town of Gatri.
In all cases the notes follow as far as possible the order of the questions in Notes
and Queries on Anthropology.
I.— The Tangale Tribe.
This tribe inhabits the hills some fifteen miles east of the main road between
Gatri and Pongru, and makes raids from its strongholds on caravans passing along it.
Mode of Subsistence. — The Tangale are farmers, and use a hoe with a long shaft
for turning up the soil. They grow guinea-corn and a white cereal of which the
writer could get no specimens. Besides these two grains they commonly eat a soup
made of an infusion of the crushed leaves of the plant which is called none in Hausa
and adati by the Jukos. They also eat meat, and own cattle, sheep, and poultry.
Fire is produced by flint and steel ; no one is specially charged with the duty of
preserving it.
These villages consist of mud-walled, grass-thatched huts. These lie scattered
about, and are never surrounded by a wall, for the Tangale boast that no enemy can
penetrate their country. The sexes live in separate huts, those of the men having low
doors ; but there is no separation of the sexes at meals, except as referred to later.
The beds are made of a tree split in half and fashioned into rude planks.
Head-hunting and Cannibalism. — The Tangale are said to be head-hunters ; and
one of their customs is that no young man may marry until he can produce a
head. They. appear to stoop to stealing the heads of dead men and even buying
them when unable to get them for themselves. While the author was at Gatri a
native was executed and his body exposed on a hillock about half a mile from the
( 24 )
1900.]
[No. 31.
town. During the night the head was cut off as report said by a Juko of the town,
who sold it to a Tangale friend of his, who wanted to marry, but had not yet killed a
man. This Tangalo would probably produce the head as a trophy of his own valour.
When they raid a caravan their first care is to cut off the heads of the slain and
make off with them ; then, if undisturbed, they come back for the bodies and the loot.
The bodies are taken away to the neighbourhood of their villages, and all the grown
men of the village (but not the women and children) assemble, and after a drinking
bout of petu (beer made from guinea-corn) boil and eat the bodies. While doing this
on
Scale of Eng-l. Miles.
50
PORTIONS OF COUNTRY NOT SHADED AUK IN THE HANDS ox FULANI.
they sit on stones arranged in some pattern, either a circle or an oval. Separation of
the sexes is rigidly enforced at these cannibal feasts, though there is nothing of the
kind at ordinary meals.
The heads of their victims they put separately in little earthen pots, the flesh being
previously cleaned off, and probably eaten, and the pots are then shut up and buried.
But every new moon the Tangale brave who has a head thus buried grinds up a little
corn, mixes it with water, and puts it into the ppt with the head as an offering, at
No. 31.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
the same time praying to the head. A brave who has several heads keeps them in
separate pots, and goes through the same ceremony with each head.
Burial Customs and Religions Beliefs. — The Tangale bui'y their dead at full
length, and nothing is interred with the corpse. An ordinary man is only mourned
for by his friends, but a chief or king is prayed to for some considerable time — a year or
so. They are said to believe in some sort of future state for both sexes, with ideas of
reward and punishment ; but clear and trustworthy information about their religious
beliefs was difficult to obtain. They believe in several gods, their principal deity
being Bokange. After him there are Tnmfa, Mnrshofo, Bdtv, and Wamlai, who are
peaceful gods and do not like war ; and Takurdo, Tangalan, and Tal, who, with
Bokange himself, are war gods, and help the Tangale in their fights. They have
wooden idols, not carved to resemble the human face ; these they put in a hut and
surround with a circle of stones, on which the worshippers sit. They grovel to the
idols and pray usually for good crops and many travellers to kill, at the same time
offering fowls and food to the idol. They do not pray every day — only when they
want something.
They have medicine men who can foretell future events by seeing them reflected
in a bowl of plain water. They do not know of any magic to enable them to kill their
enemies at a distance.
In common with many other tribes in this district, they believe that roan
antelope, waterbuck, and giraffe are unlucky to kill, having " bad juju "; the elephant,
however, has no juju.
Hunting and Fighting. — Their weapons are two spears (narr), a round shield of
elephant hide (kotong*), a double-edged knife worn on the right hip, and an axe with a
half-moon blade set in a shaft some 30 inches long, which is worn over the left
shoulder. They never use bows or arrows, and never poison their spears for fighting
— though they do so for elephant-hunting.
Their method of attacking a caravan is to lie in ambush in the high grass by the
roadside, with sentries up in trees. The sentry warns them of the approach of the
caravan by a low whistle. When within stabbing distance they drive their spear into
a man, and transferring it to the left hand, hack the head off with the half-moon axe.
Having got the head, the successful Tangale makes off with it and puts it in a' place of
safety, being afraid of his own friends stealing it. Only when the danger is over do
they come back to the bodies and booty. A noted warrior wears a leopard-skin on
his back ; a great hunter, on the other hand, has no distinguishing mark.
Clothing. — As a general rule the men go stark naked in the bush ; as a protection
from thorns, however, they tie a bit of sheepskin round their groin. A chief usually
wears a cloth wrapper. The sole clothing of the women is a bunch of green leaves
before and behind. They sometimes wear plain ivory bangles. The women mark
their faces with many small circles, and the men their faces, arms, and body. The
front teeth of the upper jaw are tiled in both sexes 011 reaching puberty. The hair is
cut so as to leave a broad band down the middle of the head. Both men and women
wear bits of stick through their ears ; the women also wear a stick in the cartilage
of the nose. The hair of the men is reddened with a dye called kwoya in Hausa and
shannu in Taugale.
II. — The Urku or Wnrukn Tribe.
This tribe lives among rocky hills a few miles to the south-west of the Tangale,
and on the other side of the caravan road.
Appearance. — Two Urkus seen by the writer at Gatri were aged about seventeen
( 26)
1900.] .tit/hr<>/n>/t>t/!r,/f 7,Y/vV//-.s- <//,</ Mi*i-'-lln,i<n. [No. 31.
and twenty-seven respectively, and were f> feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches in
height. The hair of the younger m;m \\.-is concealed by a cap ; that of the other \v:is
cut short, except a low plaited band down (lie middle of (lie head, ending in a fail
o inches long, wliicli was brought over the forehead. The faces of both wire
marked by two lines of small vertical lamp-cicatrices. Neither of them was
circumcised, nor had his teeth filed. The most noticeable thing about their faces
Avas the great breadth of forehead, the width between the cheek-bones, and the small
and pointed chin. The younger man had a tight collar of horsehair round his neck,
nnd both wore several bangles of white metal on their arms. They carried on their
shoulders axes with triangular blades, covered with fine wavy lines.
Mode of Subsistence. — The Urkus are farmers and hunters. They live in round
mud-walled huts with thatched roofs, and their villages are walled with loose stones.
Their food consists principally of rice and guinea-corn, which they grow for themselves ;
millet (in Hausa gTiirro) they do not know. The sexes eat apart, the women indoors,
the men in the bush. Though the men feed apart, they do not mind a stranger seeing
them eat, or eating with them; differing in this from the Jukos of Gatri, who are
most careful not to be seen eating or drinking by any but the men of their own tribe.
In hunting they use spears and bows. One of their methods of hunting is as
follows: — A shallow hole is dug in a game path; in this a running noose is placed,
supported so that, when the beast puts its foot in the hole, the noose catches the leg.
The free end of the rope is fastened to a log, which impedes the movements of the
animal sufficiently to enable the hunters and dogs to overtake it, when it is despatched
with spears.
Cannibalism. — The Urkus are commonly reported to eat the prisoners whom they
take in fights with the neighbouring tribes. If many are taken it is said that they
fatten up those who are not wanted for immediate consumption and keep them for
future use. The writer heard, but only at second hand, that owing to the dearth of
salt in their country this tribe is in the habit of putting slaves to work, grinding corn
and so forth, until they perspire ; they then rub the meat they are eating against the
slave's body, making use of the salt in the perspiration.
A few Urkus are found as slaves in the Mohammedan states bordering ou their
country, but the Fulah are loth to travel in the Urku district because of their savage
reputation and cannibal propensities.
Religion. — The Urkns met by the writer were very shy and frightened when
asked about their religion. They appear to worship ten gods, but none of these are
war-gods ; they look after the crops and farms. The Urku word for a god is
Kimlema, and the name of their principal deity is Kottong. They pray at the time of
the new moon, when they sacrifice sheep and fowls. Their idols are of wood, and
are kept in little mat houses surrounded by a circle of stones.
111.— The Ligori Tribe.
This tribe lives to the south of Gatri and the Jukos, and south-east of the Urkus.
The writer passed through the town of Ligori on his journey up country, but did not
take any notes, as he hoped to do so on the return journey. Circumstances, however,
compelled him to hurry through, and he had no further opportunity of studying these
people.
They are marauders of a mild sort, and levy a toll on merchandise passing
through their country. They arc pagans, but nut cannibals, and do not go naked like
the Tangale and Urkus, but wear a cloth.
Their crops are very good, and in fact, wherever he went, north of the ISenue,
( ••* '
No. 31.] Anthropological J!cri< n-* ,1,1,1 J//WA'//m. [1900.
the writer was struck by the industry and the good crops of the pagan tribes, which
are everywhere better than in the Mohammedan countries of this part of Nigeria.
But none of the three tribes here described grow millet at all, though it is so common
in the neighbouring Fnlah and Bornu states.
IV.— The Juko Tribe.
The Jukos are a pagan tribe of the Middle Benue River, and were at one time an
united and powerful nation. Tradition has it that they ruled a large empire extending
from Bauchi in the north to the Allah Katsena River, south of the Benue. At
present they have sadly fallen from their high estate — if, indeed, they ever had any —
and are more often met with as fishermen and canoe-men in the district around Ibi.
Those, however, with whom the writer became best acquainted are the inhabitants of
Gatri (or Gateri), where, not mixing with other tribes, they have in all probability
maintained their customs in greater purity than elsewhere.
Mode of Subsistence. — The Jukos are mainly farmers, and their food consists of
guinea-corn and yams, together with the game they take by hunting.
Seme Juko elephant hunters use a poisoned spear tired out of a flintlock trade-gun,
but these are the exceptions, the usual weapons being spears and arrows, which are
dipped in a poison the basis of which is a shrub called konkoni in Hausa, which is a
principal ingredient in all the poisons I saw, whether used by Jukos, Hausas, Fulahs,
or Bornus. The Jukos do not use the burttt, the favourite device of the hunters
around Ibi, which consists of a toucan's bill stuck into a piece of wood, covered with
black leather, curved to represent the head and neck of the bird. By fastening this
on to his forehead and enveloping himself in a dark indigo-dyed robe, the hunter is
often able to stalk up to within a few yards of antelope. The Jukos of Wukari
use snares and pitfalls, but the Gatri people do not. The Juko hunters of Sanderde,
Wurio, Gassol, and Malla use a spear with a detachable iron head to which a rope is
attached, called narru in Juko and songo in Hausa. They use dogs for hunting
small antelope or gazelle.
The Benue Jukos catch fish by driving them into V-shaped traps made of mats
and placed in convenient shallows. They also use nets, but are said not to use hooks,
though they spear fish.
Some natives say that there is no particular observance at cooking; others, that
the men prepare their own food. They all agree as to the following statement : —
A Juko man will only let another Juko man see him eat, and will neither eat nor
drink in the presence of any stranger or woman of his own people.
To eat their food the men go apart into the bush to little mat houses called Kungoni,
of which each man has his own. The women and small boys eat in the huts in the
towns, the custom of going apart to eat only being obligatory on boys of age to
marry.
Fire is pi'oduced by flint and steel — no one in. particular is entrusted with the
duty of looking after it.
The houses are circular, 10 to 20 feet in diameter ; walls of mud and straw with
conical thatched roof. A family occupies several huts in a mat-walled compound,
(a) The entrance hut is called a samfa. It is a large hut with two doors. Visitors
are received and lodged there, but women never enter it, and a woman wishing to leave
the enclosure has to go round the samfa instead of walking through it as a man
Avould. (6) The owner of the house has a hut to himself, to which the wives come in
turn, each for two nights, (c) The women have their own huts, several women living
in the same, and their children with them, (d) A hut is set apart as kitchen. A wife
(28)
1900.] Anfltrojiu/nf/ir,!/ /,', ,-/r/rs ////// Mixnl/n,, [NO. 31.
during the period of menstruation is not allowed into a man's hut, but has to live in a
small hut outside the wall of her husband's compound, where food is brought to her
and she stays three or four days.
In the houses the Jukos sit
,, ,.
on mats, and only the king may
use a sheepskin. The beds are °-j
like those of the Hausas as
described by Rev. C. Robinson in QJ«
Hausa Land.
The town of Gatri is of an irregular shape (perhaps meant for a square), is
enclosed by an earthen wall, with banquette, ditch, and thorn fence (abbatis) in front.
The principal cultivated plants are : — Guinea-corn (<ha), millet (ghirro in
Hausa and mei/nu in Juko), beans (jmr), ground-nuts (fenzati), tobacco (tola).
Indigo is not grown. Digging is done with iron hoes, and for reaping a small
axe is used, which has a splayed triangular blade set in a club-like handle, and
is called pallam.
Religion and Customs. — In his inquiries into the religion and customs of the Jukos
the writer was very greatly hampered both by their shyness in speaking of such
matters and by the Mohammedanism of his interpreter, to whom the religion of the
Jukos was a work of the devil and not worth bothering about. The only Juko who
gave much information was also not a very trustworthy informant. He entertained
the writer and had travelled much, and, as he himself said, had lost the beliefs of his
people without picking up any other. This man was the only Juko whom the writer
encountered who would drink in his presence. From him he gathered that the Jukos
believe in one god called Sido, who is thought by each man to be present in his own
fetish room.
One method of praying appears to be as follows : — A man, having cut off the
head of a bird (probably a fowl), winds himself up in rope till he is a sort of
human cocoon and none of his skin is •visible. Then with the bird's head in his
mouth about dusk he runs out of his hut making a noise, through the bird's head,
which sounds somewhat like " Hugh, hugh, hugh." When the women hear this
they all run away, saying, " God has come."
Killing the King. — The town of Gatri is ruled by a king, who is elected by the
big men of the town as follows : — When in the opinion of the big men the king has
reigned long enough, they give out that " the king is sick " — a formula understood by
all to mean that they are going to kill him, though the intention is never put more
plainly. They then decide who is to be the next king. How long he is to reign is
settled by the influential men at a meeting ; the question is put and answered by
each man throwing on the ground a little piece of stick for each year he thinks the
new king should rule. The king is then told, and a great feast prepared, at which
the king gets drunk on guinea-corn beer. After this he is speared, and the man who
was chosen becomes king. Thus each Juko king knows that he cannot have very
many more years to live, and that he is certain of his predecessor's fate. This,
however, does not seem to frighten candidates. The same custom of king-killing is
said to prevail at Quonde and Wukari as well as at Gatri.
As may be inferred from the above, the king is very much under the influence of
his big men, so much so that if a present be given to him by custom, he is compelled
to give some of it to each of his principal subjects. Before anything of importance
is undertaken, a council is called of these principal subject?, and without their consent
nothing of any importance is done. Every day the king gives two or three pots of
( 29 )
No. 31.] Anthropological 7.Y/-/V/r.s' mul Miwllirnrn. [1900.
beer to his advisers. The winter was informed that before they decide anything they
pray a great deal, and offer sacrifices, but of what sort his informant would not say.
Marriage. — A Juko wedding, which may take place at any time of the year,
is accompanied by a feast to the friends, with much drinking of peto or guinea-
corn beer. The price of a wife is high — two or three slaves. There are many
slaves in Gatri, mostly Urkus or Duguris. If a wife does not get on with her
husband she can demand to be sold to any man she likes, provided such a one
is willing to buy her ; the original husband then gets back his outlay. Should no
one be willing to marry her she can still leave her husband, who thus loses the
money he invested in her. The king has as many wives as he likes. The writer was
told that they numbered from 100 to 1,000, and that they pass on to his successor,
who keeps the pick of them, and sells those he does not want.
A king can take any unmarried girl he likes, but never another man's wife. If
a Juko woman is caught in adultery with another man, the matter is brought before
the king in council, the usual decision being that the seducer pays to the king half of
the value of a slave and to the injured husband twice the cost price qf the wife. He
is then at liberty to keep the woman.
Land Tenure. — A man wishing to buy a farm goes direct to the owner and settles
with him without reference to the king. Farms vary in size from the plot of land
tilled by the farmer's wives to the large holdings of big men worked by many slaves.
The price of a farm which would take ten slaves to till it is about 10 "covers " of
indigo-dyed native cloth, or in our money 30s. to 35s. A man who wishes to clear a
piece of bush to make a farm, does so without asking leave of any one.
When a Juko from elsewhere comes to Gatri the king allots him a piece of land
gratis on which to build a house.
The price of a good house is about 10 covers (60s.) of native cloth and love
gown — about 46s. or 50s. This is paid to the seller, not to the king.
A tax of 10 per cent, in kind on all crops is paid to the king, who himself owns
farms. There is no tax on houses, horses, etc.
Succession. — One half of a man's personal property, such as horses, cut corn, etc.,
passes at his death to male heirs, the other half to the king. When a male dies
without male heir, the king takes one half of his farm, the other half going to the
female heirs. If he has a brother, the brother takes the land, giving the boys a small
portion.
Administration and Justice. — The care of the town wrall is entrusted to the people
of the town, each man being allotted a section, for the good order of which he is
responsible.
Theft is punishable by the king seizing the culprit and his wives as slaves, and
confiscating his property to himself. The injured man gets nothing.
Arts and Manufactures. — These are practically confined to the manufacture of
rough hand-made pottery and of guinea-corn beer, which in Hausa is called peto, and
by the Jukos jais, and of tobacco and snuff ; with the latter they are accustomed to
mix potash. Salt is imported.
Jujiis. — The Jukos put faith in "medicine " and charms as helps to hunting. For
instance, a Juko hunter told the writer that the night before he goes to hunt elephants
he goes apart into a little hut (fetish house ?), and makes offerings and prayers to a
"stick" (he was speaking Hauoa and used the word itctchi), saying, " I want blood,
I want blood." He then takes a "medicine" — which is different for different
animals — and making four cuts in his left arm, rubs the " medicine " in. This helps
him to see the beast next day. From various Hausa and Beri Beri (Mohammedan)
( 30)
1900.] A'lltlli'i>iHiln;/inil /,V /•/'/•//•..< ,,„,] J/V.W/,/ ///,/. [NO. 32.
hunters the writer compiled the following list of jujus for game : — The lion, leopard,
bush-cow, rhinoceros, elephant, hartebeeste, gazelle, oribi, wart-hog, and hippo have no
jnjit. The juju of a giraffe is in his head, so it is vei'y bad luck to kill him, and when
hunters kill him they leave his head in the bush, though they bring in the rest of the
carcase for sale ; nor will they touch the head on any account. The writer was very
anxious to get a complete specimen of the beast, as it is reported to be of a different
species to that of South Africa. But though he was able to buy some bones, the tail,
and a piece of hide, no price would induce the hunters to bring him the head. The
tail is a great medicine for headache and vertigo; the ailments are cured by tying it
around the head of a sick person. Tt is worth about twelve shillings up country and
more in big towns.
To kill the roan antelope is dreadful bad luck. The writer's guide — El Hadji —
killed one once after four shots, "so strong him juju against powder." Within a
month two of his slaves died. A friend of his — an Ibi hunter — shot one once, and for
three months afterwards was unable to shoot straight. So he went to a medicine-
man, who for ten shillings' woi'th of cloth gave him medicine to wash himself in, which
killed the juju. Another young hunter wounded a roan antelope at night ; he went
home and told his father — an experienced veteran — who said, "You are not fit to kill
a roan." The young man next morning followed the blood trail to the foot of a tree,
where he found a woman squatting on the ground. He ran home frightened to his
father, who gave him medicine against roan antelope juju, and then returned to the
tree. The woman was still there, so he took up a stick and beat her, saying, " You are
the bad/«/tt of a roan antelope " ; the woman vanished, and a roan lay dead before him.
The waterbuck have much the same juju as the roan antelopes, but weaker, so
that hunters can kill them by wearing certain charms. The duiker has very bad
juju ; by night he carries a bright light between his horns. The cob antelope has
only a feeble juju which can be warded off by charms.
If a man shoots a koodoo and goes up to the body, he will die. The thing to do
after killing the koodoo is to go to the nearest village, and in course of conversation
say you saw vultures hovering over such and such a place — " there must be a dead
beast there." Some of those who hear this will innocently go there ; the wily hunter
then follows, and taking care not to be the first to find the body, gets a share of the
meat, the juju of which is powerless, as it does not know who slew it.
West Africa ; Yorubas. Stone.
In Afric's Forest and Jungle ; or, Six Years among the Yoriibas. By Rev. R.
H. Stone. Edinburgh : Oliphant, Anderson and Fen-ier, 1900. 8vo. pp.274.
Price 3.«. 6d. Presented by the Publishers.
This is an interesting account of the experiences of a missionary in Western
Africa. The author seems to have little taste for pure ethnological inquiries, but
his photographs of the native races have some value. Anyone who has read Colonel
Ellis's classical account of the beliefs of this people is not likely to add much to his
knowledge by reading this book. But it is written in a simple, unpretending style
and gives a graphic account of the rather ghastly experiences of a missionary among
a singularly brutal race. W. CKOOKE.
(31)
Nos. 33-34.] Anthropological Rcrirws and MiwI/n/i/'H. [1900.
Alphabet. Clodd.
The Story of the Alphabet. By Edward Clodd. London: Newnes, 1900.
Sin. 8vo. 234 pp. Price Is. Presented by the Publisher.
This book appears at an unfortunate time. Had most of it been written fifteen
years ago it would have been greeted as a final summary of the certainties of the
subject. Were it to be written fifteen years hence there would probably be much
changed of those supposed certainties. Had it even been written a year later, the
great Cretan discoveries of early writing would have given a different complexion
to it. This great and rapid change in our knowledge is the hardship, and nowise the
fault, of the author; and if the publisher demands for his shilling library to have the
alphabet among some two dozen subjects, well, some ono must do it to date, and let us
be glad that it is Mr. Clodd who has ventured. But no one would choose the present
time to make a pi-onouncement on so confused a subject.
The divisions of this volume briefly are, the mnemonics for ideas (such as American
writing), the Chinese, the cuneiform, the hieroglyphic, the derivation of the
Phoenician, the Cretan, etc., Greek and derivatives, and a mention of runes and
ogams. The development of the principle of writing is carefully traced through the
stages of mere impulses to memory (such as tying a knot in a handkerchief), the
pictorial marks which suggest the subject, the ideographic, in which each sign has a
constant meaning, and the phonetic, in which The sign may be used for a sound
disconnected from its original meaning. A very practical summary is given of the
main systems of ancient writing ; but we can now say definitely that the Egyptians in
the first dynasty were in the ideographic stage, with scarcely a trace of the phonetic.
On the Phoenician alphabet, De Rouge's theory of its derivation from the
Egyptian hieratic is presented in some twenty pages, without a qualm until the last
paragraph is reached, where the reader is warned that it may be all wrong. Looking
at the table on p. 143 showing the comparison of the forms, carefully selected to agree
as well as may be, the resemblances between the hieratic and the Phoenician are,
however, far from strong. In the 22 letters 9 have scarcely any resemblance, 7 are
doubtful, 4 are fairly alike, and only 2 can be claimed as really clear. This is far from
satisfactory, and it is strange that so inconclusive a theory should have been so largely
accepted. Now that we know how all these letters, and the larger stock kept up in
Karia and Spain, were used continuously from 5000 B.C. or earlier, the Phoenician
connection has sunk to its own place as merely a late assortment of material which
was well known long before.
We are yet learning, and have much to learn, about the sources of the European
alphabet ; but for the present this little book will familiarise the questions to many
who would not otherwise have heard of them, W. M. F. P.
Progress of Invention. lies.
Flame, Electricity, and the Camera: Man's progress from the First Kindling of
Fire to the Wireless Telegraph and the Photography of Colour. By George lies.
8vo. pp. 398 : illustrated. New York. Doubleday and McClure Co., 1900. (Presented
by the Author.)
The title of Mr. lies' book sufficiently explains its character. It is an attempt to
indicate in a popular style the way in which one stage of human invention leads to
another. It contains, among many other topics, a summary of methods of tire
production, a note on the use of composite photography to determine racial types,
and some examples of photographic colour printing which are much in advance of
what appears to satisfy us in this countiy. J. L. M.
( 32)
1900.] Anthropological 7?/v/v//-* ///iJ Mixrrll«iim. [Nos. 35 -37.
AUSTRALASIA.
North Queensland. Edge-Partington.
Note on a Wommera from North Queensland. Communicated by J. Edge-
Partington.
When in North Queensland in 1897, I purchased from a dealer in Cairns an
unusual form of wommera,
cither made in imitation of a
boomerang or out of an old one.
Among my photographs of
Queensland natives I have one
in which this form of wommera T „, ,
appeal-sin the hands of a native
inhabiting the scrub district
between Townsville and Cooktowii. It is of a wood similar to that from which the
large swords from this district are made. The peg is of wood, circular in section,
and is kept in position with "black boy" gum.
Tasmania. Moir.
On the Stone Implements of the Natives of Tasmania. Communicated by
J. Paxton Moir to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 5th, 1900.
The author describes recent excavation in former camping grounds and other
places of native resort, which yielded, at a depth of a few feet, hand axes, knives, and
other implements of chipped, unground stone; and also large numbers of concave
scrapers and groovers, which were no doubt used for shaping spears and for grooving
club handles for the grip. The paper will be found, in full, in vol. xxx of this Journal.
Tasmania. Tylor.
On the Stone Age in Tasmania, as related to the History of Civilisation.
Communicated by Professor E. B. Tylor, F.B.S., to the Anthropological
Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Sept. 5th, 1900.
The author considered the results to be arrived at upon the Tasmanian stone
implement problem in its present condition. It now becomes clear that the natives
of Tasmania illustrate the culture of the Stone Age at a period of development even
below that of the Palaeolithic Man of the Mammoth Period in Europe. It thus
becomes important to put compactly the elements of Tasmanian life, as involving a
claim to be considei'ed as the condition coeval with the lowest available record. How
the Tasmanians with their house and boat building, fire-making and cooking, basketry
and leather work, rude tools and weapons, combined with a mythology which with its
star myths and doctrine of nature-spirits, and an nnimistic religion culminating in
polytheism, present a picture of man's life on the earth, which though far from
primitive is perhaps the earliest which is based on direct anthropological evidence.
In the course of the discussion which followed this communication, Mr. H. Ling
Roth said that some eighteen months ago he had received from a Yorkshire gentleman.
Mr. J. Backhouse Walker, an account given by an old Australian settler, who in his
youth had come across a group of black fellows whilst they were actually engaged
in making these stones. The first process was simply to split them by hurling them
violently on the rocky ground, and some stones were at once nsed in this rough
( 33 ) 3
Nos. 38-40.] Anthropological Eevicws and • Miwcll<nn'«. [1900.
shape for cutting up kangaroo meat, whilst other stones were prepared by chipping.
At one period, doubtless the Tasmanians covered the whole of Australia ; and they
were subsequently almost swept away — only scattered representatives being left in
small areas — by another race.
Tasmania. Fysh.
/} O Tasmania: Primitive, -Present, and Future. By Sir Philip Fysh, K.C.M.G.,
<3O Agent.- General for Tasmania. From the Journal of the Royal Colonial Institute,
XXXI, 75-102.
This is a paper read before the Royal Colonial Institute, on January 16th, 1900.
It contains (pp. 76-80) a full and accurate account of the early history of European
enterprise in Tasmania and of the disappearance of the aborigines. J, L. M.
New Zealand. Schurtz.
Schnitsereien der Maori aus dem Stddtischen Museum in firemen. Von H.
Schurtz. (Globus LXXVIT, pp. 53-8.) With fourteen photographic illustra-
tions. Presented by the Author.
This is an interesting article on the subject of Maori ornament, based principally
upon a series of modern carvings executed to order by Te Tuhi, one of the last of the
Maori carvers in wood. The series forms a complete set of beams and rafters for
a typical Maori house, which is by this time erected in Bremen, presumably on the
premises of the City Museum. Mr. Schurtz begins by noticing that the designs
employed in painting flat surfaces are different in character from those which occur in
carved work. They consist of a motive rather suggesting an anchor, and occur
upon the early tattooed heads, suggesting that the change to the Avell-known scroll
designs was first made in the case of tattooed heads, and then in the carved wooden
figures representing human beings thus tattooed. Representations of human beings
not being painted but always carved, the art of the painter would not be affected by
the change, and thus the older style was preserved in painting, when it had already
disappeared in sculpture. This theory, though ingenious, is not we think supported
by facts, as the anchor-pattern undoubtedly occurs on carvings of some antiquity.
A description of the component parts of a Maori house is then given, with the native
names, and is followed by the interpretation of the various figures given by the
carver, Te Tuhi.
The author expresses the hope, which will be shared by all interested in the
early history of New Zealand, that the continuation of Mr. Hamilton's valuable work
on Maori art will include an enumeration of the different Maori designs with their
exact native names. 0. M. D.
New Zealand : Pataka. Edge-Partington.
Af\ Note on a Pataka in the Auckland Museum, Neio Zealand, together with a further
* "' Note on a Carved Canoe-Head in the British Museum. Communicated by J. Edge-
Partington. (Plate E, fig. 6.)
In my note on a carved canoe-head from New Zealand, which appeared in the
last number of the Journal of this Institute, p. 305, I gave " snake " as an equivalent
of the word " manaia." This was an unfortunate word to have chosen, as there are no
snakes in Now Zealand. A manaia is a mythical monster, corresponding to the
serpent of the Garden of Eden. In the Auckland (N.Z.) Museum there is a fine
pataka or village store-house, ornamented with the very oldest style of carving
(except where restored at a later period), the side slabs of which are carved to rcpre-
( 34)
1900.] Aiitlii»i>n1,>ii'i,;il /,', ,•/'• /'•.-,• a, nl .V/x-r/A///,./. ( Nos. 41 43.
sent flic ancient Maori legend of the temptation of woman by the manuia. The slabs
are carved from end to end with a row of male and female figures ; between each is a
manaia with its head turned towards the figures. The male figures are represented as
turning away from the monster, while the female figures are tunied towards the
monster as if in the act of listening. The centre figure is composite, facing outwards,
with a manaia on either side. In the carving of this monster on the canoe-head the
snake-like neck is evidently drawn out to fit the required space.
New Zealand: Maori Scroll Pattern. Edge-Partington.
On the Genesis of Hie Maori Scroll-Pattern. Communicated by J. Edge- jt A
Partington. (Plato E, fig. a.)
In sending me a photograph of a very ancient slab from a Pataka or store-house
in the Auckland Museum, Mr. Josiah Martin suggests that this particular way of
depicting the manaia is the genesis of the Maori Scroll. Mr. Hamilton also in his
Maori Art, p. 158, speaks of these large spirals or scrolls as tnanaias. 80 many
suggestions have been made as to the origin of this particular pattern, such as the
new fern fronds, ihe markings on shells, etc , that it is interesting to find yet another
and one more likely to be correct. It is only by the study of these very early pieces
of the carver's handiwoi'k that we can hope to find a true solution.
New Zealand : cf. J.A.I. XXIX (N.S. II), 304 6. Edge-Partington.
The Editor of the Journal regrets that by an unaccountable mistake the M o
notes entitled " New Zealand Kotalias or Whip Slings," "Carved Canoe-Head • &
from New Zealand," and " On a Stone Battle-Axe from New Zealand" printed in
vol. xxix (N.S. II) pp. 304-6, went to press uncorrectcd by the author ; and also that
the second of them was wrongly ascribed to Mr. C. H. Read. In reality, both articles
wore contributed by Mr. Edge-Partington, who sends the following list of
corrections : —
Page 304, line 23, for it read these.
,, ,, ., 34, „ charged ,, charred.
,. 305, .. 40, ,, at present in my possession ,, in the British Museum.
,. 41, „ C. H. Eead ., J. Edge-Partington.
.. „ ,, 46, ,, Aiyai in her ,, Angas in his.
,, ^(.:6, .. 10, omit the words at present . .. . resting-place.
Timor Group : Travels. Ten Kate.
Verslag eencrreis in de Timor-groep en Polynesia. Door Dr. Hermann F. C. ten
Kate. Leiden : E. J. Brill. 1894. pp.310. Presented by the Maatschappij tor
bovordering van het Natuurkundig Onderzoek der Nederl and soli e Kolonien.
This book, which is a record of travels in the Timor group in 1890, does not call
for any special notice in these pages. It docs not profess to give the scientific results
of the expedition (cf. Int. Archil-. Ethnog., vii, viii), which are merely sketched in a fow
pages afc the end of the book ; there are, however, twelve plates dealing with the huts,
mcgalithic monuments, weapons, etc.
If the contents call for little notice here, the same does not apply to the style in
which the book is got up. We are unfortunately too familiar with the unbound books
which fall to pieces as soon as one has read one chapter. In this case there is the
added misery of lack of index and table of contents. It should be made a penal
offonce for publishers to issue a book of this description. If a book is worth
( 35 ) 3—2
No. 44.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
writing and worth publishing, it is worth an index, otherwise the facts recorded are
virtually lost, unless each reader makes his own index or analysis. It is certainly
unworthy of a scientific society to issue such a book. N. W. T.
New Guinea. Biro.
M M Beschreibender Catalog der Ethnographischen Sammluny Ludwig Biro-s aus
• • Deutsch-New-Guinea (Berlinhafen). Published by the Hungarian National
Museum, Budapest, 1899. 4to. With plates. Presented by the Author.
The authorities of the Hungarian National Museum at Budapest have made an
excellent start in the series of descriptive catalogues of the ethnographical collections
vmder their charge, and, if all subsequent publications of the series come up to the
level of the first issue, a work of great importance and utility will have been offered to
ethnologists, and one which should prove of much assistance in the proper classification
of material in museums and private collections. The first instalment deals with the
fine ethnographical collection made by Herr Ludwig Bird in German New Guinea
(Berlinhafen), a collection which has evidently been made with considerable care, both
in the selection of specimens and in the recording of detailed information regarding
their use, varieties, their native names in different localities, and so forth. The text
is bilingual, being printed in Hungarian and German in parallel columns, a useful
feature, considering how few of those interested in the subject are acquainted with the
former language. The illustrations are numerous and good, and, even in the absence of
a regular index, it is easy to find a reference to any particular object or class of objects,
as the text is conveniently divided into sections and sub-sections under appropriate
headings. The clothing and personal ornaments are described in detail, and in some
instances a very full account is given, with illustrations, of the process of their
manufacture, as, for instance, in the case of the making of shell armlets by means of
the cylindrical drill of bamboo, which is weighted with a stone, and is rotated upon
the block of tridaena shell until a central core is cut right out, the end of the bamboo
being kept from slipping by means of an ingenious binding of creeper wound round
the shell-block, while the friction is augmented with moistened sand-grit. This
interesting progress has been described both by von Luschan and Parkinson, but
fresh details are given here.
Domestic utensils and tools are treated of in similar detail, and following these
are sections devoted to religion, magic, dance, etc.
Lastly, the various forms of weapons — cassowary-bone daggers, bows and arrows,
lances, and fish-spears — are described minutely, and particular attention is paid to the
ornamentation upon the different portions of arrows, which is carefully studied and
analysed, so as to demonstrate the different motifs, their derivatives, combinations,
and so forth, in a classification by morphological affinities.
References to literature are given freely. A small map of the region specially
dealt with would have been a useful addition, and would have added to the value of
the publication, which may be accepted as a very serviceable treatise upon the
ethnography of the Berlinhafen district, as illustrated by the collection made by a
careful and painstaking observer. Such non-portable objects of use as dwellings,
canoes and others, whose size was such as to prevent their being collected and sent to
the museum, are not dealt with, but it is to be hoped that these may also receive
attention, and be described in a detailed manner, in the same way as the objects
actually forming the collection itself. HENRY BALFOUR.
( 3(5 )
1900.] Anthntpoloyical 1!< ri< n-* mi, I Miwllnitni. [Nos. 45-46.
Solomon Islands. Edge-Partington.
Note OH an Object of Unknown Use from the Solomon Islands. Communicated
by J. Edge-Partington. (Plate E.)
The subject of this note was recently pi-esented to the British Museum by Rear-
Admiral Hand, who obtained it from one of the Solomon Islands when on a cruise in
the South Paci6c. Unfortunately he cannot give any more definite information than
this. I have communicated with the Rev. Alfred Penny, the author of Ten Years in
Melanesia. He thinks that it was probably made at San Crintoval or Malay ta, as he
has seen clubs of similar shape at both islands, though never one with so beautiful a
pattern. In his opinion it is a dancing club, and the perforation on the upper edge is
for attaching bundles of feathers, shells, or dried beans to chink like castanets. I
cannot, however, bring myself to believe that this was the use to which it was put. I am
rather inclined to think that he is confusing it with the glaive-like dancing club common
to that part of the group (Album, 227, No. 1). In the tirst place there is no natural
grip, nor does the narrow portion below the butt end show any signs of wear ; the
edges, too, are squared and sharp. The whole is of uniform thickness, about ^th of an
inch. The engraving on either side is almost identical, and similar to that on a dancing
club in the form of an axe which was labelled Treasury Island, Bougainville Straits
(Album, 2nd series, Plate 125, No. 1), but which Mr. Parkinson thinks is more likely
to come from Buka.
The representation of a human head is also suggestive of this same locality.
It will be noticed in the illustration that the carving of the lines of the face are
continued down the shaft terminating in spirals. In the Godeffroy Catalogue,
Plate VI, No. o, is a similar carving on a club from Buka. In the British Museum,
again, is a club with a similar design (Album, Plate 250, No. 1), which, although at one
time supposed to come from New Britain, is now attributed to the Solomons. In the
museum at Milan are somewhat similar clubs labelled New Georgia.
The perforation on the upper edge is in my opinion too large for merely attaching
bunches of feathers, etc. That a band passed round the " implement," and was kept in
position by the two projecting horns, is evident from the surface of the wood being
highly polished by friction at this point, the only place on the whole of the surface
where there is any sign of wear. The object was meant to be suspended, but for what
purpose it is difficult to say.
Since the above went to press, both Dr. Codriugtou and Mr. Alfred Penny have
seen the subject of this note, and pronounce it to be a Tindalo emblem, or object of
veneration representing a deceased ancestor. J. E.-P.
Rotuma: Physical Anthropology. Gardiner: Duckworth.
On Crania collected by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner in his Expedition to Hotuma.
Communicated by W. L. H. Duckworth, M.A., Lecturer on Anthropology in
the University of Cambridge, to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September lltb, 1900.
The subject of this communication is a collection of nine crania from the above-
mentioned locality. The results of a craniological investigation show that while
considerable individual differences exist, there are at least two types of skull to be
met with in the island of Rotuma. The types are, firstly, a variety of the form of
cranium usually found among Polynesian natives, though possessing certain character-
istics which may almost be described as Mongolian ; and, in the second place, the
type of cranium characteristic of Melauesiaus occurs in Mr. Gardiner's collection.
( 37 )
No. 47.] ^[idliropoloyiccd llecicu:s and Misccllan«/. [1900.
That such different types should, be met with in one small island is in accordance
with what would be expected on a priori grounds, when it is considered that Rotunia
is situated at the centre of contact of three important ethnical areas, viz., the Poly-
nesian to the east, the Melanesia!! to the south-west, and the Micronesiau (where
Mongolian elements are discernible among the natives) to the north-west.
Hawaii ? : Featherwork. Edge-Partington.
Note on some Feather-Mat* in the British Muse tun. Contributed by J. Edgc-
Partingloii. (Plates F, G.)
Professor Brigham in his Hawaiian Featherwork refers to, and figures, (Plate
VI), two feather mats in the British Museum, which together with a coronet of similar
manufacture form the subject of this note.
Professor Brigham first saw these when on a visit to this country, he then
considered that they were not Hawaiian ; but since, failing to find any more likely
locality, he places them as " mats on which offerings were made to the God Kukailimoku,"
until a better use can be found for them.
If these were merely mats I fail to see the use of the tying cords fastened to each
end ; why, too, should the makers have departed from their usual custom of mounting
feathers on a network of Olona fibre, a much more suitable foundation than the thick
rows of fibre of which these mats are made, wrapped and sewn together; a form of
manufacture, moreover, which is not in vogue in Hawaii. Professor Brigham says that
the patterns are quite unlike those used in the feather cloaks, but I think one can go
further than that, and say that they are unlike any known patterns from Hawaii. NVe
must therefore try and find another home for them, and I would suggest Tahiti, and
that their use was a protection when fighting. My reason for this attribution is that
there are in the British Museum long, oblong boxes formerly supposed to come from
Hawaii,; by an inscription, only partly legible, on one of them in George Bennet's
handwriting, we now know that these boxes are Tahitian. The inscription is as
follows: — "J. native . . . box made of the wood of the breadfruit tree .
containing the war-like ornaments . . . Hautia, presented by him to G. Sennet, 1822,
and which he says were worn by also and preceding kings of Hnaheine." This
particular box (Plate G, Fig. 2) was received, with other Eastern Pacific specimens,
from the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society ; the specimens originally in the
Museum are without history, as are also the feather ornaments now under discussion.
It may well be therefore that they were received at the same time, and possibly formed
a portion of one of the early collections either of Captain Cook or Sir Joseph Banks.
As against this theory Williams in his Missionary Enterprises, p. 498, says that
" at Tahiti and Hervey Islands there are but few varieties of the feathered tribes ;
and these are not remarkable either for the beauty of their plumage or for the
sweetness of their notes " ; if therefore the mats and coronet were manufactured in the
Tahitian group, they must have been from imported feathers.
Failing Tahiti there is the Island of Rurutu, in the Austral group, " the people
of which are distinguished, above all others in these seas, for their taste and skill in
finery of every kind, from the feathered helmets of their warriors to the carving on
their canoes. . . . In manners, dress, and language, they very nearly resemble the
inhabitants of Tahiti and Huahine " (Tyerman and Bennet' 's Voyages, 1831, Vol. I,
p. 496).
The only reason for placing these objects in the Hawaiian section, until some
( 38)
1900.] Artihrqwloffical Reviews and Miacellanea. [No. 48.
clrtinile locality is obtained, ia tbat the feathers used arc evidently from tlic
birds as those from which the Hawaiians gathered tlieir stores.
1 1 is to be hoped that some of our readers may be able to throw further light on
the subject.
G ambier Islands : Languages. Tregear.
Mangareva Dictionary, Gambier Island*. By Edward Tregear. New Zealand, AQ
Wellington, 1899, pp. 121. Presented by the Author.
This is a very useful collection of words representing the language of the
Gambler Islands in the southern portion of the Panmotu Archipelago, and almost on
confines of Polynesia, Easter Island being the only important island lying further
cast. The language is purely Polynesian and differs in many respects from the
Panmotu of the same region, of which language the same author has already
published a similar dictionary. (Wellington, N.Z., 1895. )* The islands form a part
of the French possessions in the Pacific, and the missions are those of the Roman
Church ; hence the language, unlike that of the other important groups, is not
represented by any Bible translations. This fact adds greatly to the value of such a
list as that which Mr. Tregear now publishes. The principal example of the
Mangarevan language which previously existed is that contained in Hale's Philology
of the United States Exploring Expedition, published at Philadelphia in 1840. Hale's
material for the language consisted of a few mission translations and a vocabulary
by M. Maigret, a former missionary. M. 1'Abbe Mosbleeh had published in 1843 a
\'< i-uluilaire O&'anien, the title page of which stated that it referred to the
languages of the Sandwich, Marquisian and Gambier Islands, but the work itself
contained no specimens of the language used in the latter group. The Rev. S. J.
Whitmee in 1874 contemplated the publication of a Comparative Dictionary of the
Polynesian Languages, and in a paper read in that year before the Philological
Society, he stated that M. Pinard was then contributing material in the Gambier
Island language. No more than specimen pages were ever published of Rev. S. J.
Whitmee's dictionary, and these contained no specimens of the Gambier language.
The Rev. S. Ella's paper in the Journal of this Institute (vol. xxix (N.S. ii) p. 154),
contains a Mangarevan list of which I have not been able to trace the origin, but
it agrees literally with that of Mr. Tregear.
The author states in the introduction that the language is nearly identical with
the Maori, but it is much more closely akin to the Rarotongan than to Maori, and
differs from the latter in several details. Both Mangarevan and Rarotongan have no
sounds representing the s or / of Satnoan, whilst the Maori represents those sounds
by h and wh respectively. In Hale's vocabulary of Mangarevan h was not used, but Mr.
Tregear uses it sometimes for the wh of Maori and / of Samoa, the same words being
often used with or without the h, e.g., hahae, «ac, to tear ; hara, ara, pandanus, etc.
The origin of the Mangarevan people from Rarotonga was inferred by Hale from a
native genealogy given to him by M. Maigret, which indicated that they came from
Rarotonga about four generations after the settlement of the latter island. Hale
noted that " the only points of any importance in which the dialect differs from the
Rarotougan are, first, in the use of ranga, instead of aiiga, to form the participial
noun, as te ope ranga, for te ope anga, the act of finishing; and secondly, in the use
of man as a plural prefix. In both these points it resembles the Tahitiau. Now
if the Rarotongan emigrants who settled in Mangareva came, as is most probable,
from that side of Rarotonga which faces towards the latter group (i.e., the eastern
1 Cf. Jvuru. Ai<tl<r<>/:. lust., xxvi, 1897, p. 201.
( 39 )
Nos. 49-50.] Anthropological Vi'* '/•/>/'•* t/mf J//vr/A///r^. [1900.
side), they were of the Ngati-Tangiia, or Tahitian party, and may, at that time have
preserved some peculiarities of their original tongue which were afterwards lost in
Rarotonga, on a more complete intermixture with the Ngati-Karika, or Samoan
party." {United States Exploring Expedition. Vol. vi, Ethnography'and Philology, by
Horatio Hale, p. 140.)
The author has not indicatsd the origin of his work, but it is presumably derived
from the French-Mangarevan lists mentioned in the preface to his Maori- Polynesian
Dictionary as derived from Mons. 1'Eveque d'Axieri. A few important words have
been omitted, e.g. maua, the exclusive pronoun of first person dual. An English-
Mangarevan index would have been useful, as there are no native texts to elucidate,
und it is the equivalent of English words which will be most frequently required.
SIDNEY H. RAY.
New Hebrides. Edge-Partington.
Note on a 8 hell Adze from Ambrym Inland, New Hebrides. Communicated by
J. Edge-Partington. With Plate H.
A very unusual form of shell adze has been presented to the British Museum by
Captain Leah, R.N. Its elaborate nature and double blade seem to indicate that it
was for ceremonial use only. The donor obtained it 011 Ambrym Island ; last year
the Museum purchased a collection which contained several objects from this island
labelled "for use in the pig-killing ceremonies." These I figured (Album, 3rd series,
Plate 63, No. 1) along with an adze with a terebra-shell blade made out of an old pig-
killing club. It is probable therefore that the subject of this note was used on these
occasions; it is quite certain that to use it as a tool would be impossible, nor do the
edges of the blades show any signs of wear; the deepness of the carving would also
weaken it considerably. The handle is in two pieces lashed together with sinnet, and
the whole is covered with an incrustation of smoke. J. BDQE-PAETINQTON.
Pacific. Languages. Schmidt.
The Inter-relation of Melanesian, Papuan and Polynesian Languages : —
1. Uber das Verlialtniss der melanesischen Sprachen zu den polynesischen
und untereinander. Von P. W. Schmidt, S.V.D. [Sitzungsbericht d. Kais. Akad.
d. Wissenschaften in Wien. phil. hist. Classe. Bd. CXLL] Wien. 1899. 8vo. 93pp.
2. Die sprachlichen Verhiiltnisse Oceaniens (Melanesiens, Mikronesiens, und Indonesiens
in Hirer Bedeutung fur die Ethnologie. Von P. W. Schmidt, S.V.D. \_MittTieilungen d.
Anthrop. Gesellschaft in Wien. Bd. XXIX, 1899.] 4to. pp. 245-258.
The first of these well-considered treatises consists of a general discussion of
the Melancsian and Papuan languages, followed by particular illustrations of the
agreement between the Melanesian and Polynesian in grammar and vocabulary. In
the second paper the conclusions of the first are discussed in their relation to the
ethnology of the tribes of the Oceanic region. It will be convenient here to notice
the first paper in some detail, with occasional reference to the latter. The author's
material for his comparisons is mainly that contained in the Rev. Dr. Codrington's
book on The Melanesian Languages,1 and the present writer's Comparative Vocabulary
of the Dialects of British New Guinea? and paper on " New Guinea Languages " in the
Journal of this Institute.3
1 Codrington, Eev. E. H., The Melanesian Languages. Oxford, 1885.
2 Bay, S. H., Comparative Vocabulary of the Dialects of British New Guinea. London, 1895.
3 Ray, S. H., "The Languages of British New Guinea," Journ. Anthrop. Inst., August, 1894,
pp. 15-39.
1900.] Anthropologwd Reviews and Mi^lanca. [No. 50.
la tlio introduction to Professor Schmidt's paper, he sets in opposition the
MateiiH'iits of the lute Professor Friedrirh Miiller, of Vienna, and Rev. Dr. Codiington
us t,o a residuum in the Mclancsian speech which is ii<m-.Malay and non- Polynesian.
Miiller seemed to recognise this "residuum" (which he called Papuan), in some of the
languages known to him when he published his great work on the (Jrundriss dcr
Sprachwissoiticlirtft,1 but Codrington was inclined to think that the vocabularies did not
disclose any ancient stratum of words in the Melane.siau tongues, and that the
comparison of grammar did not show any greater difference than was consistent with
a community of origin. In his work, Miiller set forth the languages of Nengone and
Mefur as examples of Papuan tongues, and in his second section, Schmidt proceeds to
prove and clearly shows that the Nengone is Mclanesiaii as to its pronoun stems, its
indication of number in the pronoun, in the expression of possession, and in
enumeration. The relationship of the Mefur to Malay and Polynesian is regarded by
Professor Schmidt as proved by Dr. Kern in his work on that language.3
In connection with this subject, it must be remembered that when Miiller,
Codrington, and Kern wrote, the existence of any distinct Papuan languages was not
proved. There was no indication that in the Oceanic language region, outside
Australia, any languages existed which could not be affiliated to the ordinary Malay,
Polynesian or Melanesian groups in grammar, or which were totally distinct iu
vocabulary. Miiller's assumption that Mefur and Neugone were Papuan languages,
though erroneous, was to some extent warranted by indications of a strange element
in their vocabularies, and it is even now by no means certain that they should be
classed as purely Melanesian languages, in the same way as the typical languages of,
for example, the Banks Islands, Northern New Hebrides, and Southern Solomons.
Codrington expresses a difficulty in dealing with the languages of Savo in the
Solomons, and of Santa Cruz, which place these in the same category as the Nengonu
and Mefoor, as not falling in line with the general Melauesian form of speech. At
the present time, however, the existence of undoubtedly non-Melanesian languages in
the island of New Guinea is an ascertained fact, and the study of these may be
expected to throw considerable light upon the question whether there ever was in the
islands of Melanesia and Polynesia, pre-Melanesian languages of a similar character
to the non-Melanesian languages now found in New Guinea. The structures of some
other languages spoken in the extreme north and south of the Geographical Melanesia
are also better known, and help towards a solution of the problem.
It may be permitted to the present writer, speaking with some knowledge of the
peculiarities of the non-Melanesian languages of New Guinea, to state that whilst
there seems to be little or no evidence of any survival in the modern Melanesian
languages of ancient grammatical forms, there may be possible survivals of words to
a greater or lesser extent. In all the uon-Melancsian languages of New Guinea, the
grammar is much more complex than in the typical Melanesian, and it would be a
natural sequence that if there were pre-Melanesian languages of the same character
as these, contact with a simpler language would result in the breakdown of the
complex and use of the simpler grammar. Words, however, wouldjsurvive, probably
as names of things and actions for which the newer speech had no exact equivalents.
It is noteworthy that if in any of the exceptional Melanesian languages a list be made
of words which do not apparently belong to the common Melanesian stock, this list
does not iu a,ny way agree with a similar one taken from other exceptional languages.
1 Miiller, Friedrich, Grundrits der Xpracku-issenschaft. Wien, 1876.
• Kern, 11., O'.-ci- dc vcrkouding van hct Mafoorsck tot de Jlaleisck- Poly iiesische talen. Leiden,
1884.
( 41 )
No. 50.] Anthropological lie cirti-x <i )t<l Miscellanea. [1900.
Now diversity of vocabulary is also one of the characteristics of the non-Melancsian
languages of New Guinea. There is no Papuan family of languages as there is a
Melanesian or Polynesian family AVI Hi related words and cognate grammar. There is
no single Papuan Ur-Sprache. Hence, if there Avere Pre-Melanesian languages in
the present Melanesian region, and those of similar character to the modern Papuan,
any survivals of ATocabulary should not be expected to SHOAV agreement between one
language and another, or with the Papuan languages of New Guinea, Avhilst frag-
mentary survivals of grammar will only tend to give a peculiar character to those
Melanesian languages in which they have been adopted. This subject deserves a
fuller discussion than is permissible in the present review, and it Avould be Avell to Avait
for the publication of more material before any conclusion is adopted. Speaking with
regard to unpublished material in his o\vn possession, the present writer is of opinion
that traces may be found of pre-exisfcent languages in the Melanesian region.
In his third section, Professor Schmidt treats of the possessive suffixes in the
Polynesian, Malayan and Melanesian languages. The substantial identity of these
was pointed out by the present writer in a paper written in 1896,1 which seems to
have escaped Professor Schmidt's notice. The existence of these suffixes in
Polynesian, though denied by Muller, admits of no dispute, and as was shown in the
paper on the " Common Origin," forms a strong argument for the common origin of
the Polynesian, Melanesian and Malayan languages. Professor Schmidt discusses the
relationship of the suffixes kn, mu and iia, to tho personal pronouns of the three
languages. He, however, regards the a or o to which the suffixes are added in
Polynesian as genitive particles, whereas they are really nouns, as may be seen by
comparison with the other languages.
The next section on the position of the Melanesian language with regard to the
Polynesian, was also to some extent anticipated in the present writer's paper on the
" Common Origin." As in that paper, Professor Schmidt points out that the
difference in the use of the possessive words and the transitive suffixes are evidence
that the Melanesian is an older form of speech, though he has not shown the
substantial identity of the so-called Polynesian passive terminations Avith the
Melanesian transitives. He brings forward, however, an additional argument based on
the change of the original trial or quadral number of the pronoun into a simple plural.
Professor Schmidt next discusses the origin of the Polynesian languages. He
comes to the conclusion that they are most closely, connected with those of the
Southern Solomon Islands (Florida. Bugotu of Ysabel Island, and Vaturanga of
Guadalcanal- Island), and that Avith them they form the latest group of the
Melanesian languages. The agreement is shown to consist as follows: — 1. Nearness
in phonology ; (frequency of ATowels ; disappearance of q = kpw, ylw, and the nasal
m ; appearance of /*) ; 2. Greater community of words; 3. Greater likeness of the
personal pronouns; 4. Use of the trial for the plural; 5. Identity of the personal
article; 0. Absence of the so-called independent form of the noun; 7. Likeness of the
genitive construction ; 8. Identity of the local particle ; 9. Likeness of the A'erbal particle
of present-aorist ; 10. Greater likeness of the reciprocal verbal particles ; 11. Existence
of the decimal system of numerals, and identity of the words for 6-10 and for 100.
The Melanesian languages of British NCAV Guinea are regarded as coming
between the New Hebrides and Solomon Island groups, the tribes speaking them
arriving first in the Lonisiade Archipelago and then spreading along the New Guinea
coast as far as Cape Possession, An older stratum of Melanesian languages (I.e.,
1 Hay, S. H., "-The Common Origin of the Oceanic Languages," Jour. Polynesian Society,
v 18SX5, pp. 58-08, and also Hdltts, Revue Folyglottv Internationale, G"K' amice, 1890'.
(-42)
1900.] Antfaropologvxd /iV/-/v,/-x lin,/. Mi*;-ll,i,ica. [No. 50.
those for which the present writer suggested the provisional name of Melano- Papuan)
ha<l previously occupied the Louisiade.s, and the languages of South Cape, Sariba,
Kasl Cape, and others in that neighbourhood, remained in contact with this older
sti-aium and so developed more slowly than the related languages further West
(Mutu, Maiva, Mekeo, etc.), these latter developed further in the same direction as the
Polynesian with regard to changes of phonology and expulsion of consonants.
The supplement to Professor Schmidt's first paper deals briefly, and \\\r, second
paper more fully, Avith the anthropological relations of the Melanesians and Poly-
nesians. He refers to, and quotes Guppy's book on the Solomon Islands,1 and
Codrington on the Melanesians,2 in order to show that there is an approximation of
the Southern Solomon Islanders to the Polynesians. The points illustrated in which
these agree, and so differ from the general Melanesian, are stated as follows: -1.
Bodily structure (lighter colour, greater height, variation in cephalic index) ; 2. 11 n'r
(less frizzly, and growing in larger spirals) ; 3. Tattooing and personal adornment
(more attended to) ; 4. Houses and boats (more elegant and ornamented) ; 5. Sociology
(absence of exogamous divisions, existence of father- right) ; 6. Religious conceptions,
sacrifices and tabu ; 7. Less use of the bow and arrow.
Some other points of great interest are touched upon in the second paper. The
oldest Melanesian languages are indicated as those of the extreme southern and
northern regions, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, and the north-east coast
of Gorman New Guinea. Professor Schmidt regards the absence in these languages
of the trial form of the pronoun and the use of a vigesimal system of numeration, as
marks of antiquity.3
With regard to the position of the Mikronostan languages, it is suggested that
there may possibly be an approach by some of them to the Indonesian, though the
lack of published material for a proper study of them is lamented. The present
writer's unpublished material shows that these languages come between tbe Indonesian
and Melanesian, and references to their connection with the latter will be found in his
notes to Rev. E. T. Doane's paper on Ponape and Hawaii.4
The Indonesian languages are briefly passed over, as are also the questions of
Negrito speech, and the relations of the island tongues to the Mon-Anam languages.
In these directions there is still much work to be done.
Professor Schmidt suggests the adoption of the term Austronesian to describe
the position of the whole of the languages including the Indonesian, Mikronesian,
^lulanesian, and Polynesian; the term Oceanic being abandoned because of its
limited application in Germany as equivalent to Polynesian. There seems to be a
certain amount of difficulty in adopting this term Austronesia, for the islands where
these related languages are spoken, lie as much to the east of Asia as south, and
there is, perhaps, more danger of confusion with the very different Australian by
using a similar word, than there would be with the term Oceanic used in its Enlish
- te't ^"-' Molonioit Islands and their Natices. London, 1887.
- Codrington, Rev. R. H., The Melanesians— Studies in their Ant/tropology and Folklore.
Oxford, 1891.
:: In this connection it may be noted that the language of Tauna (referred to by Professor
Schmidt as approaching the older languages) not only has a trial form of the pronoun, but also
a tjuadrai form, and the undoubtedly Polynesian language of Futuiia in the New Hebrides,
also has a quadra! form. A form of the trial is also found in the Loyalty Islands, Language of
lai (Uvea Island).
1 Doane, Rev. E. T., "A Comparison of the Languages of L'ouape and Hawaii," Jour. Roy.
Soc. .Vc'tf South ll"«/wf, xxvi, p. 420 1".:;.
No. 51.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
sense. Probably the most exact descriptive term would be that used by Logan,
who called the related languages stretching from the Indo-Chinese seas to the Eastern
Pacific, by the inclusive name of Indo-Pacific.
In Professor Schmidt's paper, he speaks of the Melanesian languages of Torres
Straits, when those of British New Guinea are meant. The real languages of Torres
Straits are very different from the Melanesian, and the two regions should be clearly
distinguished. SIDNEY H. KAY.
NORTH AMERICA.
America: Nomenclature. McGee.
Amerind — a Designation for the Aboriginal Tribes of the American Hemisphere.
Communicated by Prof. W. J. McGee, President of the Anthropological
Society of Washington.
A part of the proceedings of the Anthropological Society of Washington, at a
meeting on May 23rd, 1899, seem destined to produce permanent influence on
ethnologic nomenclature, this part of the proceedings taking the form of a symposium
en the name of the native American tribes. The discussion was opened by Colonel
F. F. Hilder, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, with a critical account of the
origin of the misnomer " Indian," applied by Columbus to the American aborigines ;
he was followed by Major J. W. Powell, who advocated the substitution of the name
Amerind, recently suggested in a conference with lexicographers. A communication
by Dr. 0. T. Mason followed, in which the various schemes of ethnologic classification
and nomenclature were summarised and discussed. Contributions to the symposium
were made also by Dr. Albert S. Gatschet, Dr. Thomas Wilson, and Miss Alice C.
Fletcher. At the close of the discussion the contributions were summarised by
President McGee as follows : —
1. There is no satisfactory deuotive term in use to designate the native American
tribes. Most biologists and many ethnologists employ the term " American " ; but this
term is inappropriate, in that it connotes, and is commonly used for, the present pre-
dominantly Caucasian population. The term " Indian" is used in popular speech and
writing, and to a slight extent in ethnologic literature; but it is seriously objectionable
in that it perpetuates an error, and for the further reason that it connotes, and so
confuses, distinct peoples. Various descriptive or connotive terms are also in use,
such as " North American savages," " Red Men," etc. ; but these designations are often
misleading, and never adapted to convenient employment in a denotive way.
2. In most cases the classifications on which current nomenclature are based, and
many terms depending on them for definition, ai-e obsolete ; and the retention of
the unsuitable nomenclature of the past tends to perpetuate misleading classifications.
3. While the name " Indian " is firmly fixed in American literature and speech,
and must long retain its current meaning (at least as a synonym), the need of scientific
students for a definite designation is such that any suitable term acceptable to ethno-
logists may be expected to come into use with considerable rapidity. In this, as in
other respects, the body of working specialists form the court of last appeal ; and it
cannot be doubted that their decision will eventually be adopted by thinkers along
other lines.
4. As the most active students of the native American tribes, it would seem
to be incumbent on American ethnologists to propose a general designation for these
tribes.
5. In view of these and other considerations, the name Amerind is commended to
the consideration of American and foreign students of tribes and peoples. The term
( 44 )
1900.] Anthropological Review and MiscdlwiM, [No. 52.
is an arbitrary compound of the leading syllables of the frequently used phrase
" American Indian "; it thus carries a connotive or associative element which will
serve explicative and mnemonic function in early use, yet must tend to disappear
as the name becomes denotive through habitual use.
6. The proposed term carries no implication of classitic relation, raises no mooted
question concerning the origin or distribution of races, and perpetuates no obsolete
idea ; so fav as the facts and theories of ethnology are concerned, it is purely denotive.
7. The proposed term is sufficiently brief and euphonious for all practical
purposes, not only in the English but in the prevailing languages of continental
Europe; and it may readily be plural ised in these languages, in accordance with
their respective rules, without losing its distinctive sematic character. Moi-eover,
it lends itself readily to adjectival termination in two forms (a desideratum in
widely used ethnologic terms, as experience has shown), viz., Amerindian and
Amerindic, and is susceptible, also, of adverbial termination, while it can readily be
used in the requisite actional foi-m, Amerindise, or in relational forms, such as post-
Amerindian, etc., the affixes being, of course, modifiable according to the rules of the
different languages in which the term may be used.
8. The term is proposed as a designation for all of the aboriginal tribes of the
American continent and adjacent islands, including the Eskimo.
The working ethnologists in the Anthropological Society of Washington were
practically unanimous in approving the term for tentative adoption, and for com-
mendation to fellow students in this and other countries.
The proposed designation is also approved by the officers of the Bureau of
American Ethnology, as well as by the officei's and members of the Anthropological
Society of Washington.
America : Arts of Life. Mason.
Aboriginal American Zooteclmy. By Otis T. Mason. From the American
.1 // tin-apologist (N.S.), I, 1899. 8vo. pp. 81. Presented by the Author.
"Zootechny" includes "all industries associated with the animal kingdom," and
the subject of this paper, therefore, "every phase of India,n life growing out of the
connection between man and the beasts of the Western Hemisphere in pre-Columbian
times." These have of course been greatly affected by manifold intrusions from the
Eastern Hemisphere ; but the author finds it possible to formulate eighteen Zootechnic
provinces, corresponding with the eighteen environmental areas of America suggested
by Merrian in the Smithsonian Report for 1895.
Zootechny may be conveniently divided into the following " chapters."
I. Ethnozoology, or the study of the fauna of each region in its relation with the
human population, for " in one form or another the entire ftiuna of each region directly
or indirectly enters into the life and thought of its people."
II. Exploitive Zootechny, or the activities associated with the capture and
domestication of animals (which Professor Mason classifies in elaborate detail).
III. Elaborative Zootechny, embracing all the activities included in the disposal
of animals after they are in hand, whether as food (raw or preserved), clothing or
material for implements.
IV. The ultimate products of Zootechny and their relation to human happiness,
for every part of every animal that enters into savage industry is invoked to supply,
not only the needs, but the artificial wants of the savage.
V. Social organisations and co-operations ; for according to Professor Mason
"Society w.is organised among tho aborigines of America on the bnsis of the
(46)
No. 53.] Anthropological Renews mid Mitcelfanea. [1900.
animals. . . . Scarcely an industry relating to the treatment of animals was
based on individual action. Men were fowling, fishing, and hunting together. Much
of the apparatus could not be managed by any individual."
VI. The progress of knowledge in Zootechny, including the growth of language.
"It is astonishing to find what a large vocabulary exists," in each case, "for the
different forms of animal life, and different parts of the animal's body." . . .
" Half the words of any primitive language are derived from man's association with
beast-kind." Moreover, " the inventive faculty, which after all is the differentiating
element between man and the bi-ute, has been stimulated in the devising of property,
means of capture, and tools for handling animal substances."
VIII. Religion : because, "in lower foi'ms of religion and mythology, zootheistic
conceptions are prominent. Every creature is somebody. The animal world lies
very near to human actions. Detailed consideration of this heading is postponed, but
Professor Mason illustrates his thesis by a table showing the comparative number of
clans or gentes, and of "animal totems," among a number of native American tribes.
The paper is full of suggestive hints for the collection of material, and for the
classification and arrangement of many kinds of ethnological specimens which
accumulate at present in store-rooms and basements of museums.
The Plates which accompany it illustrate; — I, Leisters, combination structures
for grasping, piercing, and retrieving, from Alaska, U.S. Nat. Mu.-\, 23,518, 29,864,
49,051 ; II. (a) Harpoon head for retrieving showing toggle and barb types in one.
U.S.N.M., 89,379; (I) Fishgig; shank, body and flukes of bone, U.S.N.M., 30,379;
(Y) Fishhook from the Naskapi Indians of Labrador, U.S.N.M., 89,977 ; (d) Throwing
sticks and stunning darts from Xinger River, South America (after von den Steicen) ;
(e) Bird-dart (for piercing and entangling), and throwing-board, of the Greenland
Eskimo, ff.iS'.A7.!/., 168,974; (/) Modern atlatl, or throwing-stick, from Lake
Pat/.cuaro, Mexico, U.8.N.M., 153,020; (j/) Hide-scraper with blade of glass and grip
of wood, from the Tehuelche Indians of Patagonia, U.S.N.M., 178,403. III. Barbed
harpoon (when the animal is struck the barb is detached, and the shaft is made to
float vertically by the martingale and bladder), U.8.N.M., 11,362. IV. Toggle
harpoon and line from Cumberland Gulf, U.S.N.M., 19,519 (detailed drawings of the
essential parts). J. L. M.
Ontario : Religion. Boyle.
The Paganism of the Civilised Iroquois of Ontario. Communicated by David
Boyle, Curator of the Museum of Toronto, to the Anthropological Section of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 10th,
1900. [To be printed in full in this Journal, vol. xxx.]
Notwithstanding the contact of the Iroquois or Six Nation Indians with white
people for more than three hundred years, a very considerable number of the former
have retained many of their old-time beliefs with the forms and ceremonies apper-
taining thereto.
Of four thousand Caniengas (Mohawks), Senecas, Cayuga?, Onondagas, Oneidns,
and Tuscaroras now residing in the Grand Reserve, within sixty miles of Toronto,
Ontario, fully one-fourth continue to observe the ancient feasts or dances connected
with the growth and ingathering of corn and fruits, and for desired changes in
weather as well as for the cure of disease.
Some modification in the ceremonies was made about a century ago by an
Onondaga named $Ara-?ze-o-J(/-0, who announced himself as a prophet who had paid
a visit to the abode of the Great Spirit. The changes introduced by him, however,
( 46 )
1900.
and .Mi*i;ilnin;t.
[Nos. 54-55.
have not by any means removed the pagan character of the native beliefs, although
he certainly did attempt to imitate some Christian observances. Still the addresses
of the medicine men retain most of the old-timo forms, although their significance in
many cases is lost, and even the meaning of numerous words is no longer known.
The leading idea in the present form of worship is that of a Great Spirit; bat
this has been acquired from missionary sources, and although the Indians have
adopted the idea of a heaven, they do not believe in any hell.
The quoted examples of petitions addressed to liawen Niyoh, the Creator,
illustrate the lack of assimilation of the old and new forms.
One of the most characteristic ceremonies connected with the Iroquois paganism
is that of the sacrifice or burning of the White Dog at the New Year Feast during the
February moon, when the spirit of the dog, accompanied by offerings of tobacco,
conveys to Niyoh information respecting the condition of his "own people "on the
( ! i and River Reserve.
Dalton.
Communicated by
North America : Tau-Shield.
Note on a Copper Shield from the N. W. Coast of America.
0. M. Dalton.
This shield, made of beaten copper, was origin- !
ally obtained by the Hudson's Bay Company's
Agents at Port Simpson from a member of the
Stickeen Tribe : the crest painted on the front is
that of the grizzly bear. The copper was stated by
the chief Negh-Hnm-gee-asc to have been found on
an island in Alaska by Sitka Indians. The shield
has been in possession of several tribes, and is of
considerable antiquity. Imitations of such shields,
often called tan-shield* from the raised T-figure on
the lower part, were made by the Hudson's Bay
Company for sale to the Indians, but these spurious
examples are much lighter than that here figured,
which has recently been acquired by the British
Museum.
The bronze ground of the totemic design
was temporarily covered with whiting in order
to secure a sufficient degree of contrast for the
photograph.
Canada. Ethnographic Survey Committee.
Report of the Canadian Ethnographic Survey Committee. Presented to the
British Association for the Advancement of Science at Bradford, September
10th, 1900. To be published in full in the forthcoming Proceedings of the Association.
The work of the past year has furnished conspicuous evidence of the great
importance of securing ethnological data with as little delay as possible. While this
is eminently true with i-espect to the white population, which is experiencing new and
marked changes almost every year, in consequence of the introduction of foreign
elements, often in large numbers, it is more particularly true with respect to the
native Indian population. In many localities the original blood has become so diluted
by intermarriage with whites that it is often a matter of great difficulty to find an
Indian of pure blood. Proximity to settlements of Avhite people has resulted in a
nioi'e or less profound impress upon the social life and tribal customs, which are fast
( 47)
55
No. 55.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
becoming obsolete and forgotten. The old chiefs who have served as the repertories
of traditional knowledge are rapidly passing away, and with their death there
disappears the last possibility of securing reliable data of the greatest value.
Conspicuous instances of this kind have been brought to notice during the past year,
especially in the case of the British Columbia Indians, whose ethnology is of the
greatest interest and importance in consequence of their possible connection with
the people of Eastern Asia. At present the great difficulty of securing competent and
willing investigators is .one of the most serious obstacles to be contended with, and it
is believed that the often considerable expense involved in the prosecution of such
work is largely accountable for this condition of affair?.
It is gratifying to note that the Department of Education for Ontario has taken a
very practical and active interest in ethnological studies in that province, and that it
provides for the publication of the results of research in its annual reports. Evidence
has latterly been accumulating to indicate the presence at one time of numerous
aboriginal settlements in localities which Avere very sparsely inhabited when first
visited by the white explorers.
In Appendix I Mr. B. Suite continues his study of the early French settlers in
Canada, covering the period from 1632-66. He traces the origin of these immigrants
from different parts of France, and it thus becomes possible to eslablish with great
accuracy the relative importance of the various stocks from which the present large
French population of Canada is derived. These studies will form an important basis for
more detailed studies respecting the effect of environment upon succeeding generations.
The ancient settlement of Huron Indians at Lorette, near Quebec, has always
been an object of great interest to the ethnologist, although prolonged and intimate
contact with the whites of the neighbourhood has resulted in marked alterations
of a physical and social character. These alterations have progressed so far as to
make trustworthy studies an exceptionally difficult matter, but the Committee felt that
no opportunity to secure such data as might yet be available should be lost, and in
Appendix II Mr. L. Gerin presents the results of a very careful investigation into the
actual social condition of these Indians. He brings this into comparison with their
original condition, tracing out the influences which have produced great changes
among them during their prolonged residence in the province of Quebec, and
subsequent to the abandonment of their old home. The condition of this community
of Hurons offers a marked cotitrast to that of the originally similar Iroquois
community near Montreal, their evolution in modern times having been almost in
opposite directions, a circumstance explained by their environment in the two cases.
The report is accompanied by photographs showing the present conditions of village
life, which will be kept on file for future reference.
In Appendix III Mr. Hill-Tout follows up his very careful study of the
N'tlaka'pamuq, appended to last year's report, with a similar careful investigation
of another and markedly different division of the Salish stock in British Columbia,
the Sk'go'mic. These people in large numbers previously inhabited Howe Sound and
Burrard Inlet, but they are now much reduced, and appear to be rapidly passing awny.
Over ninety villages at one time inhabited are enumerated. Much attention has been
given to the language, which had not heretofore been seriously investigated, and which
shows numerous grammatical and other peculiarities. Mr. Hill-Tout's work, in fact,
constitutes a very important local contribution to the ethnology of the native races of
the west coast.
This report is accompanied by nineteen photographs of Indians, taken by
Mr. Hill-Tout, partly of the Sk'go'mic and partly of neighbouring tribes, in which
he is now further pursuing his investigations.
(-18)
1900.]
Review* «ini ,l/Y.srv/A///m.
[Nos. 56-57.
Alaska : Property Marks. Boas.
Property Marks of Alaskan Eskimo. By F. Boas. From tha American
Anthropologist, N.S. I, 1899, pp. 601-13. 8vo. Presented by the Author.
Dr. Boas has followed up a clue first given in Lubbock's Prehistoric Times (1869),
p. 10, and elaborated in R. Andree's Ethnographisclte Parallelen und Vergleiche, N.F.,
p. 84, as to the significance of the distinctive marks which are frequently marked on
the weapons of the Eskimo tribes of Alaska. As these marks are almost confined to
the hunting spears and other weapons of the chase, and do not seem to occur on
ordinary tools, it is inferred that their object is "to secure pi'operty right in the
animal in which the weapon bearing the mark is found." The frequency with which
some such marks arc found suggests that they are probably communal rather than
individual.
The paper is illustrated by drawings of a number of these marks, on whale
harpoons, walrus harpoons, and deer-spears from various localities, all (except a few
from the Pcabody Museum) being in the collection of the U.S. National Museum.
3. L. M.
57
Vancouver: Salmon Floats. Edge-Partington.
Floats for Alluring Salmon, from (he North End of Vancouver Island. Com-
municated by 3. Edge-Partington.
In going through some old lists in the British Museum, I came upon a
description of the so-called " floats " from the north-west coast of America, from
which I have made the following ex-
tract : — " Wooden contrivance used for
attracting fish. It is only used by some
few tribes at the north end of Vancouver
Island. It is used in the following man-
ner ; when in deep water the float is
loosely fastened to the end of a long
spear from 40 to 70 feet in length, it is
then carefully shoved down through the
water from the side of the canoe as deep
as the spear or pole can go ; an Indian
with another spear sits waiting in the
stern of the canoe intently watching the
spot where the float is ; the float is then
jerked off from the end of the pole, and
as it wriggles up through the water has
much the appearance of a spinning bait ;
a salmon dashes at it, and is at once
transfixed by the spearsman ; very large
salmon are by this ingenious contrivance
taken in deep water."
The floats arc of pine wood cut from
the solid, with the exception of the wings,
which are of a pale hard wood. These
are either inserted into the knob at the base and tied about half way up as in No. 1,
or lashed on with si rips of cedar bark, as in No. 2. In the latter specimen it is
possible that there wore originally four wings.
( 40 ) 4
SALMON ILOATJS FROM
ISLAND.
BRITISH MUSEUM,
VANCOUVKR
SCALK.
No. 58.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Nootka Sound. Strange.
Extracts from the Diary of Mr. James Strange, H.E.I.C.S., commanding an
Expedition sent by the East India Company to the North-West Coast of America
in 1786 ; with a Vocabulary of the Language of Nutka Sound. Communicated by
Coutts Trotter, Esq., M.A.I.
The notes and vocabularies which follow were collected at Nootka Sound and
Prince William's Sound in 1786, by Mr. James Strange of the Honourable East
India Company's Service, who conducted an expedition from India to the coast,
combining trade and exploration. From a study of the narrative of Captain Cook's
voyage to the North Pacific seven years previously, Mr. Strange was impressed with
the belief that a profitable trade in furs might be established with the natives, and
he urged the Court of Directors to establish a factory on the coast as its head-
quarters. The plan, however, for various reasons, was not carried out.
The expedition in question is briefly noticed in Portlock and Dixon, Voyage
round ihe World, but more particularly to the North-West Coast of America, performed
in 1785-8, in the following terms : — '; In this year (1786), the merchants of Bombay
sent two vessels under the direction of James Strange." His diary and vocabulary
do not appear to have been in any way published. They were preserved in his
family, and are now in the possession of his grandson, Mr. Coutts Trotter, by whom
they have been brought before the Anthi'opological Institute. Circumstances
prevented Mr. Strange from seeing much of the natives in their homes ; but he
mentions a few matters of anthropological interest, and the extracts which follow
seem worthy of publication in the Journal.
" From my first interview with these people I had determined never to suffer
any of them to come on board ship, and during my stay at Nootka, I always adhered
to this determination, except in favour of two or three of the chiefs, to whom I wished
to show some marks of respect and distinction, and who were accordingly received on
board on several occasions ; but as for the common people, not one of them ever went
up the ship's side. In establishing this custom I am certain I thereby avoided
frequent cause of quarrelling with the natives, which their unconquerable dispositions
to theft would no doubt have occasioned."
" I went directly to the village, and was received, by all ranks and descriptions,
in the most friendly and courteous manner possible, nor could I pass a house without
being invited into it in very pressing terms."
"Words can scarcely convey to the mind of the reader an adequate idea of the
beastly filth in which the natives of this part of the world pass their lives ; I declare-
that before I was an eye-witness to it, I had a very imperfect conception of the extent
of it. It was impossible to move a single step without being up to the ankles in
mud, fish-guts, and maggots, and this inconvenience was alike felt within and without
doors."
'• The persons and habitations of the people in general of this Sound have been
so accurately and faithfully described by Captain Cook, that anything I could here
say on the subject would be mere repetition. Travellers are generally suspected (not
always indeed without cause) of indulging fanciful exaggerations of the wonders
they have seen. For my own part, I confess that if a name less escablished for its
respectability than Captain Cook's had been prefixed to his book, I should have
doubted that in describing these people the account given had been somewhat
highly finished. It is, however, a tribute due to the memory of that great man
to declare that he has not, in any instance that has come within my observation,
ever exceeded in his descriptions that strict adherence to truth which every
(50)
1900.] Anthropological Review* and Miscellanea. [No. 58.
historian in his communications to the world should invariably prescribe to
himself."
" I now made known to the natives the object of my present visit to the village,
which was to purchase a house for the reception of the sick. No sooner were my
wants explained, than I had the offer of any house that I chose. I accordingly
purchased one, for about the value of a shilling, which was partly constructed of six
logs of wood, each of which were sufficient in thickness and length to have made a
mainmast for the largest seventy-four gun ship in the British Navy ; besides these,
there were several smaller spars, and a considerable number of pine planks."
" In addition to the musket and pistols, a red coat and cap was at the same time
solicited in strong terms, in order to complete Mr. MackayV warlike appeai'ance.
On enquiring why a red coat was chosen in preference to any other, I was informed
that that was the colour the appearance of which would most intimidate the enemy.
It is probably with this view they so frequently rub their bodies over with red ochre,
and which I observed was invariably practised by such of the strangers as visited us,
and who lived at any distance from the Sound."
"It appeared evident to them that in regard to their government, the idea
suggested by Captain Cook, that each family was internally governed by its own
chief, was perfectly consistent with their observations on the subject. During our
stay here, we had frequently occasion to complain to the different chiefs, of thefts
committed by their dependants, and as often as the culprit was detected we were sure
to have the stolen goods returned, and to see punishment inflicted on the aggressor;
although at the same time we had reason to believe that the act itself was committed
with the connivance, and perhaps at the special command of the judge himself.
Although the chief, under whose protection I placed Mr. Mackay, was apparently the
wealthiest in the Sound in respect to riches, and to the number of his dependants, yet
he did not on this account seem to derive any additional personal honour or respect
from the community at large."
" With regard to religion, their ideas appear to be very circumscribed indeed.
They hold in great respect however, one of their gods, whom they call Enekitsum
(the god of snow), and to whom they pray to defend them from a long continuance of
frost and snow. In my first visit to Maquilla, I had occasion to become intimately
acquainted with this god. On entering the chief's house, after the forms of
introduction were duly observed (for I was regularly presented by name to his lady
and family), my notice was particularly attracted by the appearance of a very pretty
canopy, fancifully and not inelegantly decorated with bits of fur of various sorts, and
from which hung a curtain richer than any I had hitherto seen; being composed of
four very beautiful sea otter skins ; behind this was placed on a sort of pedestal the
god Enekitsum, and on each side of him was a lamp burning. On my advancing to
that part of the habitation where the figure was placed, I observed a kind of
suspension and doubt in the minds of all present, whether or not I should be
permitted to proceed : no one, however, offering to check my curiosity, I advanced,
and examined the figure and its appendages which I had determined should not long
continue in their present abode. Maquilla now joined me, and of him I enquired the
name and qualities of this god, which he very willingly informed me of. I now
expressed a wish to know in what manner they worshipped Enekitsum, on which
Maquilla most readily agreed to satisfy my curiosity. To this end therefore an
additional quantity of wood was added to a fire already considerably large, and all
external air was as effectually excluded as was in their power to do, by stopping
1 The young surgeon who volunteered to l»e left en shore with the natives.
( 51 ) 4—2
No. 58.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
every crevice they could conveniently reach. When this business was over, they
all seated themselves round the fire to the number of about a hundred persons, and
began a song by no means unmusical, in honour of Enekitsum, I suppose, whose
name they frequently repeated with strong emphasis. After singing a considerable
time, they began a dance in which Maquilla, and some of his principal people
joined, having first besmeared their faces with red ochre, and put on their war
jackets. The music which accompanied this dance was both vocal and instrumental ;
the latter consisted simply of a wooden mallet which was struck with considerable
violence, (keeping time) against a three-inch plank, from which appended innumer-
able muscle and cockle shells, and the louder the performer thumped, the more his
abilities were commended. In this dance they imitated the voice and action of a bear,
the wolf and various other animals. After dancing a considerable time, in which
they were perfectly overcome with fatigue, they again seated themselves in a half
circle, round the fire, and a most profound silence ensued ; after a short pause Maquilla,
accompanied by two old men, proceeded with solemn face towai-ds the god Enekitsum,
whom they most respectfully took and placed before the fire. A large shell was now
presented to Maquilla filled with oil, which he sprinkled on the fire ; this naturally
occasioned a considerable smoke, which was suffered to get vent by means of removing
two or three planks in the ceiling of the building immediately perpendicular over
the fire, and from this aperture was scattered (by a person placed there for the
purpose) several handfuls of the finest down, which was intended to represent a fall
of snow, and which indeed it did. The smoke, aided by the action of the fire, naturally
re&isted the fall of this light body, which together with itself escaped at the opening
from above. Enekitsum was now re-conducted to his station, with the same ceremony
and respect as was before observed. Mutual congratulations now took place, on
occasion of the happy issue of their ceremonies and a splendid repast at the command
of the chief was served to every one present, which consisted of the pine bark, and
fish roe mixed, and a dried salmon to each individual. This fish we observed was
reserved for occasions only of great festivity, and though apparently in great
abundance in every hut in the village, yet it was with much reluctance that they were
prevailed on to sell one of them, and a sea otter skin was not purchased at a
dearer rate than a salmon."
" Notwithstanding all this parade of devotion paid to Enekitsum, as just now
mentioned yet he became my property the next day, together with his curtain, on
which, as I before observed, I had set my heart ! "
" Amongst various other remarks made by Captain Cook respecting these people,
he particularly mentions their extreme fondness for music. In the course of my
commercial dealing with them, I had a stronger proof of their genius, and the
retentive powers of their memory in this respect, than can well be imagined."
" In one of my lucky days I was visited by several very large canoes, filled with
strangers, who from the style of their dress, and from the numbers of their attendant?,
appeared to be men of a superior class to the generality of those who were resident
in the village. Having displayed before them a variety of goods, such as knives,
chisels, axes, swords, etc., I was greatly astonished at the seeming indifference with
which they were viewed by my visitors, and at the little disposition they showed to
traffic for any of the articles I had thus exhibited ; I was now busied thinking by what
means I could strip my gentlemen of their finery (for each had on two or three fine
skins) when it occurred to me to observe that their attention was seemingly called
off by the singing of their attendants, and to which they kept time by beating two
shells together with great pr-ecision."
(52 )
1900.] Anthropological fienews <fnd Miscellwnea. [No. 58.
"1 now fecoliected that amongst the various articles which composed my
iuvestment there were a considerable number of cymbals, which I conceived would be
no bad substitute for their shells, and would better chime in with their species of
songs, which were more of the martial than tender kind. I accordingly produced
a pair. The expression of rapture and delight which the first clash of them excited in
the breasts of all present is not to be described. In displaying the effects of my
music, I composed for the occasion a sort of ring-ting tune, which had the merit of
d rawing from my polite audience such bursts of applause as was sufficiently
satisfactory to me that I did not sing in vain. My song was encored again and again,
nor did I give over, whilst I was able to articulate, I should observe, that after I had
da capo'd it half-a-dozen times I was joined in it by a great majority of all present.
The consequence of this exhibition was that I stripped my gentlemen to the buff, in an
hour's time, each contending with the other which should be first served ; I got from
some three, and from others four skins, for every pair of cymbals. My visitors now
took their leave of me, and went to Maquilla's house, by whom they were all
entertained. They spent the evening (as I was informed by such of the gentlemen
as slept on shore) in high glee and harmony, dancing, singing and making good use
of their cymbals all night long."
"I had next day a visit from several of the same party, who had still something
left worthy my attention. Having selected three or four skins, I offered some
articles of ironmongery for them, being desirous of reserving the remaining few pairs
of cymbals I had left to some other future interesting occasion. My ironmongery
was, however, utterly rejected by them. I then presented some articles of copper,
which had hitherto been in great repute, but that in like manner was refused, and. I
was given to understand that cymbals alone were wanted. These I at length
reluctantly gave, but before they were received a song was required of me.
Accordingly I sang the first that came into my head ; this was not relished, and, I may
say, was hissed off the stage ; I tried a second, a third, and a fourth, which all shared
the same fate. Each man shaking his head, told me it was claotra, that is, the other,
they wanted me to sing. I now perfectly understood what they meant, and that ifc
was ray yesterday's composition that was required of me. I therefore attempted to
recall it to my memory, but if all the sea-otter skins in Nootka had been the price of it,
I could not recollect a note of it. Nor was I much surprised at my failing in the
attempt, considering it was the offspring of the moment, and that having answered my
purpose, it was no less easily forgot than composed. The case was far different with
many of my hearers, on whom it had made a more lasting impression, and some of
them seeing (1 verily believe) my embarrassment, struck up my song, and that with such
precision as to time and tune, as infinitely astonished me. I now readily chimed in
with them, and continued singing whilst there was anything left to sing for. It was
matter of surprise to me as well as to everyone, to observe how soon my song became
fashionable, and how quickly it was learned by all ranks whatsoever. In short there
was not a boy or girl in the village who did not, in the course of three days, sing it as
correctly as I could. I seldom, after this, bought a skin without being first called
upon to sing ring-ting, etc., and which I am confident I shall never again forget."
" The practice of bringing hands and heads for sale obtained now in like manner
as when Captain Cook was here."
" In my second visit to the shore, I had the pleasure (or more properly speaking
the dissatisfaction) to ascertain for a fact (and which when Captain Cook visited
Nootka remained a matter of doubt in his mind), that the savage and barbarous
( 53 )
No. 58.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
practice of devouring human flesh exists here as well as in the Sandwich Islands.
In the course of this day's excursion, I was accosted by one of the most celebrated
warrioi's in the Sound named Clamata, who had been previously introduced to me by
Maquilla, as a man famous for his bravery and address in war, having personally slain
eight and twenty of the enemy within the last ten moons. Having beckoned me
aside to the most retired part of the walk, he took from under his garment, a basket,
from whence he drew three hands and a head, which he desired me to buy. I
conceived this to be a very favourable occasion to learn with certainty what were the
purposes for which these people thus preserved the hands and heads they so
frequently presented to us for sale, though at the same time I had no doubt, in my
own mind, but that they were applied to the very purposes which I shall now
relate."
"To this end I represented to Clamata, that I was ignorant what use I should make
of them, if I purchased them. On which he informed me that they were good to eat !
I seemed to discredit the assertion, with a view to urge him to the commission of that
act, which on any other occasion than the present, I should have shunned the sight
of with abhorrence. My hero now gave me ocular demonstration and very
composedly put one of the hands in his mouth, and stripping it through his teeth,
tore off a considerable piece of the flesh, which he immediately devoured with much
apparent relish. However prepared I was for this exhibition, yet I could not help
expressing horror and detestation at the act. He immediately comprehended my
meaning, and endeavoured to reconcile me to the deed, by assuring me, that if I died,
or if my friend, or his friend died, he would not eat us ; but that the hand he had
then eaten, was the hand of his enemy whom he had killed in war, and that the eating
of it was a deed acceptable in the eyes of heaven ; to which he at the same time
pointed. He now pressed me to buy them, which I positively refused doing, and
indeed on every occasion I strongly discountenanced the purchase of them, lest it
might become an inducement to these savages to go purposely to war, in hopes
of being able to dispose to advantage of the miserable remains of their conquered
foes."
" This kind of traffic was always carried on with seeming secrecy, and an
apparent fear of being detected by their own countrymen ; and they therefore
watched the occasion of parting with their goods at a time when their companions
were otherwise busied ; from hence I should infer that the practice was either
considered among themselves as dishonourable, or (which is by no means im-
probable) that this secrecy was only assumed with a view thereby to enhance in our
eyes the value of their goods ; for I should observe that they were never purchased
but at a most exorbitant rate."
" I considered it therefore high time that we should now take leave of our
Nootka friends; which I did with the pleasing reflection, that in all my intercourse
with them, I had never been under the necessity of recurring to violent measures in
any one instance. This was more owing to the precaution I took to prevent mischief,
than to any good disposition in them not to attempt the commission of theft, which
they were always ready to do, whenever an opportunity offered."
" At daybreak the next morning1 we were visited by a canoe in which were four
men. They immediately came alongside of us, and began a kind of song or
harangue, in the same style as those of Nootka ; and were in the like manner painted
and studded with feathers. In my invitations to them to come on board I made use
1 Just after passing the Scott Islands, so named by Strange after the chief promoter of
the expedition, a little north of the north end of Vancouver Island.
( 54 )
1900.] Anthropological Merieiw art Miscellanea, [No. 58.
of all my knowledge of the Nootka language, three or four words only of which they
understood. They brought with them two sea-otter .skins, which though both old
and ragged, I judged proper nevertheless to purchase, rewarding them at the same
time most liberally for them. The extravagance of their joy on viewing the iron I
gave them was little short of madness ! They appeared to be totally destitute of any
European articles whatever. It was, however, evident they knew the value of the
commodity I gave them, otherwise they would not have expressed the satisfaction
they did on receiving it."
" Compared with our Nootka friends, these1 appeared little versed in the art of
traffic, and never hesitated a moment accepting any offer that was made to them. They
as readily concluded the bargain for one bead, as they would have done for twenty.
Colour alone constituted the value of the offer, and none other than sky blue would
have been received although the number offered had been ten times multiplied."
" I conceive there are stated periods at which alone the natives of this coast
inhabit the sea-shore, and which at that time they are compelled to do, in order to
procure their winter stock of fish ; which when once obtained, they return to their
usual places of abode, which I doubt not are considerably inland. I am the more
inclined to this belief, from my experience of what happened during my stay in
Nootka. Even so eai'ly as our first arrival there, the inhabitants of Friendly Harbour
Village were already beginning to remove, and on landing we accordingly found
many of their habitations deserted. They were, however, soon occupied again by
their former possessors in consequence of our arrival. On our first coming here, we
computed the number of inhabitants residing in this village to amount to about five
hundred persons, yet long before we took our departure that number was reduced
to about one hundred. So soon as each family had disposed of their skins, and other
articles of trade, they immediately began removing their effects which they secured on
rafts, made of the planks and smaller timber which composed their habitations, and
these, according to their bulk, were lashed to four or six canoes — each person had his
particular winter stock of fish, which were packed up in bales, and well secured with
mats."
"From our daily intercourse with the people of Nootka, we had acquired so much
of their language before we left the Sound, as to be enabled to comprehend
almost everything they said to us, and likewise to make ourselves understood by
them. I was particular in my enquiries why they quitted their present habitation,
and where they went to. In answer to these questions I was informed that they were
going far far off, and that the sun would sleep five times before they arrived there —
that having now got plenty of fish, they were going to hunt and kill bears, deer, and
sea otters."
" So short was our stay and so momentary was our intercourse with the
inhabitants of this (Prince William's) Sound, that little or nothing can be said of
them in addition to what is already made public in Captain Cook's account of them.
In as far as my observation enables me to form a judgment of their dispositions and
manners, it inclined me to consider those of them I saw very differently from what
they appeared to be in their transactions on board the Resolution and Discovery; from
a perusal of which it is natural to conclude them a bold, enterprising race. In their
intercourse with us they appeared to be in every respect the reverse of this ; being
timid and shy of us to a great degree. It was no uncommon thing for me to traffic
with such as visited the ship for the first time, through the medium of a second
1 At Prince William's Sound, 11" further north (GO'30 N.). They had hardly any furs.
( 55)
No. 58.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
person, who acted as agent, the stranger in the meantime keeping at a considerable
distance from the ships. This I found to be more particularly the case where the
party had the appearance of being a man of distinction. After two or three visits to
the ships some of them, however, got so far the better of this mistrust of us, as to
venture alongside, but never did they so entirely shake it off, as to accept at any time
the repeated invitations I gave some of the better sort of them to come on board. I
found them universally less skilled in the art of trafficking than our friends at Nootka,
who were as thoroughly versed in all the little frauds usually practised to allure and
deceive, as if they had the experience of a century's intercourse with us."
" In the last excursion which our long boat made to the northward of the Sound,
our people, at a distance of 30 or 40 miles, met with two deserted villages, which
contained from ten to twelve houses each. These they found to be not only infinitely
better constructed so as to exclude the inclemency of the climate, but also much, more
neatly finished than those at Nootka. The inhabitants of this Sound (to judge from
what we saw of them) appear to be a much more ingenious race than those to the
southward, excelling them greatly in works of art, not only in respect to execution,
but in point of variety. In the article of dress they appear to be well provided,
having very comfortable garments of fur and likewise a most excellent substitute for
our thickest and warmest bath rugs. I used my endeavours to procure a piece of this
cloth without, however, succeeding, although the price I offered for it was equal to
what would have purchased half a dozen good skins ; it is probable, therefore, that
this manufacture is scarce and in the possession only of their principal men. I
procured a skin of the animal of which it is made, which has more the appearance of
a sheep skin than that of any other animal I know. They are likewise well provided
in the article of boots and gloves, and their oil skin dresses are most admirably
calculated to keep them dry in rainy weather."
The vocabularies which follow are, as Mr. Strange says, supplementary to the
list of words given in Captain Cook's narrative, only some two dozen words being
common to both. Mr. Strange's list is four times as numerous as the other, and
includes the numerals.
ADDITIONS TO CAPTAIN COOK'S VOCABULARY OF THE NOOTKA SOUND LANGUAGE.
Compiled by Mr. James Strange, Commander of an Exploring Expedition, 1785-6.
Nootka.
•
English.
Nootka.
English.
Peas
Nonook .... .... ....
Singinar.
Klatlasstoohkeeass
Klehtsweebt
.M.'iiiiiik . .
Tansy.
A species of dandelion.
^Veaving or knitting.
Mowa, or Mowa-ash 15
Toohsheetl
Eatsook ....
They are going.
To leap.
To walk.
Sootsinneck .... 5
Sootsinneck haweelkh ...
Toomeess
Chakhechaha
Soohtsoohna
Washing.
To wash for a friend, or
to make clean for the
sake of a friend.
A cinder.
Chiseling.
To hammer ; beating
with a wooden ham-
mer
Kamutkook
Aakussha
Oopkatihklimniah 20
Mookmookqua
Klamanoolkh
Seeatla ....
Running.
Marching, or walking
with a measured pace.
A club or tail of hari.
Cutting with an instru-
ment resembling a
chisel.
To climb ; up a tree.
A sister.
Chaeak 10
A chisel
Me, or mine, belonginc
Tooshquo
Kawunnah
Klcheeanim, or Klehy-
iUiiinme.
A green cod.
A sole or flounder.
A net for catching birds.
Chookqwakutsaponeeak
25
Satewa ....
to me.
Enter ; an invitation to
go into a house.
A pine top.
1900.]
[No. 58.
Nootka.
English.
Nootka. f
English.
Tusshoe ....
A road, or path.
C'liaputs ....
A ship, or a canoe.
K;it skanii'ii . ..
A rod buttcrllv.
Secpooss ....
The keel of ;i canoe.
Souwak Lawcelkh
Intimate friends ; liter-
ally one friend.
Klawhitsecm .... 80
Sapum
The carvings on a caroe.
The cross sticks of a
Sooqucss.... .... IK)
Synooa
Sliecbha
Go bring ; fetch.
Sea-ears.
The beard of a mussel.
Aiiukliinma
Coopskanimme ....
canoe.
The bottom of a canoe.
The bow of a canoe.
Kakeesmubt
Matsquinnah
Ko-ooshinne . 35
A kind of small ground
cane.
Any kind of fly.
The croaking of a crow
Abapukht
Konoe-emmitz .... 85
K latlasstoopky ea ss
Ayakhtl
A species of sea-weed,
duckweed [but cf. 2 15.]
The earth nut.
Trembling with fear.
\Vasukslicetl .... ....
Coughing
Aeealkh ....
An eagle's feather.
Tali in eess
Antomeess
Euixsheetl
ChootquahceJak 10
Spitting.
Spittle.
Blowing the nose.
An instrument for kill-
ing fish
Awatinnc
Achimma .... 90
Cheecheetl
Tahok .... ... . .
An eagle.
Lines, or figures painted
on the face.
Tattooing.
Signifies fear, or a per-
Choocbat Sooma
Ass .... ....
To kill, or catch fish,
with this instrument.
Large, grand, a great
Tahok Mcquilla kah-
shcetl.
son very much afraid.
Moquilla is afraid of
death, or of being
many.
A skate
Se-essook. .. .... . .
killed.
A small fishing line
Katrlin . ....
A do^-fish.
Chihkimmu .... 95
A fishing hook, dressed
Kychin .... .... 45
Eshtseeap
Kloobkoomah ....
Wacheechec
Neekeak .... ....
A louse.
Turpentine, resin or
gum.
A bird's bill.
A bird's feet.
A bird's claws.
Taatukkleuima ....
Sooma
something like our fly
. hooks.
A bladder used in fish-
ing.
A name for fish in
general.
Kihlccphasspatoo 50
Kuniit/ .... ...
A bird's wings.
A bird's head
Keeteeleek
Chepulkhmcess ....
An upper garment.
Fish scales.
Nachoo .... .... ....
The tail feathers of a
Klootsainma, Tootsma,
A woman.
Keyssineess
Ake
bird.
Blood.
A wound.
or Tlootsma. 100
Haqualeess
Hyehinna
A girl.
A kind of cockle, or
Mutssheetl .... 55
Okkqueetl .... ....
To tie.
Flying.
Kleethak
clam.
The breast and belly of
Hotyah .... .... ...
A sword or sabre.
a man.
Red ochre or paint
Hahytah . ....
The fern root.
Quaquatlclie-che-cheo ....
Large chests, ornamen-
ted with sea-otters'
Touqua .... .... 105
Aook .... ....
A well.
The lake.
Hyseea .... .... GO
Euiecx . . ....
teeth.
Mine ; it is mine.
Cakes of bears' grease.
Euhquat, or Euhquot ...
Eneetssheetl Euhquat...
A village.
Return, come back to
the village ; an invi-
Klipshiinmahyafz
Kamuthaxee
Moquinuak
Huook 65
Isscnooa .... i... ....
Sweat.
Certain figures painted
with red ochre.
Sprats.
Fit for eating, also an
invitation to eat.
Cranberries.
Makhtimuia
Kleeshklinnak .... 110
Cheebhectl
Klehaksalip
tation.
Bracelets inadeof plaited
hair.
Boots.
To pull, or draw.
Buried in the ground,
or covered with earth.
Ougctv, or Awuh
Ohwcek .... .. . ....
The name of a poisonous
root, with which they
rub the points of their
arrows.
A quail
Klyeoksheetl
Suhsheetl
To knock into the
ground, as a stake, etc.
To stick anything into
the ground, also to
stake.
Maiik .... ....
Poison.
Tsoostsoosa .... 115
Digging.
Polio 70
Amoet .... .... ...
A halibut.
The backbone of a fish
Quahtaap
Paatleek .... .... ••••
Breaking a stick.
A flambeaux.
Mai h'lnali
Taiiass .... .... ....
Soot.
A boy.
Seeseemitz
Klinteemeess
Earth, the ground.
Ashes.
Sooquolchee
Sooquolchee Quotluk ;
Sooquolchee Seeke-
maille. 75
Ayeoopato
Quniiiiu . .. ....
Bring, run and bring.
Kun and bring the sea
otter's skin ; run and
bring the iron.
The bulb, or head of the
large tangle.
The stem, or item-post
Tahtseenoolkh .... 120
Klanooquxim
Taquinneek, or Soo
Sukhssheetl Wcena
Aptssheetl
A small folding knife.
The handle of a knife.
Grasping, or the hand
folded.
To kill, or shoot the
strangers.
Theft, stealing.
of a canoe.
( 5
C'hooo .... .... 125
7 )
Play, do play.
No. 58.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[190O.
Nootka.
English.
Nootka.
English.
Hyea
Go out of the way, or
Eilkhmupt . .. 165
Nettles.
Pohfcklectl Tootsina
to that side.
The women are running
away from fear.
Kawatkamubt ....
Hoiraak or kilsoop
Po-opt
Wild spinach.
Hei-b John.
A kind of rock moss.
Kooweelkh
Neenaneech
Chooquatlik .... 130
Ko-osheetkamubt
Sheetlok haoooa
Klooshinmikak
Sihseehwa
Koeesha .... .... 135
Kutsklya
Oophyak
Kleetleka
Thieving, or hiding a
thing after it is stolen.
Let me see it ; examine
it.
This way.
Jessamine.
They are going away to
a great distance.
A shot from a gun, or
word they used to ex-
press fcheir fears of a
gun.
Scratching.
Smoke.
Beating, or nialleting
with a stone.
Flame.
Sparks of fire.
Pootspotsuir.pt
Silsque 170
Akamubt
Koochuk
Puttayhmubt ....
Kleightsweebt ....
Klooweekmubt .... 175
Quoteeeak or quotlceat....
Tummakubt
Mowa-fissh
Poohsheetl
Wuhsheetl .... 180
Ekho
Mint.
A bird's excrement.
Goose grass.
A particular kind of fish
hook.
A rose bush.
A rose.
The plant with very
bright red berries.
Heavy!; it is very
heavy.
The prickles of the rose
bush.
Come away.
Blowing with the
mouth .
Breaking wind.
This, these, or that.
Wehmupt
A wreath of a pine
Uaooooa .... .... ....
A great way off, without
Chcechiskinneck 140
Sooheeeak
Eilkhhandimme
branch.
Children ; young boys.
The bone point of a
spear.
The feathers of an arrow.
A bow string
Sitseehahmubt
Kakahmiibt or katska-
nuksnmbt.
Shutlmubt 185
defining any deter-
minate distance.
The pear tree.
The elm.
The fern.
Teecheetna ....
Sharpening any instru-
Akaetso ....
Red clover.
Klwahmeess Nails 145
ment.
The sovereign of the
Klatlamubt
Sohasht ....
A species of willow.
Salmon.
Queheeeuk
Tcekatsuk, or Teesh-
cheetl mooxie.
Kaweebt ....
sky, God Almighty.
A stone for polishing
metals.
Throwing a stone.
The brambleberry, or
Pillukh or Pinnukh
AkhakAkhak .... 190
Sootuhta....
A stone hammer, or
pestle.
What have you got ? or
what do you want for
what you have ?
A gimlet.
Keilkkintapah
Wetsnab .... 150
Kakeesm
Mowitcli or Kobatseek
Kleethak
Cehemees
Kecseeu 155
Klyhappa
bush.
The strawberry, or tree.
A caterpillar.
A species of grass.
A deer.
A bear's skin.
A bear.
A long string of plaited
grass, bound round
the head like a turban.
Eed bream.
Pouring water as out of
Eutsuss eatsook....
Eyateeatah
Wcekeatish
Okox 195
Milse or Milsooa
Sequrne .... .... ....
Go away, go out : as out
of the house ; this is
spoken in displeasure.
Dancing.
Not any ; I have nothing
more.
A conical cap, with
various figured orna-
ments.
A fishing spear with two
prongs.
The two prongs.
Akee^k ... . .. ....
The bone barbs.
Aoupglik-ka
Noahksheetl
Mamattee .... 160
Mahinneb
Naook . ....
other.
Whistling.
Swallowing.
A crow.
A pole.
Shall 1 come or I will
Sooksooee
Mattilhsimma, or mat-
tilksheetl. 200
Tamoksheetl
Klookass....
A plane, or the frame of
one.
To tie ; binding.
A knot.
A loop.
Moeappamme ....
Kowas [cf. 206]....
come.
The name of an enclo-
sure where they per-
form some religious
ceremonies.
A little deformed figure
of a human being in
the Moeappamme,
which we understood
they worshipped.
(5
Kleesilkh
Aeemahai
Moweh 205
Kowiiss or Koass [_cf. 164]
s y
Clean.
The flower none so
pretty.
Look at it.
The name of one of their
divinities; this is also
either the name for
the nation, or for a
number of people
collected.
1900.1
Anthropological AV /•/>,/•>,• mxl Mi* ,llanca.
[No. 58.
Nootka.
English.
Nootka.
English.
Enekktscm
Hanook Enekeetseru ....
Enckeetsem hawcelkh ....
The god of snow whom
they worship and
pay great veneration
to.
This may either signify,
take care of Enekeet-
sem, or Enekeetsem
will take care of
you.
An expression frequent-
ly used, and probably
means that Enekcet-
sem protects their
Klemcsheetl makyo kla-
m:i lit. 245
Satsaweelkh
Echamoot
Cheetapuximma
Esookotto
Oopeak 250
Hayniina ... ....
Warming water with
red hot stones, which
they lift by the wood-
en tongs.
A carved wooden spear.
A bladder, or skin, in
which they preserved
their oil.
A mat on which they sit
and lounge.
A pearl shell.
Trap baskets for catch-
ing fish.
A small wood dish,
Eiss 210
Outsookhsils
Tomilkh
Flax, or a substance re-
sembling it.
Tears, weeping.
Winking.
Sootskeeak
Klaklahtimmj ....
which they use on
various occasions.
A. stone chisel.
The foot.
Eenapuhseem ....
Sehuk-kusht
Koneeemitz [</. 85] 215
Kaoomen or kaoomene....
Ohyfczo or chahwoitz ..
Hainootcmilkh
Akh« or ekho Takna ....
Hestoquattolikqua 220
A large whale spear.
Smoked sardines.
A species of seaweed.
A pigeon.
A little square vessel for
holding water.
A large horn spoon.
His, this, that or my
child (son).
The name of a chief's
wife
Chahitseetj
Aptsootachec .... 255
Seehwea ... .... ' ...
Kloopulle or klupa
Sutsaksteelkh ....
Opkustah
Oopatto 260
Athya, or Atssheetl
Waeish ....
The knee.
The thick of the thigh.
The scab.
The sun's beams.
The setting of the
sun.
The rising of the
sun.
Day.
Night or darkness.
Sleeping or snoring.
Hunneekeea orhulleekea
Apkhlesht
Moquilla....
A trough.
Dried fish of any kind.
The name of a young
Klemiksheetl
Quelkhquatla
Milkhlemeootl .... 265
Awake.
One half of the moon.
The full moon.
chief
Tatooss .... .... ...
The stars.
Nyahpatto
Klitsinnaka . . 225
A cradle.
Moquilla's brother's
Quoeeatseek
Eenema ....
A wolf.
A woman's breast?.
IkliUtook . .. .... ....
name.
One blind with age ; a
Cheetlecheea
Zseetseeastikooma 270
Cutting with a knife.
The plaits of a woman's
Makytsnamma .... ...
very old person.
A bow string.
Seeahy
hair.
It is mine.
Moksee, or mosksee
A stone hammer, also
stones of any kind
Keeseeak
Aeeatsh .... .... ....
A quill.
The large feathers of a
Atshussee
Amet 230
Quespees
Apscoop [_<•/. 294]
Chee-chee-chee-chcc-
quaquatl.
Quotsitta
Knekeets 235
Takua Seekya
Euwatl haweelk kloohsh
IVeehattas
Hiimumum
Himiumunuukslieetl 240
Cheemak ..
A mallet.
A shell used for a spoon.
The woods.
An armour for the head,
made of hair and
leather.
Teeth, or bones; with
which they ornament
their chests.
A chest.
An enemy.
A female child, or
daughter.
A friend's medicine, or
medicine from a friend
is good.
A wooden box for hold-
ing arrows.
A large snail shell.
Drinking.
Meeteernelkh
Kleesigkhoo .... 275
Wakeeju, or Waksheetl
Noocheu, or Nooap-
noolkh.
Seekootlash Zseehatc ....
Hoquoluk
Quasighfuik .... 280
Zsecchatte
Eenalksam
Qulkkook
Hleesheenaee
Mukeea 285
pigeon.
The war dress.
The figures on this
dress.
Making urine.
The sea.
Bring the arrows.
A chest.
The leather dress, orna-
mented with quills
and hoofs.
A musket or an
arrow.
A spar.
Planks.
A mantle made of a
stuff resembling flan-
nel.
A fire stone, used in
heating water
Eksbeetl clique ...
Huucckeca kawutsass ....
KlaiiiaM ...
Polishing with a shark's
skin.
Eating fish out of a
trough.
Wooden tongs.
Kutsh-luik
Kookhkooha
Ivakhass ....
Keukshook
Seeanoot ... 290
Leather.
Shaving.
A spit.
A small spar.
A hat or cau.
( 59 )
No. 58.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
Nootka.
English.
Nootka.
English.
Nahai
A present, also solicit-
ing something out of
friendship.
A wooden hammer.
A stone for sharpening
nietals.
The armour for the
head. [>/. 232.J
A dagger or large knife.
A folding knife.
Good, or signifying any
degree of excellence.
A fish hook.
A bladder.
The inner bark of the
pine.
The wing of the gull.
A wooden vessel.
A little matted basket.
A little conical wooden
vessel.
A large spear used both
in war and in fishing.
A large spear used only
in fishing.
A fishing net.
The posts of a house,
also the name for the
large images.
The outer pine bark.
Shooting or hunting.
The pigeon is killed.
Mussel shells.
Dried mussels.
A small string, or
thread, of bark.
A loom, or the cross-
sticks on which they
make their cloth.
A box or chest.
The supporters of the
loom.
A deer's horn.
A long narrow mat.
Cutting with a mussel
shell.
A fishing line made of
seaweed.
Easing one's self.
The other.
To-morrow.
The wind.
Show me ; let me
see what you have
got?
Clean ; new.
Ducks' feet.
The barb of a whale
harpoon.
The name of the line
belonging to this har-
poon.
Go away.
A snare for catching
birds.
( 6
Taatte
A kind of hook with a lly .
A fishing line.
Sipping.
Leather bracelets.
The hair of the head.
A dog, or a goat.
A name which they
sometimes applied to
our goat.
A fox's head carved in
wood.
Leather earrings.
Let go.
This word has various
significations, as
what, these, this way,
and where is such a
one ? etc.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six. [but (/. 371.]
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
Seventeen.
Eighteen.
Nineteen.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty.
Sixty.
Seventy.
Eighty.
Ninety.
One hundred, [but cf.
349.]
One hundred and ten.
One hundred and
twenty.
One hundred and
thirty.
One hundred and forty
Hetso .... .... . .
Mattmah
Kloouiaeetz .... 335
Mamaseem
[Kapsak.]
Eeneetl, or Eecneetla ...
Kleeseemilkh
Heeueekateehaui 340
Meetamass
Kocha . .
Teenah .. .... ....
Apscoop or Quaotimrn6
Sooheeeak .... 295
Tahtsenoolkh
Klookhsli, or Klookli ....
Chemino.... ....
Tuslikumuioot ....
Peatsoop 300
Quoinue .... ....
Wase
Numerals.
Sauwaak .... ...
Kesitta .... ....
Klapaiit ....
Okokoinilkli
Nyakpatto .... 305
Echtak
Ezeenima
Klumina....
Ahtkla, or Akkla 345
Kutsa or Katsaa
Moo, Mo, or Moatla
Soocha or Socha
Noopo or Noopokh
Atkhpoo or Atlpo 350
Atlaqualkh
Souwaqwalkh
Haeeeo ....
Sakkameess
Eueetsckass .... 310
Klitcheatleesh kaoonicue,
or Kaoomeue kah-
sheetl.
Klootskooee
Kloochaast
Cheheemah
Klooshhahtimme 315
Makva ... ....
Saoomeleepahaeeeo
Ahtklemehapahaeeeo 355
Kutsamelepahaeeeo
Moomahlehapahaeeeo ...
Soochamehlepahaeeeo ...
Noopomehlehapahaeeeo
Athpomehlehapahaeeeo
Atlaqualkhmehle-
pahaeeeo.
Sowaqualkhmekle-
pahaeeeo.
Sakaitshaeeeo
Haee e m e hlepatsakeets -
haeeeo.
Haeeeo Akkleook 365
Haeeeonietlapiitla akk-
leook, or Kutseatlish-
haeeeo.
Haeeemehlaputkutseak-
haeeeo.
Mooeeakhaeceo ....
Soocheakhaeeeo
Haeeemetlaput sooche-
akhaeeeo. 370
Noopok .... .... ....
Klaklaeheeheine
Malkhs
Klchalkh
Koocheetl .... 320
Sunuapalth
Tecakptint
Claotra ....
Ametl .... . .
Atcheetl 325
Akak
Kleesookh
Alchuts .
Teekoomilkh, or Ook-
lash.
Klooksquapulth.... 330
Enowass anuee ....
Kameehleuk
Haeeemehtlaput noopok
haeeeo.
Atlpokhaeeeo
Haeeemehtlaput atlpok-
haeeeo.
Atlaqualkhuk luicccu 375
3)
1900.]
[No. 58.
Noolka.
English.
Haeeemehtlaput atla-
qualkhuk liaceco
Sowaqnalkhuk haeeco ...
Haeeeookh '
Sukkytzuk haeeeo
Haeeemehalpxits sukkytz
haeeeo. 380
Atleook haeeeo
One hundred and fifty.
One hundred and sixty.
One hundred and i
seventy.
One hundred and
eighty.
One hundred and
ninety.
Two hundred.
N.B. — As much of their reckoning as consists of
tens they frequently enumerate by signs, in which
case haeeeo is entirely omitted. From twenty to
thirty, and from that to forty, and so on, the
numbers that eipress the first nine, are used with-
out any variation. For having computed nine, it
is customary with them to clap or clasp their
hands together, which always signifies ten. Thus
by two clasps we are to understand twenty, three
clasps thirty, etc.
VOCABULARY OP TITE PRINCE WILLIAM'S SOUND LANGUAGE.
Prince William's Sound.
English. Prince William's Sound, i English.
Eelaleee ....
An expression of friend-
ship similar to the
haiveelkh of Nootka;
it sometimes too com-
prehends haweelkh
nahaie, which is beg-
ging a present of you
on account of friend-
ship.
A dress or jacket made
of the entrails of some
animal.
A fishing spear.
No.
A bow.
A paddle.
A canoe.
A seal's skin.
A fine twisted fishing
line.
A basket.
A hat, or one of their
conical caps.
The wooden cap made
in the form of a seal's
head.
A dress made of the
skins of birds.
Ornaments for the nose.
The beard.
The nose.
The ear.
The brambleberry.
The blueberry.
Oil, or oil in a bladder.
A dog.
An arrow.
The hair of the head .
A skin like a sheep's.
An otter, or its skin.
An otter' 3 paw.
An otter's tail.
An otter's head.
The bone barb of an
arrow.
The otter's whiskers.
The teeth of any animal.
The otter's claws.
An otter's fur.
The thumb.
Teekuk 35
Koogaklece
Peenaeuk
Ekursqua
Chootee . ..
The forefinger.
The middle finger.
The ring finger.
The little finger.
The ears.
The nails.
The eye.
The tongue.
The feet.
The leg.
The white bear's skin.
No ; no more, or I have
nothing more.
The stool which they sit
upon in their canoes.
A bladder, or a skin
blown out like one.
More, give me more.
Their buskins.
What is that ?
It rains.
Ho! you! do you hear?
calling to one.
Red ochre or paint.
Take it.
Blue paint.
A pump, or a hollow
tube of \\ood which
they use as one.
Pumping, or sucking the
water out of their
canoes with the above
tube.
A feather.
The proper name of a
man.
The name for their coat
of mail.
An instrument for cast-
ing darts.
A murtin's skin.
Cutting with a knife.
A knife.
Wood of any kind, but
more particularly fire-
wood.
Smoke.
Fire, or a spark of fire.
The proper name of a
dog.
Keenahlook
Toksheet ;
Sheetoa 40
Eenga
Ooloo
Natga .... .... ...
Kooinooa ...
Agulchee .... 45
Pedok
Nahloomuk
Kapaka ....
Meek, or Week
Tunge .... .... 5
Wenaka, or Pakuan
Ameeleek
Noonookoon
Shuggnaluk
Ilakee, or hagee.... 10
Aeeweenuk
Noogaweek
Adkooga ...
Cheemoouk
Looeheen .... 50
Kai
Mudjuk, or Koonee
Esht-est-esh
Kuttak, or Oolooak
Tahoo 55
Eaniak, or Toonecu
Neegoowahtok ...
Eikowanuk
Choolook
Sheetreega .... 60
Aleeak
Cheequea
Oongneet .... 15
Q-neek .... . ..
Choodul;.... . .
Aloogana ...
Utcha
Aksookok .... 20
Eigok
Hok
Nooeet
Nooquak
Laklak
Cheepa ....
Natoonishuk .... 25
Ecla^a ....
Pamrela ....
Keequeak-kee ....
Cheekoo G5
Ekooanuk
Apsheok .... . .
Nushkoo ....
Peiktok
Oonge 30
Pamoolee
Chooloo ....
Xoonuk ....
Pee-euhta
Nuns;eena
No. 58.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
Prince William's Sound.
English.
: Prince William's Sound.
English.
Aganuk 70
Ohwhinne
Yamak ....
A woman.
To-morrow.
A small fishing spear.
Kantahphuk
Noweun^washuk 100
An oblong dish, made
like our chip boxes.
A blue gull
Ko ....
Take it back again, re-
Choohwak ... ,
Its bill
fusing an article in
Ectega ....
Its feet.
bartering as not suffi-
cient.
Cheetooa. ..
Shakhe
Its claws.
Its wings.
Neentook
Oongmea .... 75
Waloo
A cover for preserving
the barb of an arrow.
The barb of an arrow.
The point of a spear
Taeeduk 105
Taeeduk eeelalee
Come here; an invita-
tion.
Come here, for they are
Agalchou
What is that ?
Euweila ....
The sinews out of which
Koonaliamego ....
Choook .... .... ...
A louse.
A hatchet.
Quehak ....
they make lines.
Cheelgnuk .... 80
Tooptooquea
Nippeoon
A very fine plaited fish-
ing line.
To eat, fit for eating.
A root like the fern,
which they eat.
Kullingeuk
Keena 110
Aeeetuk ....
shell.
A bag made of tlie gold
beater's leaf.
A wound.
Mitts made of thebeav's
Cheenoohtak
Eualoo
A quiver.
A thick square line mnde
Kooeek ....
skin.
Coughin"1.
Kccloo 85
Mecngoon
of guts.
The intestines of which
they make the stuff,
resembling our gold
beater's leaf.
A needle.
Tuneehluk
Ebugeeak
Alok, or Atlok .... 115
Eenge
A bear.
The holes in the under
lip.
One more, give me one
more.
Let me see it or let me
Tupliak
A fishing line made of
look at it
Tummeeneuk
guts.
A goose.
Koobeeteak
Oona
Whistling.
Buy it or give me that
Nushkootooleeak
Kalshkanuk .... 90
Teytweeak
A wild duck.
A magpie-
A kingfisher.
Chitld
and I will give you
this.
More ; give me more
Togoonuk
Ehlebifc ....
Dead.
A present • keep it.
Makook 120
They sometimes used
tbis word in the same
Hamilkhquok
Peetoong.... .... 95
Cheemeh
SungaS
A mussel shell.
Dried salmon.
A small blue bead.
A small image.
sense as it is at
Nootka.
Keelaquok
A rattle of dried bar-
nacle shells.
ON THE ABOVE VOCABULARY.
Besides Cook's vocabulary above mentioned several other lists of Nootka words
have been published. They were republished by Buschmann (AbTi. der Jc. Academic der
Wiss. zu Berlin, 1857, pp. 366ff) with an alphabetical key. The titles of these four
works there cited will be found in Pilling with the exception of the Relation del Viage
(Madrid, 1802).
In Strange's vocabulary a few words are repeated, sometimes with a change of
meaning; Konee-emmitz means chickweed (85) and a sort of seaweed (215); Kowas
means idol (164) and is the name of a god (206); apseoop occurs twice (232, 294).
Kapsap (337) is struck out without being replaced by any other word.
Strange evidently wrote down these numerals at different times, or copied them
very carelessly from his notes, as is apparent from the variations in the spelling of
the numbers from ten to twenty. The scale is evidently vicesimal, but there seem to
be considerable errors in the higher numbers ; the terms for seventy and eighty are
apparently omitted and the relations of the subsequent numbers as far as 190
correspondingly shifted. The spelling is throughout very irregular, cf. sakaits (20)
and sukkytz (180 [200]). N. W. THOMAS.
(62)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [Nos. 59-60.
CENTRAL AMERICA.
Costa Rica. Sapper.
Ein Bcsuch bci den Chirripo- und Talamanca-Indianern von Costarica. Von
K. Sapper. (Globus, LXXVII, 1, pp. 1-8, 28-31.) Presented by the Author.
The author's joui-ney, undertaken in the spring of 1899, covei-ed much the same
ground as that of Dr. Bernardo Thiel in 1889-90 (Viajes a varias paries de la
llepublica de Costa Rica, San Jose de Costai-ica, 1896, esp. pp. 36-51).
He describes in detail the typical round or oval houses (palengiie) and the daily
life of the natives, figuring a Talamanca palenque (Fig. 1) with plans and sections ;
Talamanca women grinding with a large saddle quern (Fig. 2) ; Talamanca man
fishing with bow and arrow (Fig. 3) ; and women in everyday costume, carrying
bui'dens with a band over the forehead (Fig. 5), or children in a sling of cloth astride
of their hips behind (Fig. 6). Fig. 4 gives a river scene, with dense vegetation and a
native boat ; Fig. 7, the Talamanca chief, Antonio Saldafia, in European shirt
and trousers, native feather headdress, and necklace with pendant ; Fig. 8, three
other Talamanca men with feather headdresses and staves. The former native
costume consisted of a girdle, or in the case of the women a broader wrapper of bark
cloth (detzi) made from the mastate tree in the usual way by boiling and beating ;
but European clothes are beginning to be common. The majority also of these
Indians are now nominal Christians, and little was to be learned of their former
belief or social institutions ; but the dead are still exposed to decay on a sort of
platform, the bones being subsequently smoked over the house-fire and put away in
burial-places, which are kept secret, with a ceremony accompanied by drinking,
singing, and beating of drums covered with iguana-skin. The author gives a full
description of a peculiar wind-instrument made of a marine spiral shell with a hole
bored in the side and used like a flute, and appends examples of native music.
He notes particularly the strongly marked chanting intonation of the ordinary speech
of the Chirripo Indians, ranging over intervals of a fifth or a seventh, and admitting
clear breaks of a third or a fourth.
The author also visited the fast vanishing tribe of Estrella Indians, who belong to
the same race and linguistic group as the Chirripds, and notes their habit of using a
short bow and headless arrows indoors, to scare away intrusive dogs and pigs without
troubling themselves to move. J. L. M.
Mexico. Howarth.
The Cordillera of Mexico and its Inhabitants. By O. H. Howarth, C.E.,
F.R.G.S., F.G.S. : read before the Royal Scottish Geographical Society,
December 14th, 1899. (Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1900, pp. 342-352.)
After describing the country itself, and its fauna and flora, the author classifies
the human inhabitants of the Great Cordillera as, " (1) the aboriginal or Indian
population ; (2) the modern or business population, concerned largely with mining
and allied trading pursuits ; and (3) . . . scattered individuals or families, whose
presence in the remote mountain nooks of the great range is often difficult to account
for except through the chapter of accidents, and forms an interesting subject of
enquiry." In regard to the first class, " the few surviving families of Apaches,
Taramaris, Cotas, Yaquis, and other mountain tribes are rapidly undergoing
absorption, as one after another is led gradually to discover that industry pays
better than fighting."
(63)
No. 61.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
" Amongst some of the native tribes, who have come in contact with even
Mexican civilisation, it is curious to notice that the fact of being an ' Indio ' is
associated with a certain sense of reproach, and an anxious desire is sometimes evinced
to claim. ' Mexican ' nationality as well, the idea being evidently connected with a
moi-e advanced phase of existence. In fact, the term ' Mexican ' in a general sense
must now be taken as representing a distinct nationality." (p 349.)
" The warlike sections of the Indian race are rapidly ecoming extinguished,"
even the Apache, of whom only a few families remain in the wildest part of the
Sierra Madre in Sonora. " For the most part the tribes between the north-west and
the far south are small of stature and inoffensive in their character, but in the
southern States of Oaxaca and Tehuantepec the Zapotecos, a people of superior
physique and intelligence, represent probably all that remains of the ancient Mayas."
Of the " modern population," the author notes as a remarkable characteristic the
" hereditary poverty " of the mountain Mexican, " his placid acceptation of all sorts
of adverse conditions of life without the slightest effort to remedy them, even when
the means lie to his hand ... it was not the way of their forefathers to do or
desire such things " as comforts or luxuries, " and even actual physical suffering does
not seem to prompt them to the attempt," e.g., "a fire on a frosty night is a proscribed
luxury." (p. 351.)
In regard to the waifs and strays Mr. Howarth gives curious instances of
Europeans who have found a retreat up country, and in some cases almost forgotten
their native languages in their solitude.
The paper is illustrated by photographs, among which are " A group of Pueblo
Indians" (p. 342); "A Mexican Prairie Schooner" (a flat-bottomed cart with a
pole, on massive wheels, carrying a hut of hurdles and boards with thatched gable
roof, p. 344) ; and "A Miztec's house and family" (wooden frame, with hurdle walls
and thatched roof, p. 346). J. L. M.
SOUTH AMERICA.
Colombia. Dalton.
Note on a Stone Figure from Colombia, S. America. Communicated by
0. M. Dalton. (Plates I-J).
This interesting figure, both sides of which are illustrated, was obtained
at -San Augustin by Rear- Admiral Dowding, B.N., in 1899, and has been presented
by him to the British Museum. It represents a warrior with shield and club, wearing
a waistcloth and a fillet round the head. Statues of this kind, dating from a period
anterior to the Spanish Conquests, still exist in considerable numbers about the Upper
Magdalena River, but they are said to be gradually sinking in the soft earth and
disappearing from sight. Most of them are lai'ger and heavier than the example here
shown, and for this reason the difficulties of transport to the coast are considerable.
Admiral Dowding had secured a valuable series of photographs illustrating some forty
or fifty of these larger figures, but these were most unfortunately lost owing to the
wreck of a steamer in the River Patia. An account of these remarkable monuments,
with several rather rough illustrations, will be found in C.C. Marqnez, Prehistoria y
Viajez, Bogota, 1893.
( 64)
Journal of (lie Aiitlirnpitlw/ical Iinh'fute, Tot. XXX (Miwllftnea), Plate A.
FIG. 1.
FIG. a.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 5.
FIG. 6.
FIG. 7. FIG. 8.
IMi.VCKLKTS OF FLINT FROM EGYIT.
ILLUSTRATING SUCCKSSIVE STAGES IN THEIR MANUFACTURE.
(r,-!i>t<;l from Uoch kindly lent % Dr. H. 0. Fortes.)
Journal of the Anthropological Inxtitiitr, Vol. T.V.V (Miscellanea), Plate B.
» £
X 73
~ 8
K 3
55 '/:
— ci
FH ^
a
55 a>
Ilia. III6.
III. — FKOM HIKltAKONPOLIS : IN THE ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFOlJD.
a. Obverse, b. Reverse.
Vo, Vb.
V. — PHOVENANCE UNKNOWN: IN THE GIZEH MUSEUM,
a. Obverse, b. Reverse.
of the Anthrofolcr/tcal Institute, Vol. XXX (Mixct II tinea), Plate C.
IVa. 1V&.
IV. — PROVENANCE UNKNOWN : PERHAPS FROM A15YDOS : IN THE LOUVKE.
a. Obverse, b. llecvrse.
| VI : seo Hate D.]
Vila. VI 16.
VII. — PROVENANCE UNKNOWN : IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
a. Oficersc, b. Ileccrfe.
VIII.— IVORIES: IX THE BRI1
Via. Obcerse.
VI. — PROVENANCE UNKNOWN : THE LARGE FRAGMENT IS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM
Journal of the Anf/iroj>o!o</ict<t fnxfifiite, Vol. XXX (MtoettttHUtt), Plate />.
YI/>. Reverse.
ILLER ONE (X) AROYF, WHICH FITS IT, IS IN THE ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX (Mincellani-n), Plate E.
MAOKI CARVINGS FKOM A PAT AKA OH STOKE-HOUSK : NOW IX THE AUCKLAND MUSEUM.
To Illustrate the (jenesis of the Maori Scroll Pattern from representations of Jfanaias.
(Miscellanea, 1900. a. No. 41 ; ' b. Xo. 40.)
OBJECT OF UNKNOWN USE FUOM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS : P1101JABLY A " TINDALO
EMBLEM.
(Miscellanea, 1900. A'o. 45.)
Journal oj the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX (Miscellanea), Mate jr.
1,
FEATHER MATS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX (Miscellanea), Plate 6.
YELLOW.
FIG. I.
WIDTH 12 INCHES.
FIG. 2.
FEATHERWORK CORONET, AND WOODEN BOX FROM TAHITI.
IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
(Miscellanea 1901. No. 47.)
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX (Miscellanea), Plate II.
HEAD OF SHELL ADZE.
SEEN FROM IN FRONT : SCALE f NATURAL.
(Miscellanea, 1903. No. 49.)
SHELL ADZE FROM AMHRYM ISLAND,
NEW HEBRIDES.
SIDE VIEW : SCALE \.
1900.] 'AnthropdogiMl Reviews aitd Miscellanea. [Nos. 62-63.
ASIA.
Cyprus : Bibliography. Cobham.
An Attempt at a Bibliography of Cyprus. By Claude Delaval Cobham,
B.C.L., M.A., M.R.A.S., Commissioner of Larnaca. 4th Edition. Nicosia,
1900. 8vo. pp. 55.
Mr. Cobham is to be congratulated both on the necessity which has arisen for a
fourth edition of this invaluable little book and on the great pains which he has
taken to bring it thoroughly up to date. How greatly the literature of the subject
has increased in recent years is shown by the fact that whereas the third edition of
the Bibliography which appeared in 1894 contained only 497 titles, this of 1900
contains no less than 728. The general bibliography, which occupies 38 pages, is
followed by special sections on the numismatics, epigraphy and language, consular
reports, newspapers, cartography, and parliamentary papers of the island ; and a
full chronicle of contributions to the " Cesnola Controversy." J. L. M.
India: Rajputana States. Adams.
The Western Rajputana States, a Medico-Topographical and General Account of
Marwur, Sirohi, and Jaisalmir, by Lieut.- Colonel Archibald Adams, I.M.S., M.D.
2nd Edition. London : Junior Army and Navy Stores, 1901. 8vo. pp. 455. Price
10s. Gd. Presented by the Author.
The appearance of this book, the work of a medical ofjScer of the Indian Service,
who passed through a long period of work in Western Rajputana, was soon followed,
we regret to say, by the announcement of the author's death. The primary object of
the book seems to have been to discuss the climatic conditions of an out-of-the-way
corner of the Indian Empire, and to give some account of his professional work
amidst a most interesting people. As it progressed the book developed into a general
treatise on the country and its people, including history, geography, natural
productions, and social economy. Such a scheme needed qualifications which the
writer obviously did not possess. The student of the history and antiquities of
Rajpntana will be wise in relying on the classical Annals of Colonel Tod, for matters
social and economic on the Rajputana Gazetteer and the Administration and Census
Reports, while Jerdon's accounts of the birds and mammals, which are the
authorities used by the author, have been superseded by the series of volumes issued
under the editorship of Mr. Blanford. Unfortunately, Dr. Adams seems to have had
little taste for anthropology, and he lost a unique opportunity of collecting skull
measurements and other similar facts, a work which his professional knowledge
would have qualified him to undertake.
The book, however, forms a useful collection of facts and seems trustworthy so
far as it goes, but to the student of man it will supply little that is novel and
interesting, while space has been wasted in recording imperfect notes of superstitions
and popular beliefs which are already accessible in other books. The best feature
of the volume is the excellent collection of photographs of people, buildings, and
scenery with which the volume is lavishly supplied. W. CROCKK.
(65 )
No. 64.]
Anthropological Review* and Miscellanea.
[1900.
Burma : Ling Roth.
Note on a Hkoiing beht set. Communicated by H. Ling Both.
In that excellent work The Burman, the author, Shway Yeo, states on p. 43
of the 2nd Edition, " These Tikoung beht set are charmed or consecrated objects let into
the flesh under the skin. They are of various kinds. Some are gold, silver or lead ;
others curious pebbles, pieces of tortoise
shell, or bits of horn, all of them with
incantations of mystic character written on
them. Many famed dacoits have long
rows and curves of them over the chest,
showing in little knobs through the skin.
"When they get into English . prisons an
energetic English jailor has been known to
cut them out, Ies6 they should be pieces of
gold or silver, or perhaps precious stones with which the turnkeys might be bribed.
The usual result is to break the robber's spirit. Once the continuity is interrupted
the consecration is gone."
On reading the above passage I wrote to the Burmese Government asking for a
specimen of such a talisman, to which request I obtained a very courteous reply from
the Hon. C. Gr. Bayne, Chief Secretary to the Government of Burma, enclosing three
specimens, a disc and two pins, together with the following notes: — "These are
inserted in the biceps and forearm usually. The needles are simply pushed in, while
to insert the disc the skin is pinched up with the thumb and forefinger and punched
through with a bit of thick brass wire. The presence of the inserted objects can almost
always be easily distinguished and the objects themselves felt, the skin rising up in
small ridges in the case of needles and getting discoloured in that of discs. As a rule
no injury is caused by the objects miscarrying. It' the operation is unsuccessful, the
objects drop out and a small scar is left on the skin."
The disc is about 9^- mm. diameter and £ mm. thick. On the obverse is the
representation of a pig with four roughly engraved circles which are probably
.ft
intended- for mystic characters and the reverse appears to represent cabalistic designs
but not a horoscope. The needles are 11 mm. and 10 mm. long respectively, blunt at
both ends and slightly taper. The three articles arc now in the British Museum.
For comparison with the obverse of the disc I append four designs which are
( 66)
1900.]
Anthropological /?• /-/v/rs
[No. 65.
charms tattooed on tho thighs; Rpecmlly prepared pigments being used in the operation.
These designs were likewise sent me by Mr. Bayne.
The late Dr. John Anderson refers to the custom at Bhamo, as follows :—
" The tsitkay-nekandaw (deputy) afforded a curious illustration of a custom
mentioned by Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, vol. ii, 1875, p. 244). The upper part of
his cheeks was disfigured by large swellings, caused by the insertion under the skin
of lumps of gold, to act as charms to procure invulnerability. Yule mentions the
case of a Burmese convict executed at the Andaman Islands, under whose skin gold
and silver coins were found. The stones referred to in the text of Marco Polo, as
well as the substances mentioned in the note by his learned editor, do not appear to
have been jewels. The custom prevails among Yunnan muleteers of concealing
precious stones under the skin of the chest and neck, a slit being made, through
which the jewel is forced. This, however, is not to preserve the owners' lives, but
their portable wealth. While at Mandalay, I examined some men just arrived from
Yung-chang, and found individuals with as many as fifteen coins and jewels thus
concealed, as a precaution against the robbers who might literally strip them to their
skin, without discovering the hidden treasure. But our Burmese official regarded his
disfiguring gold as a certain charm against danger." — Nandalay to Momien, London,
1876, pp. 409-10.
65
Assam: Archaeology. Gurdon.
Aswakrdntd, near Gauhati. By Capt. P. R. Gurdon, I.S.C. From the Journ,
If. Asiatic Society, Jan. 1900, pp. 25-7, two plates. Presented by the Author.
This interesting sanctuary lies on the north side of the Brahmaputra, a little to
the west of the island of Umananda, not far from the old town of Pragjotishpur or
(luuhati. Its name (Asu-a, " horse " ; kraut it, " passed by ") marks it as a point or the
route of Krishna when he carried off his bride RukminI ; and the " footprints of
Krishna's horses" are shown, in holes in tho rock near the shrine.
The paper describes and figures («) the Garurasan or stone throne found by
Capt. Gurdon in a small ruined temple at the foot of the Aswakranta hill, with
kneeling bird-headed figures (the Garuda-birds of Vishnu) at the cornel's ; (b) a fine
relief from the temple of Vishnu, which depicts the sleep of Vishnu on the snake
Ananta (Sri mat Bhagavat, V, 25). The relief is still an object of reverence, but
since the ruin of the temple by the earthquake of 1897, it is exposed to damage, and
neglect. It would be worthy of the Government of Assam, which has shown in many
ways so enlightened a regard for native customs and observances, to take the necessai-y
steps to preserve this interesting monument. J. L. -M.
( C7 ) 5—2
No. 64.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
[1900.
Burma : Ling Both.
Note on a Hkoung beht set. Communicated by H. Ling Roth.
In that excellent work The Burman, the author, Shway Yeo, states on p. 43
of the 2nd Edition, " These hlcoung beht set are charmed or consecrated objects let into
the flesh under the skin. They are of various kinds. Some are gold, silver or lead ;
others curious pebbles, pieces ol tortoise
shell, or bits of horn, all of them with
incantations of mystic character written on
them. Many famed dacoits have long
rows and curves of them over the chest,
showing in little knobs through the skin.
When they get into English . prisons an Vv (T-J
energetic English jailor has been known to
cut them out, lesfc they should be pieces of
gold or silver, or perhaps precious stones with which the turnkeys might be bribed.
The usual result is to break the robber's spirit. Once the continuity is interrupted
the consecration is gone."
On reading the above passage I wrote to the Burmese Government asking for a
specimen of such a talisman, to which request I obtained a very courteous reply from
the Hon. C. G. Bayne, Chief Secretary to the Government of Burma, enclosing three
specimens, a disc and two pins, together with the following notes: — "These are
inserted in the biceps and forearm usually. The needles are simply pushed in, while
to insert the disc the skin is pinched up with the thumb and forefinger and punched
through with a bit of thick brass wire. The presence of the inserted objects can almost
always be easily distinguished and the objects themselves felt, the skin rising up in
small ridges in the case of needles and getting discoloured in that of discs. As a rule
no injury is caused by the objects miscarrying. It' the operation is unsuccessful, the
objects drop out and a small scar is left on the skin."
The disc is about 9^- mm. diameter and \ mm. thick. On the obverse is the
representation of a pig with four roughly engraved circles which are probably
_ p
intended' for mystic characters and the reverse appears to represent cabalistic designs
but not a horoscope. The needles are 11 mm. and 10 mm. long respectively, blunt at
both ends and slightly taper. The three articles are now in the British Museum.
For comparison with the obverse of the disc I append four designs which are
( 66)
1900.]
Anthropological 7iV/-/Y/rs
[No. 65.
cli.-mi).-: tnttooed on the thighs; specially prepared pigments being used in the operation.
These designs were likewise sent me by Mr. Baynp.
The late Dr. John Anderson refers to the custom at Bhamo, as follows : —
" The tsitkay-nekandaw (deputy) afforded a curious illustration of a custom
mentioned by Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, vol. ii, 1875, p. 244). The upper part of
his cheeks was disfigured by large swellings, caused by the insertion under the skin
of lumps of gold, to act as charms to procure invulnerability. Yule mentions the
case of a Burmese convict executed at the Andaman Islands, under whose skin gold
and silver coins were found. The stones referred to in the text of Marco Polo, as
well as the substances mentioned in the note by his learned editor, do not appear to
have been jewels. The custom prevails among Yunnan muleteers of concealing
precious stones under the skin of the chest and neck, a slit being made, through
which the jewel is forced. This, however, is not to preserve the owners' lives, but
their portable wealth. While at Mandalay, I examined some men just arrived from
Yung-chang, and found individuals with as many as fifteen coins and jewels thus
concealed, as a precaution against the robbers who might literally strip them to their
skin, without discovering the hidden treasure. But our Burmese official regarded his
disfiguring gold as a certain charm against danger." — Mandalay to Momien, London,
1876, pp. 409-10.
65
Assam: Archaeology. Gurdon.
Aswakrdnta, near Gauhati. By Capt. P. R. Gurdon, I.S.C. From the Journ.
If. Asiatic Society, Jan. 1900, pp. 25-7, two plates. Presented by the Author.
This interesting sanctuary lies on the north side of the Brahmaputra, a little to
the west of the island of Umananda, not far from the old town of Pragjotishpur or
Gauhati. Its name (Asica, " horse " ; knlutd, " passed by ") marks it as a point on the
route of Krishna when he carried off his bride RukminI ; and the " footprints of
Krishna's horses" are shown, in holes in tho rock near the shrine.
The paper describes and figures («) the Garurasan or stone throne found by
Capt. Gurdon in a small ruined temple at the foot of the Aswakranta hill, with
kneeling bird-headed figures (the Garuda- birds of Vishnu) at the corners ; (ft) a fine
relief from the temple of Vishnu, which depicts the sleep of Vishnu on the snake
Ananta (Sri mat Bhagavat, V, 25). The relief is still an object of reverence, but
since the ruin of the temple by the earthquake of 1897, it is exposed to damage, and
neglect. It would be worthy of the Government of Assam, which has shown in many
ways so enlightened a regard for native customs and observances, to take the necessary
to preserve this interesting monument. J. L. M.
( G7 ) 5-2
Nos. 69-70.] Anthropological Revu'if* «n<l Miscellanea. [1900.
Japan : Religion. Aston.
f^lG JaP°-nesc Gohei and the Ainu Inao. Communicated by W. G. Aston i»
the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science. Bradford, September 7th, 1900. [To be published in full in this
Journal.]
This paper illustrates a principle in the history of religion by which the object,
which is at first simply an offering, has a tendency to become conceived of as the
embodiment of the God, or even as a distinct and independent Deity.
In ancient Japan, the offerings to the gods were of the most varied description.
Among them were included hemp and bark-fibre, together with cloth made from these
materials. In later times there was substituted a small quantity of paper, made of
the same bark-fibre, and attached to a wand in the form known to us as gohei. With
the change of form, the original character of the gohei as offerings was forgotten.
They were looked upon as receptacles Or embodiments of the God, and honour was
paid to them accordingly. At festivals, the God descended with the gohei, on a
certain formula being pronounced by the priest. Hypnotic practitioners also used
these objects in their seances, the deity who inspired them in their trances being
supposed to enter their body by this channel. There are cases in Japan in which the
devotee has gone a step further, and has constituted the object which was originally
an offering a distinct and independent deity.
The Ainus of Yezo use in their worship whittled sticks called inao which have a
general resemblance to an old form of the gohei and are no doubt a cheaper substitute
for them. The inao like the gohei are primarily offerings, but in certain cases they
receive direct worship as gods, having become, in short, genuine fetishes. Another
link between the inao and the gohei is provided by certain whittled sticks closely
resembling inao which were in use in Northern Japan a century ago for striking
women with, in order to ensure fertility, as at the Roman festival of the Lupercalia.
•Similar sticks, after consecration by the Shinto priests, were formerly used at Kioto
to kindle the household fire afresh on the new year, and so avert the possibility of
pestilence.
Borneo : Religion. Hose and McDougall.
/Some Peculiar Features of the Animal-cults of the Natives of Sarqivak, and
their Bearing on the Problems of Totemism. Communicated by Charles Hose,
D.Sc., Resident of the Baram District, and W. McDougall, M.A., to the Anthro-
pological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September .llth, 1900.
We had observed customs that seemed to indicate the ex-istence of a well-developed
totemism, either at the present time or in recent times, among the natives of Sarawak.
We have therefore collected information bearing on this subject as diligently as
possible, from all the tribes with whom we have come into intimate contact.
We found a great number and variety of peculiar rites and customs observed by
the people of the different tribes in their dealings with animals and plants. We
confine ourselves in this short paper to giving (1) a general account of the customs of
one of the inland tribes, the Kenyahs ; (2) to describing the Nyarong, or spirit-helper of
the Sea-Dayaks, and some similar institutions among the other tribes ; and (3) to
pointing out the bearing of our observations on the totem problem.
The Kenyahs are a wailike agricultural people, living as isolated communities of
twenty to fifty or more families, each community inhabiting a single long house built
on the river-bank. Their religion is peculiar, in that they believe in a beneficent
(70)
1900.] Antfiropofagical Ifaviewt cmddfiacellancd, [No. 71.
Suprei'ic Hi-ing and ;i group of departmental deities, while they attribute to every
agent that affects their lives a spirit that must be properly respected and, if necessary,
propitiated.
Most important to t linn of all the animals is the common white-headed hawk,
lie l>rings messages of warning and advice from the Supreme Being to those who
know how to read the signs he gives, and he is consulted before every undertaking
of importance, and sacrifices of fowls and pigs are made to him. A wooden image of
the hawk stands before every house. Several other birds give them omens of lesser
importance, and none of these may be killed or eaten.
The domestic fowl is killed as a sacrifice to the hawk or other powers, and its
blood is sprinkled on the altar-posts of the gods and on the persons taking part in
various ceremonies, especially peace-making ceremonies. The domestic pig is
sacrificed in much the same way. The spirit of a pig is always charged with some
pr.iyer to be carried to the Supreme Being, and the answer is read from the markings
of its liver.
The crocodiles are regarded as a friendly and allied tribe, and may be killed in
retaliation only. No Kenyah will kill a dog, and the dead body of a dog is regarded
•with fear.
Kenyahs will not eat the flesh of deer or horned cattle, and there are many
restrictions on touching or using any parts of them.
Only old or renowned warriors will wear or touch the skin of a tiger.
One house is decorated with carvings of the gibbon on every large beam, and all
Kenyahs have a dread of the Maias and the long-nosed monkey.
There thus seems to be every degree of regard paid to the different beasts, from
the mere uneasy feeling in the presence of the uncanny, long-nosed monkey to the
elaborate cult of the hawk, and the nature of the respect paid to any species seems in
nearly every case to be the direct expression of the impi-ession made on the barbarian's
mind by the behaviour of the beasts.
The Spirit-Helper. — Every Sea-Dayak hopes to be guided and helped all through
his life by a spirit which announces itself to him. in dreams and takes up its abode in
some peculiar natural object or in some animal. In the latter case the Dayak will
never kill or eat. one of the same species of animal, and will lay the same prohibition
on all his descendants, so that a whole family may come to pay especial regard to one
species of animal for many generations. A similar institution occurs, though less
commonly, among the other tribes. In such cases we seem to be able to trace
sometimes the actual origin and growth of a totem.
Borneo : Stone Age. Haddon.
Itelics of the Stone Age of Borneo. Communicated by A. C. Haddon, Sc.D.,
F.E.S., Lecturer on Ethnography in the University of Cambridge, to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September 7th, 1900.
Until about eighteen months ago the only authentic example in this country of a
stone implement from Sarawak was the specimen collected by A. Hart Everett, which
is now in the Pitt-Rivers Collection at Oxford. In December, 1898, the Sarawak
Museum obtained a specimen of a different type. I discovered a third type in a
Sibop house on the Tinjar River in the Bararn District of Sarawak ; later Dr. C.
Hose, the Resident of the Baram District, obtained numerous examples from various
interior tribes in his district ; these he has generously presented to the University of
Cambridge. The occurrence of stone implements in Borneo has been previously noted.
(71 )
Nos. 72-73.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. '[1900.
The implements are made of various rocks, including fibrolite, impure sandstone,
arko.se, silicified limestone, sliale, andesite and chalcedony. The form, too, varies
greatly ; some are obviously axe heads, others adze blades, while certain cylindrical
forms, with a more or less cup-shaped cutting end, were probably used to extract the
pith from the sago palm. In the collection are several stones of irregular form ; the
former use of some of them is problematical, but they have recently been used as
touchstones.
The natives have a high regard for these stone implements, which have in their
eyes a sacred character, and it is very difficult to persuade their owners to part with
them. In all cases fowls had to be sacrificed to appease the spirits. The implements
are stored with other sacred objects, and most of them are believed to be teeth, or
toe-nails, of Baling Go, the Thunder God.
72
Borneo: Ethnography. Haddon.
Houses and Family Life in Sarawak. Abstract of a paper communicated by
A. C. Haddon, Sc.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 7th, 1900.
The series of nearly fifty lantern slides exhibited by Dr. A. C. Haddon, taken
during his recent expedition to Sarawak, were selected to illustrate the type of house
that is common among the settled inland tribes of Borneo, and the every-day life of
the people. No attempt was made to distinguish between the various tribes, as their
mode of life is very similar in its main features. The villages are all situated on or
close to the banks of rivers ; most of the houses are of large size, and many contain
from half-a-dozen to sixty families ; sometimes a village consists of a single house or
of a string of houses placed endwise to each other.
A house is built on piles some 10 to 20 feet from the ground. Along the
side facing the river is a wide verandah which stretches down the whole length of the
house ; here many domestic industries are carried on, and all the social and public
business is transacted. The dwelling-rooms of each family open by a single door
on to the verandah. While the common verandah affords every facility for social
intercourse, the privacy of the house is thoroughly respected.
ID the verandah of nearly every house is at least one trophy of the sTuills of
enemies, which aa-e supposed to bring good luck and plenteous harvests ; food is
occasionally offered to them and a fire has to be kept burning beneath them, otherwise
the skulls would be uncomfortable and bring misfortunes to the house. Various
industries were illustrated by slides, such as the husking and Avinnowing of rice by
the women. The houses are often ornamented with carvings or painting of a
conventional character, the style of decoration varying according to the tribe.
Borneo : Textiles. Haddon.
The Textile Patterns of the Sea-Dayalts. Communicated by A. C. Haddon,
Sc.D., F.B.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 7th, 1900.
The Sea-Dayak women weave short cotton rep petticoats and cotton sleeping
wraps which are covered with beautiful and often intricate patterns. The patterns
are made in the following manner : the warp is stretched on a frame, the woman takes
the first fifteen to thirty strands and ties them tightly with strips of leaves at irregular
intervals, according to the design, which she carries in her memory. The next fifteen
to thirty strands are similarly tied, and this process is repeated until all the threads
have been utilised. The warp is then removed from the frame and dipped in a
(72)
1900.] -/ nth i-u/nihujioil 1!< i-ii •/'•-• tun! Mi^i-,11,1,1,'1. [No. 74.
ivddish dye, Avliicli rok>iirs the free portions of the wurp, but the tied-up portions
remain uudyed ; thus a light pattern is left on a coloured background, when the
lashing is untied. If a three-colour design is required, as is usually the case, the first
la>hing is retained, and various portions of the previously dyed warp are tied up ; the
whole is immersed in a black dye, and then both sets of lashing are untied. The
pattern is thus entirely produced in the warp, the woof is self-coloured, and does not
obtrude itself in the material.
There are a very large number of designs and patterns, which are remembered by
the women and handed down from mother to daughter. By far the greater" number of
these designs are based upon animals, whereas most of the patterns carved by the men
on wooden and bamboo objects are derived from plant motives. The designs
embroidered by the women on jackets and loin-cloths are usually zoomorphic in
character, but the treatment of the motives is quite different from the decoration of
previously described fabrics.
The decorative art of the Sea-Dayaks of Sarawak differs in character from that
of the Kayans, Kenyahs, and other inland tribes.
Malay: Ethnography. Skeat.
Eeport on Cambridge Exploring Expedition to the Malay Provinces of Lower *7 A
Siam. Drawn up by W. W. Skeat, and presented to the British Association * "
Committee on the National History and Ethnography of the Malay Peninsula.
Bradford, September, 1900. Printed in full in the Proceedings of the British
Association, 1900 (Bradford).
This expedition was organised to carry out a scientific survey, in which
Ethnology, Zoology, Botany, and Geology should all have a share, of the little
known Malay provinces of Lower Siam, and especially to extend the scope of the
ethnographical collections and observations referred to in the Fourteenth Annual
Report of the Antiquarian Committee to the Senate (June 6, 1899).
The party comprised Messrs. R. Evans, of Jesus College, Oxford ; F. F. Laidlaw,
of Trinity College, Cambridge ; D. T. Gwynne-Vaughan, of Christ's College,
Cambridge ; R. H. Yapp, of St. John's College, Cambridge ; N. Annandale, of Balliol
College, Oxford, and myself.
The inhabitants of these provinces are, for the most part, Malay, but Siamese
influence becomes gradually predominant to the northward, and the process of fusion
between these two antagonistic elements presents some curious racial problems. But
the most interesting subject for investigation in these provinces is perhaps presented
by the very primitive jungle tribes of the interior, about whom much valuable
information was obtained.
Yet another interesting tribe, of whom no account seems to have yet been
published, is the sacred tribe of the Prams, who claim to have come over from India,
and to have established themselves in the country anterior to the coming of the
Siamese or Malays. What truth there may be in their statements will (it may be
hoped) now be ascertainable, as a copy of their sacred book, containing an account of
their origin, was obtained by the expedition.
But the special interest of the territories traversed centres, perhaps, in the fact
that they have hitherto formed a species of ethnical breakwater, but little, if at all,
affected by the ideas of a higher civilisation. These ideas, however, are already
taking root, and many of the manners and customs witnessed by the expedition tire
becoming obsolescent or are already obsolete.
It is hoped that when the results are known the present expedition will be found
( 73 )
No. 74.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
to have achieved results to some extent comparable with those obtained by the
important expedition sent by the Dutch Government to Mid-Sumatra in 1877-9.
The results obtained should also be of value, for the purposes of comparison, with
the results of the very successful Cambridge Anthropological Expedition of
Dr. Haddon to the Torres Straits, Sarawak, and New Guinea.
Owing to the uncertainty as to the probable reception which the expedition
would experience at the hands of the inhabitants, the. good offices of the Siamese
Government were bespoken by the Foreign Office ; and I have much pleasure in
recording the' extreme hospitality and enlightened help which the expedition
consequently received from the local authorities, in some cases, perhaps, under rather
difficult circumstances
We reached Singora on March 27th, 1899, and were most hospitably entertained
in his own house by the High Commissioner, H. E. Phya Sukhum. Next day we
proceeded up the Inland Sea Some dredging was done here by Messrs.
Evans and Annandale, and the Bird's Nest Islands were visited, observations
made, and photographs taken of the curious cave-dwellings of the island guards.
At Lampan (Lumpumm) a short stay was made by Messrs. Evans and Vaughan,
Mr. Annandale and myself proceeding into the interior to try to meet with a small
Sakei (jungle) tribe of Pangans who were reported to have been seen in the vicinity,
and to photograph some of the Siamese tree-graves, which method of burial, in
accordance with instructions from Bankok, is fast becoming obsolete. A forced
march by night on elephants brought us to the spot too late to overtake the wild men,
who had moved away, no one could say whither, the night before our arrival.
Mr. Annandale was able, however, to photograph their late dwelling-place, which
consisted of a cave under a projecting rock, near the summit of a lofty hill. He also
took photographs of the tree-graves. These are usually cigar-shaped wrappers, or
rather " shells " made of laths, and suspended horizontally at a height of 6 to 8 feet
from the ground between two tree-trunks, branches, or posts. The corpse is exposed
in one of these shells (the heels being generally left higher than the head), and
allowed to decay till the bones are clean, after which the bones should be collected
and burnt. Box-like receptacles on posts (as among the Madangs of Borneo), are
occasionally substituted for the wrappers. On this journey some strange articles of
diet were served up to us, among them being red ants, toads, bee-grubs, and a species
of cicada. The manner in which the latter are caught is peculiar. Two or three
natives gather at night round a brightly burning wood fire, one of them holding a
lighted torch. The others clap their hands at regular intervals, and the cicada,
attracted by the noise and guided by the light, fly clown and settle upon the people as
they stand by the fire. In the Wat (Siamese temple) at Ban Nah Mr. Annandale
noticed that one of the small figures of Buddha which had been deposited in the temple
as an offering, contained a fossil shell, and this clue, carefully followed up, led to
the discovery of the quarry from which the fossil had been taken
On reaching Lampan we found that Messrs. Evans and Vaughan had proceeded
to the " Tale Noi," or " Little Lake," at the end of the Inland Sea, and followed them
accordingly. We did not overtake them, but our visit to the " Little Lake " was of
great interest. In one of the local " wats " or temples a human embryo was found
among the offerings. We also came upon a small isolated tribe called " Pram "
(? Brahm) people, who claimed to be a sacred tribe of Indian origin, and appear to
have been hitherto undcscribed. They retained several peculiar customs, notably that
of burying their dead in a .sitting1 posture, with the top-knot tied to the top of the
coffin. A copy of a sacred book, describing the origin of the tribe and the story of
(74)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews fml M/^>; //,!„,<>. [No. 74.
their migration, \v,is obtained with difficulty, it is said to be written in ;iu Indian
language, \vhich they themselves no longer understand. Tlieir dress consisted of a
white robe, a white shoulder-cloth, and a peculiar white two-peaked turban or cap.
Tlii'ir chiefs claimed that they were the oldest inhabitants of the country, and that
they were not constrained to make obeisance even to the sovereign.
After a few days' further stay in Singora, where we rejoined Messrs. Evans and
Vaughan, we proceeded to Patani in the commissioner's yacht, arriving after
u good passage just in time to witness part of the gorgeous pageantry of a Malay
"royal" wedding, between the Raja of Patani's sister and the "Raja Muda " of
Kelantan
On the 28th we left forBukit Beear, or Negiri (Intragiri), an isolated mountain
about 3,000 feet high, on which several days were spent. This was known to the
natives as a haunted mountain possessing a pond near the summit, on which are said
to grow certain magical shrubs, one of which is believed to be the means of conferring
perennial youth on its finder, and anpther to be one of the most powerful love-charms
in the world. These treasures are guarded by a host of demons, and the natives
expressed great fear of them until the ascent to our camp (at a height of about 2,000
feet) had been successfully accomplished, after which their fears rapidly subsided.
Mr. Evans got his first specimen of Peripatus here, and Mr. Vaughan also did well
with the mountain flora.
On our return to Patani Messr.-?. Vaughan, Annandale, and Evans proceeded up
the Patani to Biserat in Jalor (Jala), which proved an excellent collecting ground.
I stayed at Patani for some days longer, and visited the very extensive saltpans near
the river mouth, the Patani potteries, and the grave and shrine of the celebrated local
saint of Cape Patani, about all of which much information was gained. Of the
latter many miracles are told, and his grave-posts (at the head and foot) are still
believed to make prophetic movements, one instance of which I was enabled to test 011
the spot. Two very curious rods, such as are used in divination, were here
obtained.
On the 26th I rejoined the rest of the party at Biserat, and then visited the
magnificent limestone caves, a very complete collection of whose fauna was made by
Mr. Anuandale. These caves included the fine Grda Gambar, or Statue Cave, which
contains a recumbent figure of Buddha, nearly 100 feet long, as well as a number of
other statues in a sitting posture. Extensive zoological and botanical collections were
also made at Biser.at by Messrs. Evans and Vaughan. An exhibition of devil dancing
was here witnessed.
Small-pox having now set in badly and two deaths occurring in the village,
collecting became more difficult, and presently the Raja and his household retired to
the hills, and many houses were closed by means of a rattan carried round outside
the fence of the compound, whilst slipknots of jungle-grass (latang) were hung
across the gate, and a couple of stems of a bitter-tasting tree, called the Bjdara Pah if,
buried cross-wise on the threshold.
One of the annual ceremonies fo;' the purification of a village was here witnessed,
and many ethnological specimens and much information obtained. On Jiinr (i
Mr. Evans fell ill, and as he took long to recover, Messr.s. Annandale and Vaughan
proceeded to Kota Bharu, in Raman, whilst Mr. Evans and I went down to the
coast.
After spending a few days at Patani, wo went to Jambu in Jering. Here, too,
1 witnessed the annual ceremony for the purification of the village, at which the
launching of a spirit-boat, about a yard and a half long, formed the chief feature.
(75 )
No. 74.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Before leaving Jamba I paid a flying visit to Teluban. On returning to Patani wo
were rejoined by Messrs. Vaughaii and Annandale, and proceeded by the overland
route through Raman Ligeh and Ulu Kelantan, and up the Lebih, a tributary of
which stream, the Ariug, takes its rise in the neighbourhood of the Tahan Mountain,
which it was one of the objects of the expedition, if practicable, to ascend. The
expedition therefore started from Biserat on July 6, and proceeded to Kota Bharu,
the chief town of Raman. . . . Mr. Laidlaw accompanied me up the Aring river,
and there took photographs and full measurements of several persons belonging to the
wild tribes, while a good deal of information about their manners and easterns, as well
as a vocabulary of nearly 600 words, were collected by myself.
On our return, we all descended the Lebih on rafts, as far as its juncture
with the Kelantan river, and thence descended the latter as far as Kota Bharu,
the capital of the important East Coast State of Kelantan, and the seat of its
Raja.
On the way down the river we measured and, photographed several more Sakeis.
At Kota Bharu Messrs. Laidlaw and I stayed for about a month, Messrs. Yapp and
Evans proceeding to Trengganu, in order to pay a short visit to the coral islands oft
that coast.
Much important ethnological work was done at Kota Bharu. Investigations
were conducted into Malay methods of industry, and a devil-dancing performance was
witnessed by Mr. Laidlaw and myself, at which the name of the winning bull at a
coming bull fight was correctly prophesied. Full anthropological measurements were
taken by Mr. Laidlaw of ten or twelve Kelantan Malays, notes made of the colour
of their skin, eyes, hair, etc., and experiments made as to their colour vision.
Measurements were also taken of at least ten of the Trengganu Malays, and full
observations recorded
At Trengganu my investigation of Malay industries was continued and much
useful information obtained. The most interesting was, perhaps, the method of
manufacturing damasked krisses — -the details of which were carefully studied.
On leaving Trengganu, we proceeded to Singapore, where a few days were spent,
and a visit paid to one of the villages of the " Orang Laut " (the old piratical stock of
sea-gypsies, who were once the terror of the Straits, and who were found by Sir
Stamford Raffles living in their boats round about the island of Singapore, when it
was proclaimed a British Colony).
By the first available steamer we proceeded to Penang. ... As soon as I
was able to go up country, 1 proceeded to Kedah, and there, after a short excursion
up the coast to Satal and Perlis, made two expeditions into the Sakei country, near
the headwaters of the Muda. Here I had the good fortune to find a tribe of from
twenty to thirty individuals living in a long barrack-like shelter of palm-leaves.
From them,'and from a neighbouring tribe, I obtained much valuable information as to
their manners, customs, and language, as well as full measurements of a few
individuals, and some probably unique phonographic records of their songs, which are
of an extremely simple and primitive character. I also, with difficulty, procured the
skeleton of an adult male. In all the States visited by me, investigations were made
into the leading Malay industries, and much valuable material bearing on this subject
was collected. Wherever possible, statistics were obtained showing the extent and
nature of the development of trade and the stage of civilisation which had been
reached by the people. Many of the leading Malay industries, such as that of weaving,
are being rapidly modified by the introduction of European methods and appliances,
and it is now the rarest and most difficult thing to obtain cloth actually made of
(70)
1900.] Anthropological 7iV?-?V?/v? cmd Mi well mi m. [Nos. 75-76.
homespun thread, tlio use of Singapore silk and aniline dyes being already almost every-
where the fashion.
In addition to the above, the departments of ethnology studied included religions
;ni(I medical ceremonies, children's games, legends, languages and dialects, under
of which headings a mass of material was collected.
Malay: Physical Anthropology. Laidlaw: Duckworth.
Notes on the Anthropological Observations made by Mr. F. Laidlaw in the course *T [T
of the Skeat Expedition to the Malay Peninsula. Communicated by W. H. L. • ^
Duckworth, M.A., Lecturer on Anthropology in the University of Cambridge, to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September llth, 1900.
The anthropological results of the Skeat Expedition comprise museum specimens
in the form of a skeleton of a native of the Pangan tribe (Kedah), of samples of
native hair, and also a collection of measurements by Mr. Laidlaw.
The skeleton is that of an adulfc male, whose stature was distinctly small (about
5 feet) ; the skull presents a combination of features commonly found in the skulls
of negroes, with those which characterise the crania of infants ; the whole constituting
evidence of the lowly physical type of the individual. The bones of his skeleton show
signs of widespread disease, possibly of a congenital nature. Mr. Laidlaw's measure-
ments and observations relate to members of the same tribe, and are to be welcomed
as affording precise information about a race of Malayan aborigines hitherto little
investigated. Perhaps the most interesting point to notice is the small average
stature of the Pangans (about 5 feet for adult men) ; though dwarfish, they are,
however, markedly taller than the African dwarfs. It is also noteworthy that
differences in the colour of the skin (varying shades of dark brown), and in the
character of the hair, occur in the different tribes. It is important to notice that they
present comparatively few anatomical features which, can be claimed as evidence of an
approximation to the ape. However primitive in their mode of life, they are anatomi-
cally truly terrestrial and human.
The present communication is only a preliminary account of Mr. Laidlaw's
results ; moreover there is much information available through the efforts of the
Skeat Expedition regarding the mode of life, language, customs, and religious beliefs
of these fast disappearing aborigines. The British Association is, therefore, to be
congratulated on having assisted materially, by contributing to the Skeat Expedition,
in rescuing these records of the Pangan tribe of the Malay Peninsula.
Malay Peninsula: Magic. Skeat.
Malay Magic : Being an Introduction to the Folklore and Popular Religion of
the Malay Peninsula. By W. W. Skeat, with a Preface by C. 0. Blagden.
London : Macmillan and Co., 1900. pp. 1-685, with 41 illustrations. 21s. net.
Presented by the Publishers.
Mr. Skeat has performed a great service to students of comparative customs r.nd
religion by the publication of this book, which contains a large amount of original
matter as well as quotations from the writings of other trustworthy observers. The
author has done well to reprint these, as it saves other workers an immense amount
of time and trouble in hunting up references in publications which are often difficult
of access, and at the same time, one feels that the excerpts have received the
additional authority of Mr. Skeat, for if he had not considered them reliable, he would
(77)
No. 77.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
not have quoted them. It is sometimes urged that because certain customs or beliefs
are similar to those in adjacent countries, or even in far-off lands, there is no need to
reproduce them ; this is a very unscientific position. In all branches of science a
vast amount of tedious and apparently unprofitable work has to be done before
generalisation can be safely made, and we should offer our hearty thanks to original
investigators like Mr. Skeat, who are content to laboriously collect and sift information,
and then to publish it in a straightforward manner, enriched with local knowledge
and un vitiated by strivings to support original or other theories. The critical labour
which Mr. Blagden has expended in seeing the work through the press also deserves
our warm thanks.
A few more explanatory notes might have been offered ; for example, the reason
why bamboo shoots were tabooed to Princess Rimbut (p. 152) was because the
caltrops that previously wounded her were made of bamboo. It is a pity the word
"armadillo" should have been used on p, 154, as that name should be confined to the
South American edentate.
The book begins with creation-myths, both of the world and of man ; not only
have human beings souls, but so have natural objects as well. Usually the soul
resembles the body, but the soul of the eagle-wood is thought to take the shape of a
bird, the soul of tin-ore that of a buffalo. We naturally pass on to the magician or
individual accredited with supernatural powers, who can deal directly with the souls
or essences of men and bodies on the one hand, and with the unseen powers on the
other. Mr. Skeat makes the suggestive statement that " the evidence of folk-lore,
taken in conjunction with that supplied by charm books and romances, goes to show
that the greater gods of the Malay Pantheon, though modified in some respects by
Malay ideas, were really borrowed Hindu divinities, and that only the lesser gods
and spirits are native to the Malay religious system." The influence of Islamism
is also very apparent, and many undoubtedly Malay pagan charms terminate with the
Islam formula.
A large series of magic rites and formulae are given in connection with the wind
and weather, animals, vegetation, and minerals, water, fishing, and fire. The life of
man is hedged in with magical rites, and we learn from Mr. Skeat what has to be
done at birth, adolescence, betrothal, marriage and death. Most of the illustrations
are from specimens in the splendid collection that Mr. Skeat presented three years
ago to the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. A. C. H.
Malay Kris, Louis.
The "Kingfisher" type of Kris. Communicated by Professor H. Louis, M. A.,
to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science. Bradford, September 10th, 1900. (With Plate I-J.)
This paper described a peculiar pattern of Kris, which is used in a limited
area in the north-east of the Malay Peninsula. The Malay legend of its origin
is that a party of Malays from the Bugis Islands invaded that portion of the
Peninsula many centuries ago. One of their leaders was known as " the Kingfisher,"
presumably on account of his rapid movements. The invasion was successful, but
the leader fell in one of the last engagements, and after his death his followers carved
their &m-handles into shapes resembling the Kingfisher's head and beak. Under
Chinese influence the pattern became more and more ornate, until it reached the
present fixed type.
The writer discovered in a pawnshop in Bangkok an earlier form of this type,
(78)
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX (Miscellanea), Plate I-J.
FRONT VIEW. BACK VIEW.
(Miscellanea, 1901. No. 61.)
HANDLE OF "KINGFISHER" KUISS.
HANDLE OF " KINGFISHER " KUISS,
OLD PATTERN.
(Miscellanea, 1SJ01. No. 77.)
1900.] Anthropological //.r/V//-* «inl .l//.s/r//////r//. [Nos. 78-79.
possibly the only one extant. This kris seems to have been sold by a Malay in this
region, many of whom are well known to have been deported by the Siamese between
the years 1790 and 1820; colonies of their descendants still exist in Siam, and havo
'IHVII visited by the writer. The early type of " Kingfisher" kris is much more like
the bird's head than the modern pattern, which is, however, the only one seen among
or known to the Malays. The region in question has rarely been visited by
Europeans.
Malay Metal-work. Rosenhain.
Notes on Malay Metal-icork. Communicated by Walter Rosenhain, B.A., to "TQ
the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of * ^
Science, Bradford, Sept. 10th, 1900. [To be printed in full in this Journal, vol. xxxi.]
The paper dealt with some specimens of Malay metal -work submitted to the
author for microscopic and other examination by Mr. W. W. Skeat. Some Malay
processes actually witnessed by Mr. Skeat were described, and the bearings of the
microscopic examination on the explanations of these processes were discussed.
The first question dealt Avith was the production of the " damask " pattern on a
Malay kris. Microphotographs were given showing that the " daiaask iron" really
consists of layers of loosely welded wrought, iron, the only other metal used being
tool steel. The body of the blade is made of steel, and a layer of laminated " damasl:
iron" is welded upon either side of the central layer of steel; a thin layer of steel is
welded on outside the " damask iron." The author believes that the striated
" damask " eifect is due to the opening of the loose welds in the damask iron
during the forging of the blade, steel being driven between the lamina. The outside
layer of steel is entirely ground away, and when the compound surface so produced
is " etched " by the pickling process employed, the more readily corroded steel
is attacked, leaving the edges of the layers of iron as a series of narrow projecting
ridges.
The tools of the Malay goldsmith were next described, and the micro-structure
and composition of Malay bronzes and " white metal " were described and discussed.
The final section of the paper dealt with the Malay method of producing chains
by casting.
Language : Theory of Grammar. Temple.
A Theory of Universal Grammar, as applied to a Group of Savage Languages.
By Colonel B. C. Temple, C.I.E. (Jour. Boy. Asiatic Society, July, 1899, 8vo.)
Presented by the Author.
This little pamphlet of forty pages is described by its author as an attempt to
formulate a general theory of grammar upon logical principles, in which reference to
the terms and conceptions of the ordinary inflectional languages of modern Europe
should be abandoned. Describers of new. languages are very rarely found to have
the courage to break away from the trammels of the classical or modern systems of
iinMngenient and nomenclature, and follow the natural structure and development of
the language discussed. The difficulties are acknowledged, and many expedients
invented to bring them into line with the totally different model, and native methods
of thought and expression are thereby obscured.
To the student of ihosc languages, therefore, which do not come within the view
of the classical scholar, and to those who find an interest in the uncultivated and
( 79)
No. 79.] Anthropological Reviews and Mixccllcmca. [1900.
therefore undistorted languages of savage peoples, Colonel Temple's theory will be
most welcome as the suggestion of a new method of description, and will be found well
worthy careful examination. The author has illustrated his general theory by the
particular example of the South Andaman group of languages, but it is manifest that
its proper exhibition requires examples in various unrelated and morphologically
different languages. It is impossible within the limits of a short review to adequately
discuss Colonel Temple's argument, and the reader is accordingly referred to the
work itself for details. In the earlier portion the author, taking the sentence as
the unit of language, discusses its composition and method of indicating purpose,
and also the method of expressing the inter-relation of words in a sentence. This
leads him to the definition of a series of terms in harmony with his analysis of the
sentence, these terms to take the place of the old so-called parts of speech. Colonel
Temple's terms are: — 1. Integers, words which are complete sentences; 2. Indicators
of subjects or complements of subjects ; 3. Explicators of subject or complement.
4. Predicators, indicating the predicate ; 5. Illustrators of predicate, complement, or
explicator ; 6. Connectors of the internal components of the sentence ; 7. Introducers,
explaining the purpose of a sentence ; 8. Referent Conjunctors joining connected
sentences ; 9. Referent Substitutes representing in a subordinate sentence the word to
which it refers in the principal sentence. These terms take the places respectively of
1. Imperatives or interjections; 2. Nouns; 3. Adjectives; 4. Verbs; 5. Adverbs;
6. Prepositions; 7. Certain adverbial conjunctions ; 8. Conjunctions; 9. Pronouns.
The author then proceeds to discuss the functions of words as indicated by their
form. The stem of a word may be simple, consisting only of the root, or be modified
by radical affixes to form a compound stem. Qualitative affixes indicate the function
of the word and the class to which it belongs, and they may be prefixed, infixed or
suffixed, either separably or inseparably. The author has not discussed inflection with
regard to its influence on affixes, and additions would possibly have to be made to this
section of the theory upon a consideration of some American languages.
The final section discusses the classes of languages as shown by their variation in
forms of words, position of words in the sentence, or a combination of form and
position. Colonel Temple's principles of classification are as follows : —
1. Syntactical Languages. (Position of words indicate meaning.)
2. Formative Languages. (Forms indicate meaning.)
a. Agglutinative. (Affixes without alteration.)
1. Pre-mutative. (With Prefix.)
2. Intro-mutative. (With Infix.)
3. Post-mutative. (With Suffix.)
I. Synthetic. (Affixes with alteration.)
1. Pre-mutative.
2. Intro-mutative.
3. Post-mutative.
This outline of a theory is worthy of much expansion chiefly with regard to its
application to languages of various forms. The present writer attempted to test it
by means of the analysis of parallel sentences iu fourteen languages of widely
different types. The inclusion of these would have rendered this notice too long, but
a general conclusion was arrived at that the theory is adequate for the explanation
of all of them. SIDNET H. RAY.
( 80)
1900.] Anihrvpoloyit al Hewi'ir* «n<l Miscellanea. [Nos. 80-81.
EUROPE.
England: Palaeolithic. Bell.
On the occurrence of Flint Implements of Paleolithic type on an Old Land- Q/\
surface in Oxfordshire, near Wolvercote and Pear-tree Hill, together with a few ^^
Implements of various Plateau Types. Communicated by A. M. Bell, M.A., to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September 12th, 1900.
At Wolvercote near Oxford there is a large section of a quaternary river-gravel,
which has produced the usual fauna, elephas primigenius, etc., and many fine
implements of human workmanship. This gravel cuts into, and is consequently
newer than, a previous laud-surface. A portion of this surface is found at Wolvercote,
and another portion at Pear-tree Hill, about half a mile distant.
In both places flints, implements of paleolithic types, together with bulbed flakes,
and a few implements of plateau type have been found. In every case the flints are
ochreous, which distinguishes them from those which belong to the river-gravel at
Wolvercote.
The older surface has been previously described as Northern Drift. It is
supposed by the author to be a remaniement of the true Northern Drift, but to have been
deposited under semi-frozen conditions. It must be anterior to Ihe river valley, and
consequently its relics of man are the oldest as yet obtained from the Thames
Valley.
The drift in question most resembles the drifts of Gaddington described by
Mr. G. Worthington Smith, and some sections on the Lower Greensand near
Limpsfield. Both of these drifts are implementiferous, and the author would
correlate the Wolvercote and Pear-tree Hill surface with these drifts.
England: Roman. Silchester Excavation Fund.
The Tenth Report of the Executive Committee of the Silchester Excavation Q,|
Fund states that the excavations at Silchester in 1899 were begun on 5th ® '
May, and continued, with the usual break during the harvest, until 16th November.
The examination of the south-west quarter of the town having been completed in
1898, it was resolved to continue the excavation of the northern half of the site. To
suit the convenience of the tenant, the operations of 1899 were restricted to the insula
(XXI) east of insula I (which was excavated in 1890-1) and to another insula
(XXII) north of XXI, extending nearly as far as the town wall. The total area
examined was about 5£ acres.
Insula XXI appears to have been enclosed by walls on all four sides. In addition
to two houses occupying the northern corners, it had on its eastern side a large house
of the courtyard type, with another small house to the south of it. At the south-east
angle of the insula was situated an oblong chamber with an apsidal end, perhaps the
meeting-room of some trade guild. Other traces of buildings were found along the
south side. The south-west angle unfortunately underlies the modern roadway
through the city, and could only partly be examined. The western side contained two
small square structures. With regard to the houses, that at the north-west corner
was discovered in 1864, by the Rev. J. G. Joyce, who communicated an account of it to
Archcuologia. It was, however, only partly excavated by him, and additional chambers
have now been found on the south and east. The north-east house is one of the
corridor type that has become a courtyard house by later additions. In one of the
(81 ) 6
No. 82.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
added rooms was a hypocauat of peculiar plan. The large house on the east side is of
interest from the several changes it has undergone, as well as on account of the traces
of a series of mosaic pavements of simple character. The small house to the south is
remarkable for the number of pits and wells found beneath it. From these were
extracted several whole vases, some of an early type and excellent design.
Insula XXII, though equal iu size to the other, contained a large amount of open
ground in the centre and north-west. As there were no signs of a street on its eastern
side, the portion excavated may form part of a larger insula. Near the south-west
angle was a good-sized house of the corridor type, with a large chamber at one end
terminating in an apse, which had a hypocaust beneath it. A square chamber of some
size which had been added on one side has foundations of huge blocks of ironstone,
and the same material has been used in what appears to have been a reconstruction of
the western part of the house. Besides this house, portions of three others were
found. Two of these were of very little interest. The remains of the third include a
square block subdivided into two chambers of unequal size, with an apse attached to
one side. All these had been warmed by hypocausts.
As usual, a number of wells were met with, lined with wooden framing towards
the bottom. No architectural remains of any importance were met with save a piece
of coping, part of a fluted Purbeck marble pilaster, and a fragment of a white marble
slab. The finds in bronze, iron, glass, and bone were as numerous as usual, but do not
call for special notice. From the pits examined an exceptionally large number of
entire vessels of pottery were recovered, the total being about eighty. They include
several pseudo-Samian vases of unusual quality, an inscribed drinking cup of Castor
ware, and some large vessels of the coarse ware which is so seldom found entire. The
coins found were not very numei'ous.
A detailed account of all the discoveries was laid before the Society of
Antiquaries on 3rd May,- 1900, and will be published in Archceologia ; and a special
exhibition of the antiquities, etc., found, was held as in former years, at Burlington
House, in July.
The Committee propose, during the current year, to excavate the lai'ge area north
of insulce I and IX, which extends up to the north gate, and therefore issue an appeal
for the necessary funds. The Honorary Treasurer of the Excavation Fund, F. G.
Hilton Price, Esq. (17, Collingham Gardens, South Kensington), or the Honorary
Secretary, W. H. St. John Hope, Esq. (Burlington House, W.), will be glad to receive
further subscriptions and donations.
England: Mediaeval. Armita,ge.
Q O On some Yorkshire Earthworks. Communicated by Mrs. Armitage to the
"« Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science. Bradford, September 12th, 1900.
The paper describes a particular kind of earthwork, very common in Yorkshire
and in other parts of England, consisting of a moated hillock with a banked and
moated court attached. This type of fort has been attributed in turn to the Britons,
Romans, Saxons and Danes, with equal improbability. The theory most general at
present is that it is Saxon. But Saxon strongholds were built to shelter all the
people of the neighbourhood, and were therefore of large area, while these earthworks
are evidently intended to protect some individual chieftain and his personal following,
as is shown by their small area. There is positive evidence that the Normans built
earthworks of this kind in the eleventh century, as the bases of wooden castles, and
these moated hillocks are still very numerous in Normandy. They are called mottes
(82)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 83.
in Norman-French, and this word is found in various parts of England in the form
mote. An inquiry into the castles known to have been built by the Normans when
they first came to England shows that almost all these castles had mottes, while the
bnrhs or boroughs built by the Saxons never have these appendages, unless a Norman
castle-builder has been at work there. The recognition of the Norman origin of these
castles would help to solve an historical puzzle, how the Normans were able to hold
England down. It was by a system of small fortified posts scattered all over the
country that the action of the central machinery was carried into the remotest parts
of the kingdom.
England: Physical Type. Beddoe.
On the Anthropology of West Yorkshire. Communicated by John Beddoe,
M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science, Bradford, September 8th, 1900.
Five-and- twenty years ago, when I had the honour of holding the seat now so
worthily occupied by Professor Rhys, I took for the subject of my address the
Anthropology of Yorkshire. That address was based on the labours of sundry willing
and friendly co-operators, as well as on my personal observations ; but I fear that since
that time but little has been added to our material, except by the discoveries of Canon
Greenwell and Mr. Mortimer, of Driffield, in the domain of prehistoric archaeology and
craniology, and by the observations of our lamented friend, Pitt- Rivers, on the fishermen
of Flambro'. At all events, little or nothing of the sort has come to my kn jwledge ;
though I am not oblivious of such writers on conterminous subjects as Raine and
Atkinson.
Why is this so ? The most striking qualities of typical Englishmen have been
thought to be strongly developed in Yorkshire. Among these, I fear, is the defect of
imagination so often found in those who call themselves, with some pride, practical men.
Sach men entertain a positive dislike and even contempt for knowledge of which
they don't see the immediate use ; and they cannot be expected to help in the
gathering thereof.
This character is not British, Celtic, Welsh. Yet it is often said that the old
British element is strong north of the Humber. Let us enquire into the grounds of
this belief.
Among them are the retention of such names for territorial divisions as Deifyr
and Bryneich, Loidis and Ehnet. But even Kent, Saxon or Jutish as it is, keeps its
Keltic name. And when we come to river-names — I speak under correction of and in
presence of a Keltic philologist; but may not Swale and Skell and Nid be Teutonic,
as well as Greta and Hull.
Any argument for the potency of the British element derivable from the
Northumbrian laws and were-gylds seems to me but weak. The Welshmen for whom
provision was made may well have been the subjected but not amalgamated Britons
beyond the Western mountains, the Cumbrians and Lancashire men. They might be
murdered at a reasonably cheap rate; but such was not the case with the ordinary
churl, as it would probably have been if his descent had been recognised as British.
Some have laid stress on the curious word " wallerwents," and have ihought it
signified Welshmen of some kind. Thirty-six wallerwents were summoned as
compurgators or jurymen in certain cases. But it is very unlikely that thirty-six
Welshmen, or indeed any Welshmen, could or would have had submitted to them
disputes between members of the dominant race. Mr. Coote's ingenious suggestion
( 83 ) 6—3
No. 83.] Anthropological Rcvievjs and Miscellanea. [1900.
seems to me more probable. He thought that " wallerwents " was a corruption of
" valore soquantes," a Roman legal term importing the peers or equals of the defendant.
That would imply some survival of a Latin dialect after the Anglian conquest, which
may probably enough have been the case in the city of York ; and if a dialect sui*vived,
a fortiori, the population who spoke it did so.
The Keltic rhyming scores in use among the shepherds of some parts of
Northumbria ; the fact proves nothing more than what is certain on other grounds,
viz., the survival of a portion of the servile class during and after the Anglian conquest.
As for the evidence of dialect, a certain number of Keltic words remain in the
dialect of Craven, but I think that in the lower valleys of the Aire and Wharfe such
words are as infrequent as in other parts of England. How this may be in the south-
western valleys T am unable to form an opinion. The dialect of the West Riding
generally was set down by Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte as intermediate between the
Midland English and the true northern or Yorkshire of the East and North Riding,
and was classified as nearer to the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Lancashire
speech than to that of the other Ridings. I confess that my own opinion on this
point would be different, if I could venture to form one ; but if we accept the Prince's
authority, we must take it to indicate, if anything, a greater potency of the Anglian,
and a less one of the Scandinavian element, in the West Riding.
Of the cranial forms and facial features of the ancient inhabitants of the West
Riding we really know very little. Thanks to Greenwell and Mortimer in the East
Riding, and to Bateman and Davis and Thurnam in Derbyshire, we know that in
both those districts there was the usual succession of longheaded stone-men, and
round, or rather cordiform or wedgeheaded bronze-men, which occurred in other
parts of England, though in the East Riding it was not so distinct. Perhaps
conditions of soil or climate were somehow adverse, either to the peopling of these
western moorlands or to the preservation of their bodily remains ; whereas the chalk
of the East Riding and the carboniferous limestone formation of Derbyshire were
more favourable.
It is sometimes said, on the authority of hatters, that heads are broader in
Yorkshire than in other parts of England. But there is not much scientific
authority, I believe, for this statement, nothing more than a probability. I 'have only
fifteen Yorkshire heads in my note books, and their average kephalic index is 78'28,
that of all my Englishmen being 77'84 only, but fifteen is of course quite an
insufficient number. Dr. Venn measured 524 students from the North of England,
whose kephalic index, ascertained by a method somewhat different from mine, was
79'18, that of all his pure Englishmen being 78'94. Here Yorkshiremen are not
distinguished from other northern men ; but it is likely enough that the largeness of
the figure is really due to the Yorkshire element.
My own impression, acquired by simple inspection, and fallible accordingly, is
that in the central parts of the West Riding, and notably at Leeds, a prevailing type
is characterised by an oblong or rather trapezoidal head, inclining to be broad rather
than narrow, with a vertical forehead, smooth and not prominent brows, and a straight
profile with a straight or sometimes concave nose. The smooth brows dissociate this
type from that of the bronze race ; and the squareness from the smoothly elliptic or
oval one of the southern Saxon. Dr. Von Holden would class it as Sarmato-Germanic,
His and Rutimeyer as Belairian. I am disposed to call it Anglian, partly because of
its usual association with a blond complexion, or at least with light hair, though the
eyes are often of a muddy grey. Light hair is prevalent, not only hereabout, but in
the mountainous regions to the north and south, in Teesdale, for example, and about
(84)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews nml Mi^-llinn •«. [No. 83.
(lie Peak of Derbyshire; and this complicates the problem we have to deal with in
the West Riding population. As a general rule, the proportion of light hair seems to
be a pretty fair criterion of that of Saxon. Anglian, or Scandinavian blood ; but h<-ro
Ave have districts where we might reasonably expect to find the posterity of refugees of
primitive races, rather than of conquering tribes or other comparatively recent
imnii^raiiis. The anomaly of Teesdale may, however, be explained: the whole of
Teesdale, down to Barforth and Cliffe, is returned in Domesday as waste, and the very
blond population which now inhabits it must descend from subsequent immigrants.
If such and so thorough was the result of the ravages of William the Conqueror and
Malcolm Canmore, why may not those of Ethelfrid Fleisawr and Edwin have been
equally effective r Bede indeed distinctly tells us that Ethelfrid exterminated tho
native inhabitants of some of his conquests, so as to render them habitable by the
English. Why may not this have been the fate of the people of Loidis and Elmst ?
"Exterminated" does not necessarily mean slaughtered, but rather "turned out,"
"expelled"; and the surviving Welshmen would probably "trek" across tho
mountains into Lancashire.
This is the explanation to which I incline ; but there are two others from which to
choose. The phenomena may be the result of the action of " media," of surroundings,
of a cold raw climate acting through natural selection. Or it may be that the
Brigantes were really a fair race, perhaps of that late Gallic immigration which
followed the bronze period, and to which some of Mr. Mortimer's crania may perhaps
belong, but of which cremation has deprived us of many traces. The true bronze
race is generally thought to have been fair or reddish; but though individuals who
reproduce its type occur hereabout, I don't think they are frequent : they should
combine the broad head with strong prominent brows and nose, like the noble
savage of Gristhorpe, who now adorns either the York or the Scarborough Museum.
On the whole, I think the eastern and central regions of Yorkshire, judging by
physique, less purely Teutonic than Teesdale or the Wapentake of Morley, though
more so than Craven. The eastern, men, at Beverley, Driffield, Whitby, Thirsk,
Mai ton, seem to me more mingled and less typical, more like other Englishmen than
these in the west. There was doubtless less French immigration hither after the
devastations of the Conqueror than into the east, which had suffered much more
severely ; and perhaps some survivors of the massacre and famine found refuge here
among their kin. Certainly many Anglian and Danish gentlemen I'emained on
Ilbert de Lacy's huge estate, holding what had been their own lands under his easy
and genei'ous rule ; and they were the progenitors of many mediaeval knights and
squires. Thus, for example, the families of Elland and Quarmby, actors in the
sanguinary Elland Vendetta, in the fourteenth century, were of Anglian or Anglo-
Danish pedigree, descendants of Gamel and of Orm. And, probably, the mass of the
population was of the same racial character. So far as I know, it has undergone no
material change in that respect since those days. Certain Flemings or Frisians may
have settled in Halifax and elsewhere ; but if my view is correct, they could not
much alter the physical type, for they were near cousins of the people among whom
they mingled. But in our own times changes are going on pretty rapidly, owing to
the greater facility of migration. And this leads me, in conclusion, once more to beg
for local assistance in solving two at least of the problems I have been discussing.
One of these is historical. How were the voids created by the ravages of the eleventh
century filled up ? I may remind yon, as I recollect, doing five-and-twenty years ago,
that the side of this great and opulent and populous city was stated by the authors
of Domesday Book to be then waste, desolate a.nd valueless.
(85)
No. 84.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
The second is somatological. What are the prevailing physical types, especially
as to form of head, among modern West Ridingers ? I am not going to exaggerate
the importance of such questions ; but if the latter one is at all worthy of being
studied and answered, it should be studied and answered at once, before the
population becomes so mixed as to lose or confuse its characteristic features.
Scotland : Physical Type. Gray and Tocher.
The Physical Characteristics of the Population of West Aberdeenshire. Com-
mnnicated by J. Gray, B.Sc., and J. F. Tocher, F.I.C., to the Anthropological
Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Bradford,
September 12tb, 1900. [Compare the previous paper of the same authors, in this
Journal, vol. xxx, p. 104.]
These observations were taken at the Lonach gathering, in Strathdon, a district
right at the head of the valley of the Don. The district is comparatively isolated, the
nearest railway station being over 12 miles distant.
Our principal object was to ascertain what difference, if any, existed between the
people in the upper ends of the river valleys and the people on the eastern seaboard,
the anthropological statistics of which have been recently ascertained. The following
results show that a very considerable difference exists ; and, it being highly probable
that a more primitive stratum of the population is always to be found in the upper
ends of river valleys, the results are of great interest from this point of view.
The pigmentation and nose statistics of the whole of the people attending the
gathering, namely 361 males and 243 females, were taken at the gate by two
observers. Later on, the same statistics, with the addition of measui-emcnts of the
head and of stature, were taken in a tent in the grounds, about 90 adult males,
natives of the district, being measured. The people observed at the gate contained a
small percentage of visitors from a distance, which may account for the difference in
the results obtained at the gate and in the tent : —
HAIR.
EYES.
TYPES OF NOSES.
h
T3
c
I
i
c4
M
i
a
|
•3
<D
jj
S
1
oman.
>>
S
oncave.
it
£
M
m
0
*
a
fi
CG
M
£
o
i?
MALES —
W. Aberdeenshire (gate)
10
8
42
40
37
48
14
79
15
3
2
1
„ „ (tent)
5
8
40
47
38
45
17
56
22
13
6
3
E. Aberdeenshire (gate)
9
6
66
19
26
51
23
56
17
7
17
3
„ „ (tent)
18
2
40
40
35
46
19
66
20
8
4
1
FEMALES —
W. Aberdeenshire (gate)
8
6
36
50
39
34
27
82
9
2
6
1
E. Aberdeenshire (gate)
10
6
55
29
22
39
39
60
7
5
27
1
* Blue eyes were taken separately at the Lonach gathering, and were found to form about
10 per cent, of the light eyes, which, in the table, included blue eyes.
An examination of the above table shows that on the average the hair is much
darker in West than in East Aberdeenshire, a result which might be accounted for by
the presence of a larger percentage of the North German blonde type on the east coast.
The eyes, however, are lighter in the west than in the east, an anomalous result which
is not so easily explained.
The following table gives an analysis of the measurements of the 90 adult males,
(86)
1900.]
Anthropology'! 1 1 A'/ •/•/< ir.> mul Misn//n,n'(t.
[No. 84.
taken in tho tent, and their correlations with pigmentation and types of noses,
corresponding results obtained from the rural population of East Aberdeenshire
(Mintlaw gathering) being given for the sake of comparison : —
°§
Heads.
Stature.
N'igresccnce.
Types of Noses.
11
*• o,
*> 0
frc p.
Bdth.
Lgth.
ft. in.
Hair.
S.
K.
w.
C.
J.
W. Aberdeenshire (90 persons) :
General averages
—
157
198
5 8|
76
40
56
22
13
6
3
Group I (158-167)
50
161
200
5 9|
78
38
H
18
•20 0
7
„ II (153-157)
35
155
196
5 8j
79
42
53
34 3 10
0
„ III (149-152)
12
151
197
5 9
87
45
64
18 18
0
0
„ IV (145-148)
2
146
199
5 9|
83
50
100
—
—
—
E. Aberdeenshire (169 persons) :
General averages
—
153
195
5 8i
68
41
66
20
8
4
1
Group I (158-167)
14
161
199
fl 9
70
39
70
21
9
0
0
„ II (153-157)
44
155
195
5 8i
66
40
68
20
11
0
1
„ 111(149-152)
28
150
193
5 7}
67
45
61
22
4
6
0
„ IV (142-148)
14
146
192
5 7|
69
37
71
17
4
4
4
In the head-breadth frequency curve of the population of East Aberdeenshire we
found two well marked peaks at 150 mrn. and 155 mm., and two lesser peaks at
145 mm. and 160 mm. Taking these breadths as centres, we have divided the people
into four groups, the limiting breadths being marked opposite each group in the
above table.
The general averages given in the table show that in West Aberdeenshire the
people have broader and longer heads, they are taller by f inch, they are darker in
hair and lighter in eyes, and they have rather higher percentages of Roman, wavy,
and concave noses than in East Aberdeenshire.
The first column in the table shows approximately the percentage which each
group forms of the population. Group I is much better represented in the west than
in the east, being 50 per cent, of the population in the former case, and only 14 per cent,
in the latter case. The average breadths and lengths of the head, in this group, come
out almost exactly the same in the west and in the east, and the stature (5 feet
9£ inches), which is very high for an average, differs only by £ inch in the two
places. The nigi'escence, which is calculated by a formula in Avhich the relative value
and percentage of all the colours is taken into account,1 shows that in both the east
and the west this group is darker in hair and lighter in eyes than the general average
of the population. It is evidently the presence of a larger percentage of this group in
the west which accounts for its superiority in physique over the east. Group II is
well represented in both east and west. Groups III and IV are, however, almost
completely absent in the west; the total numbers 11 and 2 in these groups, in the
west, being so small as to make the averages for stature, etc., given in the table
unreliable.
It seems reasonable to conclude from these results that, in Aberdeenshire, at
some distant date, a tall, broad-headed, dark-haired, light-eyed people has been driven
inland by later immigrants who were shorter, had narrower heads, and were of the
blonde type.
A frequency curve of breadths of round barrow heads shows that Groups I and II
were well represented in the Bronze Age in the British Isles. Groups III and IV
1 See Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. xxx, p. 113.
(87)
No. 85.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, [1900.
have the breadths of long barrow heads, which, however, are much longer (208 mm.
on the average). The Rowgrave heads of North Germany, whose average length is
given as about 200 mm., come much nearer to Group III ; and as these probably
represent the aboriginal blonde race of North Germany, it is reasonable to assume that
oar Group III represents blonde immigrants from North German}-, who, when they
arrived in Aberdeenshire, found the country in possession of a tall, broad-headed,
dark-haired, blue-eyed people, the descendants of the men of the Bronze Age. The
resemblance of Group I to Deniker's Adriatic type is significant when taken in
conjunction with the fact that bronze first came into the British Isles from South-east
Europe.
Germany : Folklore. Wuttke.
Der deutsche Volksaberglaube der Gegenwart. Von Dr. Adolf Wuttke. 3te
Bearbeitung von Elard Hugo Meyer. Berlin: Wiegandt & Grieben. 1900.
8vo. pp. xvi, 536. Price 12 marks.
The original author of this work would probably hardly recognise it at first sight,
for in the hands of its present editor, whose previous work in the field of German
folklore clearly marked him out for the task, it has much more than quadrupled itself,
and is now a work at once interesting to read and indispensable to all students of
custom and belief, whether in Germany or in other countries. If he has not produced
an absolutely complete work, Dr. Meyer has given us an unsurpassed collection of
popular superstitions and practices. Even the specialist can turn to it with advantage
to himself ; if he can point out omissions, he can also learn much from it. The name
of the author is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the facts recorded and of
their localisation, but some of us will regret that the authorities were' not in all cases
given. A complete bibliography of works used would have been useful, even if the
editor is correct in holding that exact references are superfluous. In any case, it
would have been advisable to identify the facts now published for the first time.
Another point on which many will be disposed to differ with him is the retention
of the more than doubtful mythological theories of his original author. Those who
wish for information on Wodan and Fro, Freya and the Valkyries, will rather turn to
more reliable authorities. The book is a collection of folklore, not a connected whole,
and the excision of unreliable portions would have left more space for other matter or
permitted the editor to replace them by something less open to criticism. The editor
has in some portions of the book appended a warning ?, but there remain a
sufficient number of assertions calculated to mislead the unwary. It would, for
example, have been well to modify the unqualified statement (§ 82), "the hare, probably
a symbol of fertility, belongs to Ostara, the goddess of spring." The very existence of a
goddess Ostara is disputed, and the suggestion that the hare belonged to her was never
more than a wild guess, due to the connection of the hare with Easter, both in
Germany and in this country. Many other statements might be mentioned which are
more interesting than reliable : the devil's horns (§ 171) are derived from Donar's
goat; and the mythological views of the original writer are throughout more promi-
nent than their importance at the present day justifies, adopted though they be by his
present editor.
It would not be difficult to compile a list of omissions, more or less important.
The "Brauthahn" is not mentioned in this index, and only appears incidentally in the
book; the egg-games at Easter, Blind Man's Buff, and the use of masks in general
seem to be omitted ; the list of animal superstitions might with ease be doubled ; and
the re-written section on the history of witchcraft is a little disappointing. A reference
(88)
1900.] Anf It r< >/><>/< Hjical Reviews and Miscellanea. [Nos. 86-87.
to heathen priestesses, savago parallels, and points of connection with werewolves
might well have found a place.
Completeness, however, in a " Sammclwerk " of this description is much more
easy to aim at than to attain, and for the result of Dr. Meyer's efforts we should have
nothing but admiration if the duty of the reviewer were not to criticise. A word of
praise may be said for the index, which covers 42 pages in double columns and contains
about twelve references to every page of the book. The use of the *, however, to
indicate important references seems to be slightly erratic. On turning up " Tanz "
in the index, §252 is starred, but contains only 3£ lines on the subject. The print is
conveniently large, and there is a most laudable absence of errata. N. W. T.
Germany: Folk Medicine. Jiihling.
Die Tiere in der dentsclien Vollismedizin alter und neuer Zeit. Von Johannes Q/J
Jiihling, mit einem Geleitworte von Hofrath Dr. med. Hoflor. Mittweida, O"
Polytechnische Buchhandlung (R. Schulze), N.D. 8vo. pp. 355. Price 6 marks.
Presented by the Author.
Mr. Jiihling has conceived the excellent idea of extracting the anthropological
and folklore material buried in the MSS. of the University Library of Dresden. In
this book we find the firstfruits of his labours — a large collection of receipts for the
use of animals in medicine, most of them hitherto unpublished, together with an
appendix of magical formula. The material is arranged in the main alphabetically
according to the names of the animals, and there is also an index. It might have
been well to give a little more information as to the manuscripts and to localise the
superstitions better, especially where quotations from other works are in question.
The work is intended for the use of the folklorist, and he wants to know where a
superstition is practised. A bibliography of works cited is appended, but this does not
always give a clue to the provenance of the matter cited. A dictionary of diseases
would have been a laborious work, but would probably have made the book easier to
use. These are, however, points of minor importance and more in the way of
suggestions for the future.
Dr Hofler contributes a short introduction. He seems to take the view that
human sacrifice was the original form ; domestic animals were substituted for human
beingn, and wild animals for domestic animals. Even if the origin of the domestica-
tion of animals is not to be sought in sacrifice, thei'e is no reason to suppose that the
sacrifice of wild animals is later in time than the sacrifice of domestic animals. In a
considerable number of cases the animals used in magic must be killed on a specified
date or at a specified period of the year, i.e., it was originally sacrificed at this date; it
is therefore arguable that this is the origin of no inconsiderable part of the magical
receipts. For the later developments, the doctrine of signatures, a first cousin of
mimetic magic, was of great importance ; bear's grease was used for bald people
because the bear is a hairy animal. It is to be hoped that Mr. Jiihling will soon give
us the volume he promises in a footnote, and follow it up by similar works. N. W. T.
Bornholm. Buschan.
Hornholm. By Dr. G. Buschan. From Qlobus LXXVL, pp. 84-127.
I'rrsented by the Author.
Dr. G. Buschan has put together here a useful little monograph on the Island of
Bornholm and its people ; and has kindly presented a copy to the Library of the
Institute. He deals first with the physiography of the island ; then with its
(89)
Nos. 88-89.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
prehistoric archaeology, pp. 88-91 ; and then goes on to a full description of the
modern inhabitants, their mode of life, art, and customs ; illustrated with a number
of photographs of costume, silversmith's work, ironwork, carpentry and buildings ;
mostly from objects in the local museum. J. L. M.
Corfu. de Claparede.
QQ ^orfou e^ 1&S Corfiotes : par Arthur de Claparede, Docteur en droit, President
OO de la Societe de Geographic de Suisse, etc., etc. Geneva. H. Kiindig. 1900-
8vo. pp. 177. Presented by the Publisher.
This is a handy little volume of observations of Corfu and its people, the result
of three visits made in 1897 and 1899. It contains, among other matters of loss
anthropological interest in Piirt I, a good sketch of the history of the island in Ch.
Ill ; a discussion of the principal elements of the population in Ch. IV ; and
descriptions of the cult of St. Spiridion, and other Corfiote customs and folklore in
Ch. V. In the topographical section (Part II) there is a note on the Analipsis
(Ascension Day) festival in Ch. II, and one on the Corfiote sites traditionally
connected with the stoi'y of the Odyssey, in Ch. IV. J. L. M.
Crete : Prehistoric. Hogarth.
QQ The Cave of Psychro in Crete. Communicated by D. G. Hogarth, M.A., to
O^ the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science. Bradford, September 7th, 1900.
It has been known for some years that a large cave above the village of Psychro,
in the Lasithi district of Crete, was a repository of primitive votive objects in
bronze, terra-cotta, etc. As this cave is situated in the eastern flank of the mountain
which dominates the site of ancient Lyttos, and is the only important cave known in
the neighbourhood, it was conjectured that it was the Lyttian grotto connected with
the story of the birth of Zeus in the legend, whose earliest version is preserved by
Hesiod. A thorough exploration of it, undertaken in May and June of the current
year, by Mr. D. G. Hogarth, on behalf of the British School at Athens, aided by the
Cretan Exploration Fund, has served fully to confirm this view. The cave is double.
On the north is a shallow grotto, the upper part of which was cumbered with
immense fallen fragments of the roof. The lower part contained deep black earth,
partly ransacked by previous diggers. This was thoroughly dug out this year, and
when the great blocks had been broken up with blasting powder and removed, the
deposit on the higher slope was also searched. The result was the discovery of a
rude altar in the middle of the grotto, surrounded by strata of ashes, pottery, and
other refuse, among which many votive objects in bronze, terra-cotta, iron and bone
were found, together with fragments of some thirty libation tables in stone, and an
immense number of earthenware cups used for depositing offerings. The lowest part
of the Upper Grotto was found to be enclosed by a wall partly of rude Cyclopean
character, and partly rock-cut ; and within this Temenos the untouched strata of
deposit ranged from the early Mycenasan Age up to the Geometric period of the
ninth century B.C. or thereabout. Only very slight traces were found of later
offerings. The earliest votive stratum belongs to the latest period of the
pre-Myceneean Age, that marked by the transition between the " Kamaraes " fabric
of pottery and the earliest Mycenaean lustre-painted ware. But below all is a thick
bed of yellow clay, containing scraps of primitive hand-burnished black and brown
pottery, mixed with bones of animals. This bed seems to be water-laid, and to be
(90)
1900.] 'Anthropological Rcvicivs and Miscellanea. [No. 90.
prior to tho use of the cave as a sanctuary. Probably, when it wns in process of
formation, the cave was still a Katavothron or swallow-hole of the lake which once
occupied the closed Lasithl basin ; but before the Mycenaean period the present outlet
had opened, and the plain was dry.
The southern or Lower Grotto falls steeply for some 200 feet to a subterranean
pool, out of which rises a forest of stalactite pillars. Traces of a rock-cut stairway
remain. Much earth had been thrown down by the diggers of the Upper Grotto, and
this was found full of small bronze objects. But chance revealed a more fruitful
field, namely, the vertical chinks in the lowest stalactite pillan?, a great many of
which were found still to contain toy double axes, knife-blades, needles, and other
objects in bronze, placed there by dedicators, as in niches. The mud also at the edge
of the subterranean pool was rich in similar things, arid in statuettes of two types,
male and female, and engraved gems. These had probably been washed out of the
niches.
The knife-blades and simulacra of weapons are probably the offerings of men ;
the needles and depilatory tweezers of women. The frequent occurrence of the
double axe, not only in bronze, but moulded or painted on pottery, found in the cave,
leaves no doubt that its patron god was the " Carian " Zeus of Labraiida, or the
Labyrinth, with whom perhaps his mother, the Nature goddess, was associated, and
the statuettes probably represent the two deities. Here was the primitive scene of
their legend, transferred in classical times to a cave on Mount Ida.
Crete : System of Writing. Evans.
Writing in Prehistoric Greece. Communicated by Arthur J. Evans, M.A.,
F.S.A., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science. Bradford, September 6th, 1900.
1. Clay Documents ivith Hieroglyphic or Conventionalised Pictographic Script from
the Palace of Knossos. — The discovery originally announced by the author, in 1894, in
this section, Proc. Brit. Ass., 1894 (Oxford), p. 776-7, of the existence in prehistoric
Crete of a system of conventionalised pictographic or hieroglyphic writing had received
an extraordinary corroboration and supplement from his recent excavations in the
Mycensean Palace of Knossos. The first indications had been supplied by groups of
signs engraved on early seal-stones, and by its nature the evidence was limited. But
in the great prehistoric building now partially explored at Knossos, the latest
elements of which can hardly be brought down later than the thirteenth century B.C.,
there came to light a series of deposits of clay archives inscribed both with hiero-
glyphic and a new system of linear writing.
Those of the hieroglyphic class, though apparently contemporary with the other,
were less numerous, and were found in a separate magazine. They were in the form
of square and three-sided bars, perforated at the end, clay " labels " also perforated,
in shape like bivalve shells, and sealings of clay which also presented impressions of
signets with characters of the same conventionalised pictographic class. The graffito
characters of the clay bars, etc., gave more linearised versions of the fuller repre-
sentations of the engraved seals, and thus illustrated a step in the formation of
letters. The tablets showed various new forms of hieroglyphs not as yet found on
the signets, raising the Cretan series to over a hundred. The pictographic signs
might be said to form an illustrated history of Cretan culture in Mycenaean times.
Among new characters might be mentioned an eight-stringed lyre, carpenter's tools
such as a kind of plane and perhaps a level, dogs' heads, beesf a glove-like object,
l>(>rh;iv>s not unconnected with bee-keeping, and apparently olive sprays. Tho
( 91 )
No. 90.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
obviously " ideographic," or " determinative " character of some of the hieroglyphs
gives a clue to the meaning of many of the tablets. Ships, ploughs and ox-heads,
vessels filled with grain, and the Egyptian palace sign speak for themselves. A
boustrophedon arrangement of the characters is often traceable. Many of these clay
records are accounts, as is shown by the presence of various numeral signs, the
ciphers never exceeding eight in a group. But the form of numeration still presents
points of obscurity.
The hieroglyphic script itself shows a certain parallelism with the"Hittite"
inscriptions of Anatolia and Northern Syria. Its beginnings can, however, be traced
very far back on Cretan soil, and it unquestionably represents the writing of the
indigenous Cretan stock, the " Eteocretans " of the Odyssey.
2. Clay Documents 'inscribed with Linear Script from the Palace of Knossos. — The
great bulk of the clay records discovered in the Palace of Knossos exhibited a linear
style of writing fundamentally different from that of the hieroglyphic class, and far
ahead of it in development. The tablets are for the most part elongated slips
of hand-moulded clay, from 2 to about 7 inches in length, and from ^ an inch
to 3 inches broad; others, however, are of a squarer form. They present some
distant analogy to the Babylonian tablets, and the inscription is divided by horizontal
lines. The letters themselves, however, are of a free, upright European character.
Some seventy characters seem to have been in common use, and of them about ten
show resemblances to the later Greek, and the same number to the Cypriote syllabary.
About the same number of forms are also common to the hieroglyphic Cretan series.
The letters seem to have been for the most part syllabic ; lines of division appear
between the words, and the writing runs consistently from left to right. The pictorial
origin of these letters may be traced in some cases. Thus, we have the human head
and neck, the hand, the crossed arms, a bird flying, three- or four-barred gates, a
fence, a high-backed throne, a tree, and a leaf. A certain number are unquestionably
ideographic or determinative. Others represent measures and quantities, and are
always associated with numerals. A good many of these documents evidently refer
to Palace accounts, and a clue to the general purport of the tablet is often supplied
by the introduction of a pictorial figure. We thus find chariots and horses, human
figures, perhaps slaves, axes, ingots, vases of precious metals, others of clay for various
liqiiids, houses or barns, swine, ears of corn, various kinds of trees and a crocus-like
flower, perhaps used for a dye or perfume.
A decimal system of numeration was employed, somewhat resembling tho Egyp-
tian. The value theoretically arrived at by the author for the numerals was proved
by an addition sum presented by one tablet, the total of which worked out correctly.
The ingots depicted on the tablets resembled a Mycenaean copper ingot from
Cyprus, and others from Sardinia. They were followed by a balance (the Greek
talanton) and numerals apparently indicating their value in Mycenaean gold talents.
It has thus been possible to make an approximate calculation of their weight.
Objects in precious metals represented were identical with some typical tributary
offerings of the Keft chieftains on the Theban monuments of Thothmes Ill's time,
and tended to show that some of these clay documents went back to the first half of
the fifteenth century B.C.
Other tablets, without ciphers or pictorial figures, perhaps refer to contracts or
correspondence, such as the contemporary records of Syria and Babylonia. The
tablets had been originally contained in coffers of wood, clay, and gypsum, and these
in turn secured by clay seals bearing impressions of Mycenasan engraved gems of the
finest style. These impressions had in many cases been countermarked with a
(92)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 91.
sign by the controlling official while the clay was still wet, and the back of
the clay seal was at the same time endorsed and countersigned with short inscriptions
in the same script as that of the tablets. Such legal precautions were quite worthy
of the "Palace of Minos."
These discoveries not only carry back the existence of written documents on
Greek soil some seven centuries before the first known monuments of Greek writing,
and five before the earliest Phoenician, but they afford a wholly new standpoint for
investigating the origin of the alphabet. The letter. forms borrowed by the Greeks
from the Phoenicians seem to have been influenced by these pre-existing .JSgean
scripts. The common elements existing in the Phoenician alphabet itself are very
noteworthy. Out of twenty-two original letters, some twelve present obvious points
of comparison with characters belonging to one or other of the two Cretan scripts,
and to these at least four may be added as showing possible affinities. In view of
such parallelism, which extends to the meaning as well as the form of the signs, De
Rouge's theory of the derivation of the Phoenician letters from remote hieratic
Egyptian prototypes must be definitely abandoned. The Phoenician, and with it the
Greek, alphabet must be regarded as a selection from a syllabary belonging to the
same generic group as the Cretan. Such a phenomenon on the Syrian coast is perhaps
explained by the settlement there in Mycenaean times of an JEgean island race, the
Philistines, whose name survives in that of Palestine. Though later Semitised, their
biblical names of Kaphtorim and Kerethim, or Cretans, sufficiently record their
JEgean origin.
Portugal. Anthropological Journal.
Portugalia, Materiaes para o estudio do povo portuguez. 548 rua de Cedofeita,
Oporto. Price (countries of the Postal Union) per number of at least six
sheets 4to, 8 francs. Vol. I, No. 1, March, 1899 ; No. 2, Aug., 1900.
The appearance of a fresh journal devoted to their interests is always a matter
for satisfaction among anthropologists, and their satisfaction is enhanced when, as in
the present case, it appears not as a competitor with other journals in the same field,
but to enrich our knowledge with a harvest that is waiting for the labourers. Local
causes, which are fresh in our memories, during the latter part of 1899 delayed the
appearance of the second part, and as compensation for the delay it is larger and
better illustrated than Part I. If the numerous pictures are not all quite so
successful as the)' might be, it would be ungrateful to lay stress on the fact when
we consider how the difficulties incidental to a new undertaking have been enhanced
by the importation of the bubonic plague.
Among the articles in the parts before us are: — Mycenean art in North-West Spain;
the results of an exploration of tumuli, etc., in the neigbourhood of Seixo ; an anthro-
pographic study of the Minho population ; the pile-dwellings on the coast of Portugal ;
education in Portugal ; the " villas " of North Portugal ; a craniometrical study of the
ossuary of Ferreird : the pottery of Prajo, etc. These are followed by miscellanea,
consisting mainly of the transactions of the Figueira Archaeological Society, together
with accounts of textile and fishing industries, mills, and other ethnographical material.
Then come notes on museums and recent discoveries, and reviews of a number of
Portuguese anthropological works conclude the number.
We trust that the path of our new contemporary may in the future be smoother,
and that the highly successful beginning may be followed by a succession of numbers
no less valuable than those before us. N. W. T.
(93)
NOS. 92-93.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY.
Physical Anthropology: General. Waterston.
Developmental Changes in the Human Skeleton from the Point of View of
Anthropology. Communicated by David Waterston, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September 8th, 1900.
A series of specimens of the long bones of the extremities at different ages of
embryonic and infantile life has been collected and examined. The methods employed
in the examination were those of anthropometry, namely, osteometry and osteoscopy.
By the former, the relative lengths of the bones of the limbs at different ages
have been ascertained and compared one with another, and by the latter it has been
found that these bones present some definite and interesting characters. Without
going minutely into the rate of growth of each segment of the upper and lower limbs,
the general character was shown, and the special features of the bones at different
ages was demonstrated by means of lantern slides taken from photographs of the
objects. An attempt was also made to ascertain the cause of the special characters
found in the bones by investigating the time of their appearance and of their replace-
ment by adult characters.
A comparison was also instituted between the bones of the embryo and those
of the lower races of mankind and of the higher apes, both as regards their relative
length and their characters.
As it has been shown that the curvature of the spine in the lumbar region is a
post-natal development, and one adapted to the assumption of the erect attitude by the
infant, it was shown that in a similar way the configuration of the bones of the
lower extremity alters after birth, before the infant can stand erect.
Kephalic Index. Beddoe.
On some Vagaries of the Kephalic Index. Communicated by John Beddoe, M.D.,
LL.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 8tb, 1900.
The great value of the kephalic index has hardly ever been questioned by any
school of physical anthropologists. There are of course certain groups of facts the
consideration of which tends to raise a doubt of its absolute permanence in any race,
such as the occasional occurrence of marked brachykephaly among the remains of
primitive dolichokephals, and the substitution unexplained, as yet, of moderate
brachykephaly for dolichokephaly in many parts of the Slavonic area. But whether
we accept the views of De Lapouge and Ammon as to the transformation of types
through social selection, or whether we follow Sergi in the multiplication of
permanent types which " au fond" arrange themselves into two great groups, the
division of longheads from shortheads still continues to have great importance. In
individual cases, however, far too much is often made of it. Thus, we may have a
broad head of a dolichoid type, or, less often perhaps, a narrow head of brachy type.
I propose in this little paper to describe two specimens of dolichoid character which
lately came in my way, one of which yielded an index which, taken by itself, would
have relegated it to the brachy division. One of these immediately followed the
other in the course of my work. Baj/h of them, before I had gotten their
measurements, had been set down in my mind as of fairly pure Anglo-Saxon breed; but
the former one especially struck me as being so, his fair complexion, blue eyes and
(94)
1900.J
Anthropological Rciievx ami
[No. 93.
pale red hair, together with his general pattern of body, constituting him apparently
an exquisite example of the pure dolicho blond.
The facial features in these two subjects are not very much alike, owing chiefly
to the greater length and less breadth of the lower jaw in B : the upper part of the
face is however nearly identical. B is a west-countryman and probably less Teutonic.
Description.
A.
B.
Measurements.
A.
B.
KephaKc Index.
82-23
78-06
Individual .... Dr. I.
Rev. W.
'Glabello-maxi-
197
196
T . j.. f Aberdeen and
"" \ Northumberland
Somerset
ri
mum.
Fronto-inial ....
194
190
1,
Glabello-inial....
192
190
Complexion .... Fair ....
Fair.
C ' Onhrvn-maxi-
193
192
s
mum.
Face
Ovo-Elliptic
Long-Scutiform.
Face, from
120
127
^ Nasion.
Forehead .... Dome
Dome.
fFronto-min ...
105
106
Brows
Arched prominent ....
Arched promt.
1
Stephanie
128
131
1
Zygomatic
133
135
Nose
Busqu6
Straight.
Auricular
132
132
E
Maximum
162
153
Cheekbones ....
Moderate
Moderate.
m
Mastoid
152
142
.
L Bigonial
114
92
Chin Med. prominent
Med.
Circumference
591
570
Head
Oval
Oval, high.
rNasio-inial
366
358
Occiput
Rather prominent .... Rather promt.
g J Transverse
368
378
4j ] auricular.
Eyes .
Blue Bine.
LSupraciliar
317
296
— —j •>*•
Hair
Pale red
Lightish-brown,
~ f Length
56
54
thin.
rt "*
Breadth
36
37
fe
. Index
C4
68-5
The longitudinal measurements of the two heads differ very little ; but those of •
A indicate that his forehead is more highly arched and his upper occipital region less
prominent than those of B. In fact there is in B a notable degree of what the
Germans call absiitzung of the upper occipital, causing a parieto-occipital furrow.
The dolichokephaly is more occipital in B, the auriculo-superciliar arc being decidedly
larger in A.
But in the breadths A develops a singular anomaly. While all his anterior
breadths are either the same or slightly less than those of B, the maximum breadth,
which in A is temporal, is greater by nine millimeters than in B, and the mastoid
greater by ten. The cause of this has evidently been connected with delayed
ossification of the temporo-parietal sutures, along the line of which, especially in their
posterior parts, the temporal bones can be felt standing out prominently. The
temporo-sphenoid sutures are unaffected, and the auricular breadth, taken in the pits
above the roots of the zygomata, just in front of the ears, is consequently the same as
iii B. Now we may pretty safely say that, but for this protrusion of the posterior part
of the temporal bones, the maximum and mastoid breadths in A would have been
about the same, or perhaps even a little less than in B, in accordance with tho general
form of the two crania. In that case the kephalic index of A would have been about
77, or let us say, making the usual allowance, about 75 in the skull, on the confines of
(93)
No. 94.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
dolichokephaly and mesokephaly, instead of being actually braohykephalic. That the
parietal breadth in A was really rather small is confirmed by the moderate dimension
of the transverse arc : this is actually much less than in B, who had the parietal
eminences well developed. On the other hand, if we imagine the head of B divested
of the before-mentioned absatzung or protrusion, which probably increases the
maximum length by two or three millimeters, its latitudinal index might probably
enough be increased by a degree or more. Thus, the index of A being 77, and that of
B 79, that of A would be less than that of B by 2, instead of being greater than it by
4, a relative change of 6 altogether between the two.
It may be objected that the peculiarity of the posterior temporal region in A
stamps the head form as pathological, and that A should therefore be excluded from
appearing in any series of measurements. But if so, should not B also be excluded,
by reason of the protrusion of the upper part of the occiput, a reason, by the way,, that
would exclude all the skulls of His and Rutimeyer's Hohberg type, for they have all
that same peculiarity of late ossification of the posterior fontanelle. And what of
metopic skulls, in which the increase of breadth generally extends, though in a
slighter degree, from the frontal to the other points at which we measure skull-
breadth ? Scapho-kephalism is regarded as pathological ; but minor degrees of it,
such as are frequently met with in long roof- shaped skulls, are not and cannot
conveniently be excluded from averages, and divers observers will draw the line of
exclusion differently.
Of course I cannot, in this brief note, enter on the great question which underlies
my whole subject, viz., how far the orderly development of the skull is influenced by
variations in that of the brain. Lucae and others did good work in this field long
ago : but I am not aware whether anatomists have given much attention to it of late
years.
Cranium. Dixon.
®n cer^a^n Markings on the Frontal Part of the Human Cranitim, and their
Significance. Communicated by Professor A. Francis Dixon, M.A., to the
Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Bradford, September 8th, 1900.
An examination of the frontal region of the cranium shows that, in many cases,
grooves or channels are present on the bone, corresponding to the branches of the
supra-orbital nerves. These grooves vary very much in appearance, as they may
be simple or branched, shallow or deeply cut. They are not infrequently converted
in parts of their course into little tunnels. In some cases they are found on one
side of the cranium only, in others they occur on both sides ; their distribution is
very rarely quite symmetrical. Most frequently the grooves occur beneath the outer
branches of the supra-orbital nerve, but in many cases they are found beneath the
inner branches, The grooves never pass from the frontal on to the parietal bone —
across the coronal suture. They often extend upwards from the supra-orbital notch,
or foramen, as far as the coronal suture; in other cases they begin inferiorly at a
little foramen where some branch of the nerve enters the bone. The openings of
these little foramina are directed upwards towards the coronal suture, just as the
^ openings of the nutrient foramina in the long bones are directed towards the end of
h&Ve bone, where growth is most active and goes on longest.
other ?he presence of these grooves indicates a want of proportion between the growth
measurenh of the nerves and the amount of expansion of the underlying part of the
the former The nerves might be looked upon as constricting cords which become
(96)
1900.] A-iifhrnpntoyifttt / »,i(7 Mixi't'llanca. [No. 95.
depressed in the developing bone as the cranium expands. The constricting
portions of the nerves are often limited inferiorly at a point where some little
branch enters the bone, and superiorly at the coronal suture, where the deep
layers of the scalp are firmly bound down to the cranium. Hence the grooves for the
nerves do not cross the coronal suture, and often begin inferiorly at little foramina
whose openings are directed upwards. The grooves appear to indicate, in the
skulls in which they occur, an excessive development of the frontal part of the
cranial wall. In races in whom the grooves are common, and strongly marked,
we should expect the presence of a tendency towards increassd development and
capacity of the frontal part of the cranium ; while, on the other hand, in races
in whom the grooves do not occur, or arc rare, and but feebly marked, we
should expect to find much uniformity in the shape and size of the cranium,
indicating that none of its various parts are tending towards an increased develop-
ment. In the purer races of mankind, with marked uniformity in the size and
shape of their crania, we should look for the greatest harmony between the growth
in length of the overlying structures and the amount of expansion of the
various parts of the cranial wall ; on the other hand in mixed races we should be
more likely to find individuals exhibiting a want of such correspondence in the
amount of growth of the superficial and deeper structures. In this connection it
is interesting to note that the frontal grooves are almost never found in Australian
and Tasmanian skulls, that they are rare among Melanesians, slightly more common
among Polynesians, while among Bushmen and Negroes, especially in Zulus and
Kaffirs, they are very common, and often extraordinarily well marked. Among
Negroes they are present in over 50 per cent, of the skulls examined. In the
skulls obtained in the dissecting room they are present in about 41 per cent,
of all cases.
Sacral Index. Cunningham,
Chi the Sacral Index. Communicated by Professor D. J. Cunningham, M.D.,
F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 8th, 1900.
Inasmuch as the true length of the sacral portion of the vertebral column ia
not indicated by the shortest distance between the apex and base of the sacrum,
but rather by the length of the curve formed by the sacral vertebra?, it is proposed
that, in making measurements for the determination of a sacral index, " length "
should be measured by using a tape along the concavity of the sacral curve, and not
by calipers, one limb of which is placed upon the base, and the other on the apex of
the sacrum. Breadth (measured by calipers in the ordinary manner) multiplied
by 100 and divided by length, measured in the manner indicated, gives the true
sacral index.
The curvature of the sacrum may be conveniently plotted by taking a tracing
from a strip of soft, metal which has been previously adapted by pressure to the
front of the sacrum along its middle line. The index of curvature may be expressed
by the number derived by multiplying the height of this plotted curve by 100 and
dividing by the number corresponding to the true length of the sacrum.
(97)
Nos. 96-97.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Physiology. Foster.
A Text-Book of Physiology. By Professor Sir Michael Foster, M.D., F.R.S.
4vols. 8vo. London : Macraillan and Co. Sixth Edition, 1900. Price £2 2s.
Presented by the Publishers.
This text-book has been so well known for many years as the representative
English epitome of physiology, that no notice of it from the standpoint of a general
student of this science could possibly be required. Although a knowledge of the
groundwork of physiology is a fundamental essential to all physical anthropologists,
the sections of widest interest in relation to our science are those contained in
Volumes III and IV, dealing respectively with the functions of the central nervous
system and of the special senses. In these a brief but comprehensive resume of the
structure, both macroscopic and microscopic, of the organs concerned precedes the
relation of all well-established facts regarding their function and of the theories
based upon them. Of special importance to the anthropologist are the paragraphs
describing the framework of physiological psychology under its various aspects, and
more especially those which discuss the investigations into the time relationships of
cerebral processes, whether simple, such as the mere acknowledgment of a sensation,
or complicated, as when a choice or discrimination has to be made between two sensa-
tions, or, still more so, as in the more involved mental processes. This is the method
which is employed to find the so-called personal equation of individuals, and efforts
are also being made, by ascertaining the personal equation of many individuals of
different races, to discover whether anything of the nature of a racial equation can be
elicited.
In the volume, on the special senses, problems relating to the acuity of sensation
among individuals are dealt with, both by Sir Michael Foster himself and by Dr.
Rivers. Work is being attempted from time to time on the racial variations, as
opportunity offers, in connection with such differences.
Although somewhat lengthy, no simpler, yet at the same time more complete,
treatise on general physiology and its kindred problems is to be found in our
language. F. C. S.
Descent of Man. Morris.
Man and his Ancestor: A Study in Evolution. By Charles Morris. London:
Macmillan and Co., 1900. 8vo. Presented by the Publishers.
This little work gives an excellent epitome of the evidence at present available of
man's evolution, its only serious drawback from a popular point of view being a tacit
assumption of some knowledge on the part of the reader of the elements, or at least
the terminology, of anatomy and physiology. The author begins by a study of
vestigial remains in man, showing his descent from a quadrupedal ancestor; then,
after a brief discussion of the development, of intelligence and the origin of language
among the lower animals, summarises the links in the chain bridging the chasm
between these and man. He lays great stress on pygmy races, especially in their
relation to the negro peoples, but regarding them as preceding the present races in
all quarters of the globe. The book concludes by several chapters on the evolution of
intelligence and morality in the history of the varieties of our species, the dominant
note being that in reviewing this subject we are concerned with man's past rather
than his future, which will work out as a resultant of forces of which at present we
have scarcely the vaguest conception.
This book can be confidently recommended to all who desire in a short compass
a summary of all the known facts bearing on human phylogeny. F. C. S.
(98)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Misccllanm. [No. 98.
Ethnography: General. Deniker.
The Hares of Man: An Outline of Anthropology and Ethnography. By QQ
J. Deniker, Sc.D. London : Walter Scott, 1900. 8vo. pp. xxiii, 611, with ****
176 illustrations. Price 6s. Presented by the Publisher.
In this densely packed volume, which forms one of the Contemporary Science
Series edited by Mr. Havelock Ellis, the author has attempted an almost impossible
task with a fair measure of success. Within the compass of a little over 600 small
octavo pages ho has contrived " to give in a condensed form the essential facts of the
twin sciences of anthropology and ethnography," finding room at the same time for no
less than 175 illustrations, which, it may be added, are of almost uniform excellence.
M. Deniker, a distinguished member of the brilliant school of French anthropology,
has hitherto devoted his chief attention to the physical side of the subject, in this
following the precedent of his illustrious associates the late Paul Broca, and de
Quatrefages, Dr. Hamy and Dr. Topinard. Hence the section occupied with
anthropology in the stricter sense, which is here defined to be the science concerned
with " the somatological characteristics of the genus Homo whether considered as a
whole in the relation to other animals, or in his varieties," is naturally more
satisfactory than the chapters dealing with the several ethnical groups and their
minor divisions. In the introduction, which is mainly occupied with the usual
discussion on such general concepts as " people, nation, tribe, race, species," a sharp
distinction is drawn between specific and ethnic groups, and the reader is left to infer
that the term species as used by zoologists is scarcely applicable to the present human
divisions at all. There is of course a genus Homo, which, however, consists not of so
many species, sub-species, varieties, or races, but of ethnic groups formed by a
community of speech, religion, social institutions, etc., but are by no means zoological
species, since "they may include human beings of one or of many species, races, or
varieties." Thus the ethnic or social groups described in this work under the names
of tribes, nations, peoples, and so forth, are regarded as an aggregate of individuals
belonging to two or more somatological units. Such units are, however, merely
" theoretical types " which are formed by a certain combination of physical characters,
and whose actual existence may be established by a careful analysis of a large number
of individuals taken haphazard in any given ethnic group. They are entities, or
theoretic conceptions analogous to zoological species, but for the most part modified
by crossings, hence rarely occurring as perfect types of the somatic units. Moreover,
the more cultured the ethnic groups, the more they are found to consist of
heterogeneous elements, that is, the more numerous are the somatic units, so that
among primitive peoples alone can we hope to find coincidences between the two
terms. In fact "those peoples are almost undiscoverable who represent somatological
units comparable to the species of zoology." Heuce the questions of specific unity,
monogenism or polygenism lose much of their importance, are declared to be
" somewhat scholastic," and even completely " sterile and futile." Nevertheless it
was necessary to dwell upon the author's views on the concepts of species, types,
and physical units, because they lie at the base of his scheme of classification, as
originally expounded in the Bulletin of the Paris Society of Anthropology (June,
1889), and here revived in a modified form (pp. 284 sq.). The twenty-nine " types "
or subdivisions of the thirteen " races " in this remarkable scheme, which takes
physical characters alone into consideration, are now also called " races," or "sub-
races," and disposed under the six subjoined divisions, where it will be noticed that the
hair, as in some other systems, is accepted as the chief criterion : —
A. Woolly hair, broad nose (4 races and sub-i'aces).
( 99 ) 7—2
98.J Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, [1900,
B. Curly or woolly hair (4 races).
C. Wavy brown or blaok hair, dark eyes (7 races),
D. Fair wavy or straight hair, light eyes (2 rq,ces).
E. Straight or wavy hair, dark blaok eyes (4 races).
F. Straight hair (8 races).
For this scheme it is claimed that it brings together the most salient somatic
characters of the several races, while it is admitted that, being dichotomous, it cannot
exhibit their exact grouping according to their true affinities. Each race shows some
features in common with others even at a distance from it in the table, and in order
to exhibit such affinities " it would be necessary to arrange the groups according to
the three dimensions of space, or at least on a surface where we can avail ourselves of
two dimensions." The curious diagram by which this was effected, and which is
reproduced in my Ethnology (p. 169), is here replaced by another table (p. 287) which
at first sight looks somewhat chaotic, but on inspection is found to include 29 races
combined into 17 groups, so disposed that those having the greatest affinities one with
another are brought close together. Thus the Bushmen, for instance, are seen from
their position to have affinities both with the Negritos (short stature) and with the
Negroes (hair, nose) ; the Dravidians with the Indonesians and Australians ; the
Turks with the Ugrians or the Mongols ; the Eskimo with the Mongols and the
Americans; the Assyroids (Armenians, Jews, Kurds, etc.), with the Adriatics (West
Europeans) and the Indo- Afghans ; and these last with the Ethiopians (my Eastern
Hamites) and the Arabs. The arrangement is of course open to criticism from various
points of view ; but systematists and others will perhaps prefer for the present
to study it carefully in the light of the explanatory text, which is both stimulating
and highly instructive in several respects. .It suggests one broad inference, which,
although not drawn by the author, lies at the base of Blumenbach's classical treatise
De generis humani varietate nativa. and shows almost to the eye how all races merge
so imperceptibly one in the other that they collectively form not species but varieties,
so that " vix ac ne vix quidern limites inter eas [varietates] constituere poteris."
After establishing his classification, as above briefly outlined, M. Deniker takes
up the strictly ethnical section of his theme, devoting a chapter each to the races and
peoples of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America. This purely geographical
distribution is obviously independent of his original scheme, and appears to be adopted
merely for convenience of treatment in a work addressed more to general students
than to specialists. But it inevitably leads to difficulties, as in the case of the Oceanic
Negritoes (Aetas, Sakais, Andamanese), who have to be divorced from their natural
connection with the African Negritoes (Akkas, Batwas, etc.), and "included in the
long list of the aboriginal peoples of Iiido-China." Here the obsolete term
" Minkopis " in unfortunately revived, and the whole section is disfigured by a large
number of errors, some rather serious, which should be rectified in future editions.
Subjoined are a few of the more important, taken promiscuously from the ethnological
part of the volume. The Barabras (Nile Nubians) are said to belong " not only by
their language but also by their physical type " to the Arabo-Berber group. But the
speech oi: the Arabs is Semitic, that of the Berbers Hamitic, and that of the Barabras
Negro (see Lepsius, Nub. Sprache and my Ethnology of Egyptian Sudan). Junker
is referred to on "the Momvus or Mombuttus, who must not be confounded with the
Mangbattns." But Junker separates the Momvus (Momfus) from the Mombuttus,
whom he shows to be the same people as the Mangbattus (see my English edition of
his Heisen in Afrika, passim) ; and on the same page (440) we read of the ''Mang-
battus or Monbuttus " correctly. " Mechra-et-Reg " (p. 445) is an impossible forma-
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 98.
tion, and should bo M cshra er-Reg (phonetically) or Meshra-el-Reg (orthographically).
The " Mandarin or northern (Chinese) dialect" is rightly distinguished from "that
(read those) of the south," but wrongly connected with " the Hakka speech employed
in Kvvang-tung." Hakka is in fact one of the primitive forms still current in Kwang-
tung and conterminous southern provinces, and quite distinct from Mandarin (Dyer
Ball, Easy Lessons in the Hakka Dialect). The Kuis of Camboja are spoken of as a
distinct people from the Cambojans (p. 393), whereas they are the primitive stock,
and call themselves Klimer-dom (" Original Cambojans "). In Madagascar " the Arab
invasions date back hardly five or six centuries" (p. 471). On the contrary the
Semitic elements in the Malagasy language show that the first arrivals date from
remote (pre-Muhammadan if not pre-Christian) times (see my Man Past and Present,
p. 251). The Algonquian Ghippewas (Ojibwas) are confused with the Athabascan
Ohippewayana (p. 524) ; and the Lipans are located in Mexico instead of Texas,
fheir original home, although a few bands have in recent times moved west of the Rio
Grande, while others are settled in the Oakland Reserve, Indian Territory. (See
PoAvell's Indian Linguistic Family, pp. 54 and 56.) More serious is the statement
that "none of the tribes of the New World have a retl-coloured skin unless they are
painted," which will scarcely commend itself to such carefnl observers as, for instance,
Mr. im Thurn ("very red cinnamon"), and Dr. Ehrenreich (" noch mehr ins
Rothliche spielend ; etwa frisch gebrannten irdenen Topfen entsprechend," etc., etc.).
In the chapter dealing with the European peoples a brief review of the "Aryan
Question " states the different views in moderate language, and points out that the
problem no longer possesses the importance that formerly attached to it. " All we
can legitimately suppose is that in the period touching the neolithic age, the
inhabitants of Europe were Aryanised from the point of view of language, without
any notable change in the constitution of their physical type, or probably of their
civilisation." This conclusion can scarcely any longer be doubted, though it of course
leaves unanswered the question, how the great bulk of the European populations were
induced to adopt Aryan forms of speech long before the close of the New Stone Age.
Much, however, is gained by the absolute rejection of the old theory, originating with
the philologists, that these populations, despite their great physical differences, were
all alike of Aryan stock.
So numerous are the differences that M. Deniker is not satisfied with the three
broad divisions into Homo Europeans (the tall, fair, long-headed northerners)
II. Alpinus (the medium-sized, brown, round-heads of the central uplands and eastern
plains), and H> Mediterranensis (the short, variable long-heads of the Mediterranean
lands) accepted by Ripley and others. His own scheme, at which he has
worked for several years and here suras up, distinguishes six principal and four
secondary races, and the reader will be grateful for the small but remarkably clear
ethnological map showing the present distribution of these ten varieties. The study
of this somewhat intricate arrangement is further facilitated by a whole series of
excellent illustrations taken from trustworthy sources.
The work is also enriched by several rather full tables of physical characters—
stature, cephalic index, nasal index — which are conveniently brought together in the
appendices, and will certainly be welcomed by professional anthropologists. There
arc also numerous tables of orbital and other indices in the body of the work, which
is completed with indexes of authors and subjects, and is clearly printed on good paper
and stoutly bound in cloth, while the low price (65.) should bring it within the reach
of a wide circle, and thus help to promote the strangely neglected study of the
anthropological sciences amongst the English reading public. A. H. K.
( 101)
No. 99.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Child- Study. Warner.
Mental and Physical Deviations from the Normal among Children in Public
Elementary and other Schools. — Report of the Committee of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, consisting of Mr. E. W. Brabrook
(Chairman), Dr. Francis Warner (Secretary), Mr. E. White Wallis, Dr. J. Gr.
Garson, and Dr. Rivers. Drawn up by the Secretary; presented at Bradford,
September 4th, 1900 ; and printed in full in the Proceedings of the British
Association, 1900 (Bradford). London, John Murray.
The Committee, acting in conjunction with the Childhood Society for the
Scientific Study of the Mental and Physical Conditions of Children, have, through
the assistance of that society, been able to use the cards recording the " cases with
any abnormal nerve-sign," as seen 1892-94; that is, 2,851 boys, 2,003 girls, as found
among 26,287 boys, 23,713 girls examined.
As a new method of research these cases are arranged in primary groups
containing the children who presented nerve-signs in (1) the face only; (2) the
hand only ; (3) eye-movements defective only ; and (4) a group showing nerve-signs
in other parts of the body only*.
In making a rapid examination and report on children examined in schools, it
may be convenient to classify nerve-cases in four groups as presenting signs in
(1) face (defect of expression, overaction of the frontal muscles, knitting the
eyebrows, muscular relaxation about the lower eyelid) ; (2) in balance of the hand or
finger twitches ; (3) irregular movements of the eyes ; (4) in general balance of the
head and other parts of the body. Twenty-one nerve-signs have been observed and
defined,1 the cases presenting these signs are grouped in classes under the headings
named according to the parts of the body in which they are seen.
To the full Report are appended three tables showing, for the 50,000 children
examined 1892-94, all cases presenting one or more abnormal nerve-signs, arranged in
age-groups. These three cases are classed in primary groups presenting nerve-signs in
the parts indicated only, viz. : (] ) the face ; (2) the hand ; (3) eye-movements ; (4) in
other parts of the body. The cases are further distributed in primary groups under
the main classes of defect.
The total number of children with any class of nerve-signs is obtainable by
adding the eight primary groups presenting that class, thus : Among the children
7 years and under, adding the eight groups enumerating signs in the face gives a
total of 343 boys, 179 girls. Again, addition of the three groups enumerating signs
in face and eye-movements gives a total of 21 boys, 20 girls, with the two classes of
nerve-signs.
The numbers in each primary group of nerve-cases are given in the last column
of the table appended to the Report, and are distributed again as primary groups
according to the main classes of defect observed associated with the nerve-signs.
Thus:
Column headed B gives cases with nerve- signs only.
AB= Nerve-signs associated with development defect only.
BC = Nerve"signs associated with delicacy only ; children pale or thin.
BD= Nerve-signs with mental dulness only.
ABC = Nerve-cases with developmental defect and delicate only, i,e., not dull or
backward.
1 See Report on the Scientific Study of the Mental and Physical Conditions of Children, based
on the examination of 100,000 children, p. 76. Published at the Parkes Museum.
( 102)
1900.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[No.
From the same tables appended to the full Report the compound groups can be
formed by addition of the primary groups composing them, and from, these the
correlations of the classes of nerve-signs with the main classes of defect, can bo
obtained after the method explained in Dr. Warner's paper, in the Journal of the
Royal Statistical Society, March, 1896.
Among the nerve-cases here reported on, the relative frequency of nerve-signs
in the face, the hand, and in eye-movements is shown to be as follows : —
Age Groups.
Total No. of
Cases.
FACE.
Total No. of
Cases.
EYE-MOVEMENTS. HAND.
Total No. of Total No. of
Cases. Cases.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
7 years and under....
742
489
343
179
94
74
300
209
8-10 years
1,229
878
473
250
153
127
690
503
11 years and over....
880
630
317
141
104
58
530
426
At all ages ....
2,851
2,003
1,133
570
351
259
1,520
1,138
Other researches were made, but when they did not appear to supply useful
information the results were not included in the tables. It was thought that there
might be a definite association between irregular movements of the eyes and
twitchings of the fingers ; the facts given below do not support the premiss. Again,
the association between irregular eye-movements and overaction of the frontal
muscles (frowning) is not very marked, though more frequent than in the last case.
Age Groups.
j. nuuujr \jrio ups.
7 and under.
8-10.
11 and over.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
Boys.
Girls.
Eye-movements and finger twitches
—
—
—
—
— —
only.
Eye-movements and finger twitches
2
1
7
3
2
and other nerve-signs.
Eye-movements and frontals over-
7
2
12
2
3
—
acting only.
Eye-movements and frontals and other
5
2
16
Q
9
2
nerve-signs.
This Committee, first appointed in 1892, have reported each year1 and information
thus supplied concerning the mental and physical conditions of childhood has afforded
evidence in a wide field of research. Among other problems advanced it has been
shown that, with certain constitutional conditions of congenital deficiency and
acquired defects as found among boys and girls respectively, the status varies in the
age-groups. It appears highly probable that the heavy mortality under five years of
age, which falls principally on the boys, is largely due to developmental defects, while
1 The reports will be found in the n»i responding volumes of the Proceedings of (he British
Ateociation,
( 103 )
No. 100.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
children with such congenital defect who survive add largely to the proportion of the
dull and delicate pupils in schools, and to the number of neurotic persons who often
fail in health at adult age.
The main classes of defect among children are more frequent with boys, while
the girls with defective constitution tend in larger proportion than the boys to
ill-health and brain disorderliness.
To summarise problems previously demonstrated, development-defect cases are
very frequently delicate and dull. Children with (motor) brain disorderliness are
often dull; so are the children who are naturally delicate. Dull pupils often present
defect in development as well as delicacy and (motor) brain disorderliness needing
special care and training.
Departures from the normal are more frequent among males ; but the females
with developmental defect or brain disorderliness are more apt to receive harm and to
receive less good from their environment than males. This indicates the care required,
and is illustrated by the more hopeless condition of female lunatics and criminals.
Tt has been shown that good effects follow the employment of physical training
at school in diminishing the number of children with signs of brain disorderliness and
the proportion of dull pupils.
Children in Poor Law and industrial schools are below the average in bodily
development and mental ability. It appears that home life and day school training
are more advantageous than institution training.
The investigations that have been carried out and study of the distribution of
cases of developmental defeat in various localities have suggested that sanitation and
the practical application of hygienic principles to school life may lessen the frequency
of developmental defects and the proportion of mental and physical weakness and
mortality co-attendant.
In conclusion it has been shown by many examples that detailed examination and
report on the children in selected schools has proven many points of social and
scientific value.
Since this report was drawn up an important mathematical paper " On
Association of Attributes in Statistics, with illustrations from the Material of the
Childhood Society, etc.," by Mr. G. Udny Yule, has been published in the Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society. The suggestions there made as to statistical methods
of presenting correlations are likely to prove most useful in future research.
Charts have been prepared from these Reports by Mr. C. S. Loch and exhibited
at the Paris Congress by the Charity Organisation Society.
Microcephaly. Cunningham.
On the Microcephalic Brain. Communicated by Professor D. J. Cunningham,
M.D., F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 8th, 1900.
The brain of the microcephalic idiot may exhibit features which do not merely
represent a " fixed " embryonic condition. In one specimen the arrangement of
the fissures and sulci is found to approach more closely the ape than the human
type, and in almost every furrow some simian character can be detected. These
simian characters must not be considered mere foetal conditions rendered per-
manent. The ape- like condition existing in this brain does not as a whole correspond
to that of any one ape, or group of apes, but there is a complicated mixture of
features, some of which are characteristic of high apes, while others find a parallel
( 104 )
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 101.
in the brain of low apes. Tho microcephalic brain may be regarded as a partial
"atavism." So far as its surface markings are concerned, tlie specimen noted has
reverted in part, or wholly, to an arrangement which, in all probability, existed in
some early stem-form of man.
Finger-Prints : Classification. Garson.
A System of Classification of Finger-Prints. By J. G. Garson, M.D., Expert
Adviser on Identification of Criminals. Communicated to the Anthropological
Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Bradford,
September llth, 1900.
This system of classifying finger impressions has been devised to be worked in
conjunction with classification of records by measurements, such as those of the head
and limbs, for the purpose of facilitating search for previous records of criminals. It
is also applicable for the classification of small collections of records without the
concurrent use of measurements.
The patterns — three in number — which the ridges on the palmar surface of the
terminal phalanx of the fingers form, are indicated by the use of the following
signs : —
An arch 13 indicated thus ... ... ... ... ... ... /\
A loop which opens on the left and slopes thus ... ... ... /
A loop which opens on the right and slopes thus ... ... ... \
A whorl of any kind, thus ... ... ... ... ... ... Q
These signs, which are graphic representations of the ridge-pattern as it actually
appears in the impression of a finger, are used to indicate the finger formula of an
individual, which is noted on a prominent part of each record.
For this classification the patterns on the thumb and three following fingers of
the right hand are selected, or as many of them as may be necessaiy ; the thumb and
forefinger are always required, and when the divisions given by these two fingers are
large, the middle finger, or the middle and ring finger impressions are also requisitioned
to reduce the size of the divisions.
Two divisions are made by the pattern on the right thumb, according as it happens
to be (I) an arch, or either form of loop : (II) a whorl. By the thumb therefore two
divisions are obtained.
Each of these two divisions is broken up into four smaller divisions by the
pattern on the forefinger according as it is (a) an arch ; (6) a loop with the mouth or
opening on the left ; (c) a loop with the opening or mouth directed towards the
right ; (d) a whorl.
Of the eight divisions thus obtained no further subdivision is necessary in six
cases, namely in (a), (&), and (d) of I division, and of (a), (6), and (c) of II.
Taking (c) of I division, namely, those cases where there is an arch or either
form of loop on the thumb, and a loop opening to the right on the forefinger, sub-
division by the middle and ring fingers is necessary ; this is done by separating the
cases when there are loops opening to the right on each of the four fingers, from those
in which there is any other combination which may obtain.
Passing on to (d) of II division, namely, the cases in which there is a whorl on
the thumb and forefinger, subdivision by the midfinger only is required, into those in
which that finger, like the two preceding fingers, bears a whorl and those in which
there is an arch or other form of loop on the midfinger.
By this means we get altogether ten divisions which are of approximately equal
( 105 )
No. 102.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
size, except (a) of It (that in which the thumb bears a whorl and the forefinger an
arch which is the smallest). It can be equalised more or less with the others in the
following manner: — In any given number of individuals there will be some cases
found (especially if the class of the population from which the impressions are
obtained belong chiefly to the labouring class of mechanics), where one or more of
the four fingers used in classification have been damaged from one cause or another so
that the pattern of the ridges is undecipherable, or one or more fingers of either hand
have been partially or completely lost. In adult criminals such cases amount to
about 5' 6 per cent. In any system of classification it is necessary to provide for such
emergencies, but it is not necessary that they be separated from the others in a
division reserved specially for themselves. When these are added to (a) II group it
is brought up to the level of some of the other groups.
The following is the scheme of classification reduced to tabular form and the
percentage of cases in each of the ten divisions is shown in the lowest line : —
Right thumb
'A /
\
1
O
Right fore finger
A
/
X
o
A
/
X
0
•
9-3
13'5
Rt. thumb, middle,
and ring fingers
10-8
3'2
and
with
damaged
and
lost
fingers
(5-6)
= 8'8
9'8
7-9
A/\ O
-
10-7 9'4
\\\\
any other
combination
on the above
fingers
12-1
77
With the above ten divisions, worked in conjunction with, and secondary to,
classification by measurements, sufficient power is available to enable the records of
a large number of criminals to be easily manipulated. For example, if only four
measurements be used in the tripartite classification which universally obtains (giving
81 divisions) by the use of this decimal subdivision by finger-prints, a total of 810
divisions are obtained, while if five measurements be taken as adopted in England
(giving 243 divisions), by the combined system we have increased our powers of
effective classification ten times, and obtain no less than 2,430 divisions ; and that
without putting any strain on either source of classification.
Finger-Prints : Roman. Turner.
Note on a Mould showing the Finger-Prints of a Roman Sculptoi', probably of the
ird Century A.D. Communicated by Professor Sir William Turner, M.D.,
F.R.S., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science. Bradford, September 10th, 1900.
While staying lately with a friend in the City of Lincoln, Sir William Turner
was informed that when the foundations of the house, which lay on the line of the
ancitnt Ermyn Street, were being dug, bases of Roman columns were excavated. On
(106)
1900.] Anthropological Review* and Mixcdlanca. [Nos. 103-105.
examining these closely, the impressions of the finger-prints of the sculptor were very
plainly discernible. Specimens of the impressions were exhibited in illustration of the
paper, and at the close several members of the audience said that they had observed
impressions of a similar kind in connection with columnar remains elsewhere.
Physical Anthropology. Cross-References.
Other articles in the present volume dealing with special points of Physical
Anthropology will be found under Nos. 20 (Egypt) ; 75 (Malay) ; 83 (England) ;
84- (Scotland); 46 (Botnma); 117 (Skin Marks).
PSYCHOLOGY.
Psychology. Hartog.
Interpolation in Memory. Communicated by Professor Marcus Hartog, Af\A
M.A., D.Sc., to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for the'*^ •"
Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 12th, 1900. Published in full in tlie
Contemporary Review, October, 1900.
Many educational syllabuses that profess to rest on a psychological base assume
that the only guidance for action is a sensation which has been memorised by
frequent repetition. The mind, however, seems to have the power of classifying the
memories of each category apart and in order of magnitude and direction ; completing
the records of single memories, with what may be compared with an interpolation
curve, and even extrapolating on either side : so that, if a suitable response have
been learned to a limited number of sensations, a new intermediate sensation will
produce a new appropriate response. This capacity for interpolating has been long
recognised in various arts, and is known as " faculty," i{ feeling," etc. It has not,
however, been definitely recognised by the psychologist, who has rather asked whether
the conscious memory and judgment can construct intermediate sensations between
those he has learned from experience, than whether there is a power in virtue of which
it can recognise the appropriate position of new sensations, or appropriately act on
the stimulus of newT sensations when they occur.
Similarly with combinations of intermediate sensations the mind can simul-
taneously act on them and execute the combined appropriate response, in much the
same way as the pencil of a tide predicting machine is simultaneously acted upon by
the independent wheels. This is shown by the now received fact finally proved by
Richet that each mental act takes about -£§ second, and any but automatic (sit venia
verbo) combination and judgment is usually out of the question, from a lack of
adequate time.
Illustrations of these views were quoted from the domains of house-keeping, the
plastic arts, cards, billiards, and language. It was urged that an a priori method of
instruction from incomplete premises must be regarded with extreme caution.
Psychology. Stokes.
On, the Perception of Force. By Professor Gr. J. Stokes, M.A., Queen's College,
Cork. Communicated to the Anthropological Section of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September 12th, 1900.
According to the most generally accepted view, the idea of force is obtained from
the muscular sense. It has also been attributed to touch. The most important
question is, whether the perception is connected with the motor or sensory nerves.
(107)
Nos. 106-108.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
If the latter view be adopted, it has been thought that the sensation can reveal
nothing of the objective cause. As recent investigation seems to compel the adoption
of the latter view, the objective character of the perception can only be saved if we
admit the presence of an objective character in all sensation. If Wundt's theory of
the original indifference of the nerves be accepted, we may yet be enabled to remove
the difficulties in the way of admitting such an objective character. The true
difference between the perception of force and other sensations will then lie not in
the process by which the phenomenon is apprehended, but in the nature of the
phenomenon apprehended. We m-ay thus have an apprehension of an objective
external reality — the same reality which underlies the phenomena of dynamics. The
principle of least action may perhaps explain the directive character of vital and
voluntaiy processes.
Psychology. Binet.
M f\£ The Psychology of .Reasoning. By Alfred Binet. Chicago: The Open Court
1 UO Publishing Co., 1899. pp. 191. Price 3s. 6d. Presented by the Publisher.
This is a translation from the second edition of Binet's well-known book. The
argument, which is designed to show the close similai'ity of the processes of reasoning
and perception, is based on experimental researches in hypnotism. Conclusions based
on such researches are now acknowledged by most to be of very doubtful validity
owing to the great danger of unconscious suggestion, but no indication is given in this
edition of any change of attitude in this respect. The book might also have been
brought up to date in other respects ; thus the conclusions on p. 46, stated to be very
important for Binet's theory, are based on an interpretation which is now generally
acknowledged to be erroneous. Nevertheless, the book is very interesting and
suggestive. Anthropologists will probably be chiefly interested in the account of the
various types of mental imagery, of which M. Binet was one of the first to recognise
the importance. The translation has been well done. W. H. R. R.
Psychology: Child Study. Warner.
e Nervous System of the Child. By Francis Warner, M.D. London: Macmillan
and Co., 1900. 8vo. pp. xvii, 233. Presented by the Author.
This book deals with the physical and mental hygiene of the child. It is founded
on the extensive researches which the author has made on the abnormal signs
accompanying mental defects in children, and is concerned to a large extent with
the means by which the defects may be remedied. There are some interesting
chapters on the training useful for developing the senses and the elementary mental
processes, which should be very useful and suggestive to those who have to do with
both normal and defective children. It follows that the book is of practical rather
than of scientific interest, but incidentally contains much that may interest the
anthropologist. W. H. R. R.
Child Study. MacDonald.
The Experimental Study of Children. By Arthur' MacDonald. Washington,
1899. pp. 214. (From U.S. Education Report, 1897-8.)
This book consists of two chapters from a report of the United States Bureau
of Education. The first part is taken up with an account of researches carried
out by the author or under his superintendence. Measurements of the head, of
strength of grasp, of tactile and thermal sensibility, and of sensibility to pain were
( 108)
1900,] £i^ropoiogical Rewtuto and Miteellai [No. 108.
made by Mr. MacDonald on 1,074 Washington children, including coloured children,
and the results of these measurements are considered in relation to the nationalities
of the children and their abilities in various studies. Unfortunately very few detaibj
are given of the methods employed, so that it is very difficult to judge of the value of
the observations, but so far as one can gather, the methods appear to have been some-
what rough, and in some cases almost certainly inadequate.
In another investigation, observations on height, sitting height, weight, and
circumference of head were made by teachers on 16,473 white children and 5,457
coloured children, and these measurements are considered in relation to the age, sex,
mental ability, and sociological condition of the children. The results form a huge mass
of detail put together without adequate criticism, and it is extremely difficult to assign
the proper value to any of the author's conclusions. A few of the conclusions which
are of most anthropological interest may, however, be given, though they must be
accepted into reserve.
Dolichocephaly was found to increase as mental ability decreased, dull children tend-
ing to be dolichocephalic ; the circumference of the head was found to increase as mental
ability increased; children of the non-labouring classes were found to have larger
heads, gi-eater height, sitting height, and weight, and greater tactile and thermal
sensibility than children of the labouring classes ; the former also showed greater
ability in their studies, but had a higher percentage of sickliness ; boys were found to
have larger heads than girls, but the latter were more sensitive to touch and heat ;
the girls were superior to the boys in their studies.
In the comparison of white and coloured children, some interesting, and in some
cases surprising, conclusions are given. Coloured girls were found to have a larger
circumference of head than white girls, the circumference being slightly larger in the
coloured girls than in the coloured boys. White children were found to be taller than
the coloured children, while the sitting height of the former was still more in excess,
i.e., white children had relatively long bodies. The coloured children were found,
by the author's method of testing, to be much more sensitive to heat than white
children.
A large mass of detail is given on the ability of the different classes of children
in different studies. The children were arranged in those classes as bright, average,
or dull, according to the opinions of their teachers. It is in the results so obtained
that the most surprising conclusions of the author are to be found. It is, I think,
generally believed that the children of negro races do very well at school up to a
certain age, beyond which they cease to improve, or may even intrograde. Mr. Mac-
Donald finds, however, that the proportion of bright coloured children increases with
ngc (up to the age of sixteen), while in white children the percentage of brightness
decreases except in the mechanical exercises of drawing, manual labour, and
penmanship.
From a perusal of some of the tables, it seems as if the coloured children were
distinctly superior to the white children in average mental ability; thus 46 per cent, of
the coloured boys and 69 per cent, of the coloured girls are entered as bright in all
studies, while the corresponding figures for boys and girls of American parentage are
only 51 per cent, and 45 pur cent, respectively. In the subject of arithmetic 54 per
cent, of the coloured boys and 60 per cent, of the coloured girls are noted as bright,
while only 44 per cent, of the boys and 37 per cent, of the girls of American parentage
are so classed. In what is probably the most advanced of the studies for which data
are given, viz., algebra, the superiority of the coloured children appears to be even
more marked.
( 109)
NOS. 109-110.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
In order to appreciate these somewhat startling results correctly, one would like to
give rather more critical consideration than is given by the author to the methods of
collecting the results, the personalities of the teachers from whose opinions these
statistics are derived, and other possible fa.ctors which may have influenced the
inquiry.
The book also contains a valuable resume of researches on children both, from
America and Europe, a useful account of apparatus which may be used in the experi-
mental study of children, and a good bibliography of child study. Notwithstanding
its deficiencies as a record of original work, the book should be extremely valuable to
workers in this branch of anthropology. W. H. R. R.
FOLKLORE.
Folklore: General. Elworthy.
orns of Honour, and other Studies in the By-ways of Archaeology. By Frederick
Thomas Elworthy. London : Murray, 1900. Svo. pp. 315, with plates. Pre-
sented by the Publisher.
Readers of Mr. Elworthy's earlier book, The Evil Eye, will know what to
expect from this, the companion volume. He is a careful explorer of the by-ways of
archaeology and folklore ; he is a deep student of medieval magic, and his knowledge
of the contents of European museums is extensive. His main object has been to
collect and sketch little-known charms and votive offerings, and it is one of the most
valuable characteristics of his work that he has no preconceived theories, and prefers
to leave his drawings to speak for themselves. This volume is principally occupied
with the discussion of various horns and hands, but incidentally many forms of
popular superstition are considered. His main purpose is to show that earlier forms
of ornament are in the main prophylactic. The crescent, he thinks, was used as a
protective amulet, and horns, " the outcome of the crescent, developed into a special
mark of honour and dignity, which men adopted for their own destruction, as well as
the symbol of the most potent protectors." He gives a number of remarkable
illustrations of the hands decorated with various symbols which are scattered through
the museums of Europe. He seems to be successful in proving that these are not
generally ex votos ; but rather magical amulets intended either as prophylactic or with
an erotic significance.
Mr. Elworthy does not pretend to write a scientific treatise, and in some cases,
as in that of his interpretation of Jacob's Ladder, his views have been already
superseded by Dr. Smythe Palmer's monograph on " Jacob at Bethel." But he has
done good service in collecting a mass of raw material for the use of folklore
students, and to this extent his book with its excellent collection of illustrations may
be safely recommended. W. CEOOKE.
Folklore: Animal Superstitious. Thomas.
Animal Superstitions and Tottmism. Communicated by N. W. Thomas to the
Folklore Society, April 25th, 1900. Published in Folklore, xi, 3 (September,
1900), pp. 227-267. Presented by the Author.
Mr. Thomas intends to collect the animal superstitions of the whole of Europe, and
prefaces his paper by an analysis of the beliefs and practices which we find or may
expect to find. This is followed by an analysis of the points dealt with in the
paper, which is mainly devoted to the sacro-sanctity of the animal and annual
sacrifice at the present day in Europe. The explanation suggested is that these
beliefs and customs are relics of a system of totemism. Opening with a recapitulation
( HO)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Mvyrtt'tiint. [No. 111.
of the Irish facts with which others have already dealt, Mr. Thomas points out in an
appendix on quasi-totemic survivals that a large number of sagas and popular beliefs
seem to be descended from totemism ; among them the idea, frequently found on the
continent, that the babies are brought by certain animals such as the stork, the crow,
etc. This is followed by a list of sacrosanct animals and the localities in which they
are taboo, especial stress being laid on the local character of the beliefs in question.
The second half of the paper is devoted to the different forms of animal sacrifice still
prevailing in Europe — the hunting of the wren, the ;' Hahnenschlag," the killing of
the first animal of a species seen in spring, etc. It is then shown that many of these
animals were ritually eaten, in most cases by the local group (i.e., the villagers in
most cases), but in other cases by the kin only. Mr. Thomas conjectures that the
latter is the older form of the custom. The eating of cakes in animal form is also
referred to as a custom of the same class. The paper concludes with a short discussion of
the origin and meaning of the games of Blind Man's Buff and Cock Warning. These
Mr. Thomas explains as relics of primitive sacrifices, in which human beings were
perhaps offered in later times ; in their original form the victim was an animal and
the mark of this animal, worn by the sacrificer or pei'haps by all the participants,
accounts for the fact that Blind Man's Buff is known all over Europe by names
of animals — Blinde Maus, Blinde Eule, Blinder Bock, etc. The author of this paper
then points out that there are other customs which we can best explain by supposing
them to be relics of these sacrifices ; among others Santa Glaus seems to have been
oi'iginally a sacrificing priest who went round to capture a victim. Female priestesses
were probably not uncommon, which may explain the predominance of the female
element in witchcraft.
Eclipses. Lasch.
Die Finsternisse in der Mythologie und im religiosen Branch der Volker, von Dr. AAA
Richard Lasch, in Horn (Niederosterreich). (Archiv fur Religionsjvissenschaft, • • *
1900, 97-152.) 8vo. Presented by the Author.
Dr. Lasch has compiled an interesting record of beliefs and practices connected
with eclipses in all parts of the world. He has paid special attention to the myths
current among savage or half-civilised tribes, and it is to be hoped that the modern
travellers, on whom he mainly relies, are competent witnesses on this point. In view
of the importance of Egypt in the history of astronomical science, it is perhaps to be
regretted that the paper does not contain a fuller account of the ancient Egyptian
myths about eclipses, and it would appear that in dealing with the children of Israel
the author has unduly strained some passages of Scripture. Thus the standing still
of the Sun and Moon at the bidding of Joshua is regarded as an eclipse, and the
celestial catastrophe which, according to Joel, is to precede " the great and terrible
day of the Lord " receives the same simple explanation. The evidence again for
Greek myths about eclipses is both late and scanty, perhaps because the heavenly
bodies always played a subordinate part in Greek mythology.
Much may be learned, however, from the facts which the author has collected
about the beliefs of primitive peoples. Some of these seem strangely consistent with
the true theory of eclipses. Thus the Central Australians are said to believe that
solar eclipses are caused by the periodically recurring visits of an evil influence called
Arungquiltha. This suggests the eighteen years cycle, but the Australian period is
more likely to be an imaginary one. The natives of Central Celebes seem to have
grasped a moi-e important element in the theory. They regard the Sun as the
husband of the Earth, and explain solar eclipses by his adultery with the Moon, who
(111)
Nos. 112-113.] Anthropological Hevicws and Miscellanea. [1900.
on these occasions passes before him and conceals him. A similar idea appears in a
beautiful myth of the Upper Palatinate, according to which the Sun and Moon are a
married couple, Avho were parted on the bridal night. An eclipse means that they
have for a moment come together again, but when the eclipse ends they are once more
supposed to have separated.
Dr. Lasch devotes the last few pages of his paper to a classification of the myths,
and to an attempt to trace their evolution. On the latter subject it is difficult to be
convincing, but his theory is certainly not an improbable one. In dealing, however,
with the widespread dragon-myth he fails to show how closely it tallies with the
actual phenomena, by which it may have been directly suggested. J. K. F.
Suicide. Lasch.
mDie Behandlung der Leiche des Selbstmorders. By Dr. Richard Lasch.
(From Glob^ls, LXXYI, 4. Presented by the Author.) Describes the peculiar
modes of disposing of the body of a suicide, which are found to prevail among different
peoples, and discusses briefly the motives which lead to their adoption. Full
references are given throughout to the original authorities.
RacJie als Selbstmordmotiv. By Dr. Richard Lasch. (From Globus, LXXIV, 3.
Presented by the Author.) Supplies an omission noted by the author in the essay of
Steinmetz on Suicide among Primitive Peoples (Am. Anthropologist, vii (1894), 53-60), by
collecting instances in which suicide takes place from the motive of revenge. Full
references are given throughout. J. L. M.
England: Folklore. Bonlton.
mThe Amusements of Old London. By William B. Boulton. 2 vols. London:
J. Nimmo, 1900. pp. xiii, 272, ix, 263. Price 30s.
This work is an attempt, says the author, to survey the amusements of Londoners
during a period which began approximately with the Restoration of King Charles II
and ended with the accession of Queen Victoria. It therefore covers a considerable
period. It deals with the amusements of Londoners outside their homes, and the list
is varied and is interesting chiefly as showing the development in the tastes of the
people. It begins with a description of Hockley in the Hole, an establishment of
renown which stood in what was afterwards Ray Street, Clerkenwell. Hockley was a
theatre of the old type and provided amusement in the shape of bull and bear baiting,
dog fights, and contests between gladiators armed with swords, cudgels, or quarterstaffs,
and miscellaneous entertainments now things of the past. In the last year of the
seventeenth century the Grand Jury of Middlesex complained of the impudence of its
" professors," who distributed their handbills to the sound of drums, in defiance of the
king's trumpeter, who apparently had the monopoly of street music in those days. It
is perhaps worth noticing in those days the audiences were willing to endure a long
wait before the performances began. "Doors will be open at three and the masters
mount at six," says one advertisement, the three hours of waiting before the fight
began being spent inside the building, disputes and fights for places occurring
during this wait. It would seem from Mr. Boulton's account that the fights with
swords were less dangerous than they appeared. The chief object of the exhibition fight
was apparently a slashing flesh wound which might produce a good show of blood.
Curious, too, are the fights between women at the same place. Challenges were
advertised and fights with gloves and swords arranged. Prize-fighters, with the cold
steel, were at times assisted by their wives. In spite of the moral enormities of the
(112)
1900.] Anthropological Rci-ien-x nml Mi*rll«iicf<. [No. 113.
old amusement?, Mr. Boulton ranks the danger to their exponents as much less than
that of the players of a North Country football match of to-day.
The next chapter deals with the tea gardens of London, Spring Garden, Mulberry
Garden, Vauxhall, Bagnigge Wells, places of outdoor amusement where eating cakes
;iml drinking constituted one of the principal attractions. From Charles I onward a
period of two centuries shows an almost unbroken continuance of al fresco entertain-
ments in London. Spring Garden's attraction was a bowling green and " an ordinary
of six shillings a meal." This is said to be the forerunner and model of the later
gardens. The " ordinary " or " collation " was the great feature of the place. Spring
Garden was a convenient halting-place for refreshment on the way to or returning
from Hyde Park, where the promenade of the ring, the foot and chariot races were.
Pepys mentions visiting Spring Garden with his wife and found things "to eate very
dear." The tea gardens were numerous. White Conduit House in Pentonville had
its own code of deportment. It was reckoned the mode there to tread on the skirt of
the damsel whose acquaintance you wished to make, apologise for your clumsiness, and
suggest an adjournment to an arbour for tea as amends. Here, too, Bartholomew, the
proprietor in 1754, pi'ovided bats and balls for his customers to play cricket in the
meadow adjoining. That these tea gardens encouraged the development of games of
skill seems clear. Copenhagen House was famous for its fives. A story is told of the
origin of fives here. The maid of the tavern, hailing from Shropshire, meeting an
acquaintance from the same county, and talking over the game, a diversion of their
native place, improvised a fives ball, made an appointment for a day later, and played
a game against the end of the house which delighted the onlookers and so started the
tradition of fives at Copenhagen House. The very gable where the maid and her
friend played their historic game remained the theatre of the famous contests which
followed.
Al fresco London, pai-ticularly Vauxhall, is represented as charming as it well
could be. Many may even be inclined to think that in losing Vanxhall Londoners
lost something not yet replaced. Marylebone Gardens in the reign of George III
suggests a very pleasant flavour of mors reasonable enjoyment. Here was an evening
entertainment of good music while the quietly disposed and peace loving public
disported themselves among the ancient trees in the old garden of the Manor House.
The "Masked Assemblies," the "play tables," and the "cockpit" are dealt with at
some length. This old sport, which had lingered on almost into our own times, is well
described by the quotation from Pepys's Diary, and particulars are given as to the care
and preparation required in breeding the birds. From the cockpit to the play and the
opera house is the next step. For this chapter Pepys and Evelyn, Sfceele and Addison,
have been requisitioned, and Mr. Boulton, from the speculations of the two latter,
considers the playhouse to have toned down considerably since the days of the
former. The manners and customs prevalent at the theatres and the rise of the
opera house and its monopoly and use by the upper classes as a kind of social club is
recorded briefly.
In the second volume, when writing on the fairs the author comes to the con-
clusion that our present habit of leaving town in August is not only due to the fact
that Parliament rises in the late summer or to questions of sport. The great fairs of
the town were the great carnivals to which, in the dog-days, the common people of
London rushed. The fairs followed each other in quick succession in Smithfield,
Southwark, and Westminster. The fairs, Mr. Boulton considers, were religious in their
origin, their development commercial, and their apotheosis an unrestrained indulgence
in pleasure or license. The main attraction of Bartholomew's Fair were the dramatic
( 113 ) 8
No. 114.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, [1900,
performances of the regular companies from the West, and it was only when the fair was
shortened from fourteen days to three that the more varied attractions of wild
animals and rope dancers became popular.
Athletics and games, as we know them, are hardly mentioned in the book, nor has
Mr. Boulton attempted to explain the origin or development of any pastime from early
custom or belief. The book is pleasant reading and contains a mass of information
useful to the general reader, for whom the book has been compiled. The reproductions
of contemporary engravings coloured by hand constitute the main attractions of these
volumes. They are principally from well known sources. The book is not of
scientific value. A. B. G.
Folklore. Thomas.
44 A Questions on Animal Superstitions. By N. W. Thomas.
I I T" The following list of questions is an enlarged edition of the list which I
have circulated largely in Europe. I shall be glad to receive answers, as complete as
may be, addressed to me at 3, Hanover Square. Previous editions of the questions
being in circulation, I have not inserted the new questions in their proper order but
put them at the end; the arrangement is therefore more or less accidental. The
locality, tribe, etc., should be given as exactly as possible.
1. What animals, birds, fish, insects, etc., are gaid to bring good or bad luck
to those who see them ? Is it unlucky to see animals (particularly young
animals) before breakfast ? What animals are said to foretell the birth
of a child or its sex ?
2. What animals are said to bring luck or ill-luck to the house in which they
live?
3. What animals are said to foretell a death ?
4. What animals are said to foretell the price of corn, the abundance or
otherwise of the harvest ?
5. Are the last ears known by the name of an animal ? Do people say that
an animal is running through the field when the wind blows over
the corn ?
6. Are birds or animals kept in captivity for luck, to drive away diseases,
etc. ? Are there any animals which it is considered unlucky to bring
into the house ? Are any special ceremonies to be performed when you
see one of a species for the first time in the spring ?
7. What bearing has the colour of the animal on its sanctity, the omens
it gives, etc.? Are white animals specially sacred or lucky? ^Are
animals with certain marks sacred or lucky ? If so, what are the marks?
8. Are certain species respected locally, or by certain families, i.e., is it
forbidden to kill, eat, or touch them, or unlucky to see them or use
their ordinary names ? Is it believed that by killing an animal of a
certain species a human being is killed ?
9. Are certain animals eaten only once a year or eaten with special ceremony
once a year ?
10. Are certain species of animals hunted once a year or killed at popular
festivals ? Are any persecuted or beaten ? Are any animals habitually
killed, and for what reason I1 Are the eggs of certain birds taken
and destroyed ? If so, how ?
11. Are animals or figures of animals carried round in procession, divided
among the community, etc. ? Are animals or insects sold at fairs once
1900.] Anthropolofjiciil Review anf JfueellanM. [No. 114.
a year? Are they bought in order to be set at liberty? Are animals
ever set at liberty with special ceremony ?
12. Is a man believed to gain certain magical powers of healing, etc,, if he
eats the flesh of certain animals, touches them, or lets them die in his
hand ? At what age should this ceremony be performed ?
13. What animals are used in both medicine and magic, and for what purposes ?
Is any particular time of year especially suitable for killing the animals
for this purpose ?
14. How is the sacrificial victim killed, e.g., is it thrown from a precipice into
the fire, etc. ? Are animals ever killed by being thrown into the air
and allowed to fall ? Is the victim eaten ? What is done with the
skin, the skull, etc. ? Are cakes made which are called by names of
animals and made in the shape of animals ? Are they made of any
other material ? Are they ever in the shape of or provided with
whistles ? Detail any usages connected with these figures.
15. Are the souls of the dead believed to take the form of animals ? Are
they believed to inhabit the bodies of animals ? What is believed to
happen to the soul if the animal dies in which it is lodged ? Are
ancestors in animal form believed to protect the fields, etc. ?
16. Are witches, etc., believed to have the power of transforming themselves
into animals ? Are the familiar spirits of medicine men, etc., believed
to be in the form of animals ? Are they ever visible to ordinary men ?
Are wizards believed to send into the souls familiars in the form of
animals to devour the living ? How does a man become a wizard ?
17. Are certain families, etc., believed to be able to influence certain species
of animals, to cure their bites, to be on friendly terms with them, etc. ?
Are any people believed to be specially indebted for their success, etc.,
to animals or species of animals ?
18. Are certain species of animals believed to assume human form in other
lands, or to assume human form at will ? Arc any animals believed to
be human beings under a curse ?
19. Are certain animals believed to bring the babies, and whence? Are
children ever believed to be born without souls, and if so, how do they
get them ?
20. Are stories of swan maidens or youths told, or of ancestors in animal
form or with animals' ears, etc. ? Are stories told of women giving
birth to animals ?
21. Do animals figure in any way in birth, marriage, or burial ceremonies ?
What animals are eaten on these occasions ? Are animals hunted, killed,
etc., by the wedding guests or others ? Do people appear at weddings
disguised as animals ? Do they imitate the movements or cries of
animals ? Are corpses exposed for animals to eat them ? Is food put
on the corpse for an animal to eat ?
22. Are heads or skulls of animals, horns, etc., either real or carved, fixed on
the houses, in the fields, etc. ?
23. What animals are found as weather vanes and inn signs ?
24. Are there any games called after animals, in which animal disguises are
worn, or in which animals are imitated ? Are the movements or cries of
animals ever imitated, and for what purpose? Do people ever disguise
themselves as animals ?
( 115 ) 8—2
Nos. 115-117.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
25. Are dead animals buried for superstitious reasons ? Is an animal buried
annually at the carnival, etc. ?
26. Do people take oaths by certain animals ? Describe the ceremony.
27. How far is the decorative art based on animal motives ?
28. Is the body ever tatued or otherwise decorated with pictures of
animals ?
29. Are any ceremonies necessary in hunting certain species \ Are the
hunters tabu ? Are the young hunters initiated ?
30. What animals are tabn for (a) pregnant women, (6) the uninitiated,
(c) those who have just been initiated, (d) warriors, (t)) the whole tribe
or clan ?
31. Are idols made in the shape of animals, or half-animals, half -men ? Are
idols covered with the skin of the sacrificial victim P If so, how often ?
Are gods believed to assume or have the form of animals?
32. Is the life of a man believed to be bound up with the life of an animal ?
Can such a man be killed only by killing the animal ? Tf not, what is
the effect on the animal if the man is killed, e.g., by magic?
Folklore. Cross-References.
Other articles in the present volume dealing with Folklore will be found
under Nos. 76 (Malay Magic) ; 70 (Borneo) ; 85, 86 (Germany) ; 53 (Ontario).
MISCELLANEA.
Spiritualism. Savage.
Life beyond Death. By Minot Judson Savage, D.D. (Harvard). 8vo.
pp.336. New York, Pntnams. 1900. Presented by the Author.
The sub-title describes this book as " a review of the world's beliefs on the
subject, a consideration of present conditions of thought and feeling, leading to
the question as to whether it can be demonstrated as a fact : to which is added
an appendix containing some hints as to personal experiences and opinions.''
The question is on the whole soberly and fairly stated, and the author's own
conclusions kept distinct and in small compass. It is a pity that no references are
appended to the statements in the historical sections, and that no bibliography is
given. J. L. M.
Skin Marks. Ling Roth.
4 4 7 On Permanent Artificial Skin Maries: a Definition of Terms. Communicated
I I • by H. Ling Roth to the Anthropological Section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science. Bradford, September llth, 1900.
The marking of the skin in some permanent form is a very wide-spread custom.
The Fuegians, Ashantis, some tribes in Central Africa, and the Chinese have no such
custom, nor do the cultured races have it excepting in the case of the travelled and
the eccentric. Whatever may have been the original ideas or chance circumstances
which may have brought it into existence, ultimately its' objective became manifold.
Amongst Maori women it was as much a social obligation as a means of ornament ;
among the Maori men it was a sign of personal prowess as well as indicative of high
birth ; the chins of the Esquimaux girls are marked to show they have arrived at a
marriageable age, while tLe Ainu women's lips are operated upon to show they are
(116)
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XT.
1. MURIK TOMB, SURMOUNTED BY A SMALL HUMAX IMAGE TO WHICH A LIVE FOWL
is USUALLY TIED. Photograph ly C. G. Sdifjmann.
2 SPRINKLING IMAGES OF BALLI PENYALONG WITH THE BLOOD OF A FOWL
(p. 183, cf. PI. XIV, 2). Photoyrap/i ly C. S. Myers.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XIV.
- ii/\ ; ,.«,.,
^^v^^§^;^:; -•--•••,:/ jjsr
W^^!^^^-'^ zj?^
1. WOODEN MODEL OF A HORNBILL, MADE BY IBAXS, AND USED IN PEACE-MAKING
CEREMONIES. (From a photograph by A. C. Haddon.}
2. TAMA BULAN SPRINKLING IMAGES OF BALLI PENYALONG WITH THE BLOOD
OF A FOWL (p. 176). (From a photograph by G. 8. Myers.}
Anthropological. Reviews and Miscellanea. [No. 117.
married ; the Sinagaulos, of New Guinea, mark their breasts to show they have killed
enemies ; the Burmese and some Congo tribes are figured to protect themselves from
ovil spirits ; other Congo peoples have skin designs to indicate the tribes to which
they belong and so on. Whatever form the marking may take, it is intended to be
permanent, that is to say, to last us long as the life of the individual, although
occasionally to meet this view it has to be renewed.
It is to be expected that peoples living v?
so far apart under very dissimilar cir-
cumstances should develop various methods
of permanent skin marking. The Tas-
manian, with his rude stone implement still
in the early Palaeolithic stage, could not
produce what the Samoan could with his
finished pricking-tool. Hence, quite apart DIAGRAMMATIC SECTIONS OF THE OUTER
from any question as to the evolution of SKIN, TO SHOW THE DIFFERENT RESULTS
designs we find extremely different methods OF THE FOUR METHODS DESCR1BED-
followed in order to insure the desired permanency. There appear to be four such
methods : —
1. The Tahitian method first desciibed by Lieutenant Cook and Mr. Joseph
Banks under the designation tcittaow, is the one so familiar to us to-day on the arms of
our sailors and soldiers. In this method the skin was pricked by tapping with a piece
of wood on an instrument having the shape of a miniature hoe with serrated edge, and
the colouring matter was either pricked in at the same time or rubbed in immediately
the pricker had done its work. The result was that when the operation was completed
a series of blue spots in line were to be soen and when healed the skin resumed its
original smoothness,
2. In New Zealand, besides making use of a pricker in a manner similar to that
followed in Tahiti, the Maories employed a miniature adze-like instrument with a
cutting edge like that of a very narrow chisel ; this chisel was, like the pricker,
driven into the skin by tapping. The result, however, was not the same for instead
of the series of fine holes, dots under a smooth skin, the result was a series of
continuous shallow grooves said to have been deep enough to bed a pin in. In this
operation, therefore, in which pigment was likewise used, the margins of the wounds
inflicted did not heal evenly with the surface of the skin, but the grooves remained
for life. The natives call this work moko, a word which was first made known to
Europeans by Mr. Joseph Banks, the companion of Lieutenant Cook.
3. Similar to the inoko, but with grooves deeper and wider and generally without
the insertion of any pigment (the Fantis and Accras are sometimes with and
sometimes without pigment) is the skin deformation of the West African who
probably carries the incisions into the true skin and not merely into the deep layers of
the cuticle. This is done with a knife, bone, or hard wood chisel and not by tapping
a chisel as was done by the Maori.
4. Finally we have those curious raised marks of the Tasmanians, Australians,
and Melanesians generally, of the Central Africans, and, I believe, of German students.
In this case the cuts are made with sharp-edged stones or special cutting instruments
and are for a period continually re-opened, or irritated by the insertion of vegetable
juices, sand, etc., hence an abnormal amount of reparative action takes place and they
do not heal naturally as a healthy concave scar, but develop, instead, into nodulous
growths, sometimes of considerable size.
From the description of the four methods it will be seen they are very distinct
( 117)
No. 118.] Anthropological Revieivs and Miscellanea. [1900.
from one another, yet in spite of this distinctness both eminent travellers and
anthropologists speak of them in indefinite terms. Generally speaking they are all
called by the one name " tatuing." Sometimes a distinction is made and we have the
words " scar tatuing," "raised cicatrices," " cicatrices saillantes," but there has been up io
now, practically with few exceptions, no definite nomenclature followed in describing
the various methods of skin deformation. Even the editors of the Anthropological Notes
and Qtieries, third edition, make no proper distinction between the methods : the word
"tatuing" is made to cover both tatuing and amoko, and the word "cicatrice" is
apparently intended to cover the third and fourth methods, although the reference to
the third method seems to be only alluded to indefinitely by the word " incision."
Miss Buckland divides skin marking into cicatrices and tatu marks, while in Joest's
celebrated work I am unable to find any classification. Dr. Deniker, following Dr.
Bazin, divides the marks into "tatuing by incision" and "tatuing by puncture," but this
naming besides being an incorrect use of the word tatuing does not sufficiently explain
the differences in the four methods above described. All this is very unsatisfactory
and I venture to think the distinct differences shown merit a special name for every
one.
The two first named processes having already each a name, tatu and moJco, of
native origin and distinct meaning, should be retained. For the third method I would
suggest the word cicatrix. It may be objected that there is very little difference (I
am not referring to any supposed similarity of design) between the second and third
methods described, but when we consider their distinct places of origin, that one has
probably been evolved from tatuing while the other has not, and also that the one is a
more delicate operation than the other it is better to treat them as distinct methods.
For the fourth method I would suggest the well known pathological term Jceloid.
The above four terms, viz., tatu, moJco, cicatrix, and Jceloid are all easily inflexed, can be
used as verbs and have the advantage of being adaptable as technical terms to the
French, German, or Italian languages and so can become of international use. By
their means, we shall understand at once what a traveller intends, and the incorrect
and misleading application of the word tatu will cease.
Hawaii : Featherwork. Brigham.
A A Q Memoirs of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and
' • " Natural History. Vol. I, No. 1. Hawaiian Featherwork. By William T.
Brigham. 4to. pp. 82, and 15 plates. Honolulu, 1899. Presented by the Author.
This monograph is the first work issued from the Bishop Museum Press.
Professor Brigham is to be congratulated on the exhaustive nature of its contents
and the excellence of the illustrations, which number 115 in the text and 15 plates,
two of which are coloured.
The use of feathers, he says, as a personal adornment is widely spread among
native races, so that whichever way the inhabitants of the many groups scattered
over the Pacific Ocean entered that area, they would most probably bring some
knowledge of featherwork with them.
Professor Brigham begins by showing the means by which the feathers were
obtained on the Hawaiian Islands, and gives a list of the birds which furnish them ;
he then goes on to make the fullest extracts from the earlier voyages that can throw
any light on the subject. Beyond these accounts very little information about
Hawaiian featherwork can now be obtained, as the art has so long ceased to be
practised.
(118)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [Nos. 119-120.
The various articles corning under the title of featherwork are in turn each fully
described and as full a list as possible of all known specimens given. These articles
consist of leis or strings of feathers worn in the hair, or in later times about the neck ;
kahilis, or plumes of feathers used as royal insignia ; ahuula, cloaks or capes worn on
state occasions by people of high rank ; maliiole or helmets designed for protection as
well as ornament ; images of the god kukailimoku represented by a grotesque human
head, consisting of a featherwork covering on a basket-work foundation ; together
with a few other specimens such as a temple oracle or anuu, an interesting Cook
relic in the Hof Museum at Vienna ; and two mat-like objects in the British Museum
(Plate VI), the origin and locality of which is very doubtful. Professor Brigham
thinks that if these are Hawaiian, they might possibly have been used as mats on
which the offerings to the idol were placed.
With a Director as energetic as Professor Brigham, and one so well versed in
the ethnography of the Pacific Islands, we shall look forward with real pleasure to
further contributions. J. E.-P.
Hawaii: Museum. Brigham.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. By Professor A 4 Q
Brigham. Honolulu, 1900. 8vo. pp. 79.
Under the heading of " Occasional Papers," Professor Brigham, as Director of the
above museum, has just issued his second annual report for the year 1899. Although
the museum has, since its foundation in 1889, been twice enlarged to accommodate its
ever growing collections, once by the addition of the large Polynesian Hall, yet at the
end of 1898 it was found necessary to make arrangements for more than doubling its
then present size. This last addition, which is now nearly completed, is due to the
generosity of Mr. Bishop and is intended to contain the Hawaiian collections, as well
as a large workroom for photographic purposes, and for the arrangement of large casts
descriptive of Hawaiian life, and of models of Kilanea and of an ancient temple
(heiau).
This gives some idea of the rapid growth of this institution under the able
directorship of Professor Brigham.
That portion of the report devoted to ethnology contains illustrations of the more
important acquisitions during the past year, also an interesting paper (illustrated) on
" The Mat Sails of the Pacific," by John F. G. Stokes, assistant in the museum. Another
assistant, Mr. Allen, furnishes a paper on " The Ray Skin Rasps from the Gilbert
Islands," also with an illustration. J. E.-P.
Proceedings. Anthropological Institute.
A Summary of the Proceedings of the Anthropological Institute of Great
liritain and Ireland (continued from Miscellanea, 1900, No. 10.)
Huxley Memorial Lecture, November I3th, 1900. — In place of an Ordinary Meeting
of the Institute, a Special Meeting was held on the above date in the Lecture Theatre
of the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn Street, when the Right Honourable
Lord Avcbury, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., delivered the first Huxley Memorial Lecture.
The Chair was taken at 8.30 p.m. by Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President of the
Institute.
Lord Avebury delivered his lecture on " Huxley : the Man and his Work," which
will be found printed in Nature, vol. Ixiii, pp. 92, 116 ff.
(119)
Nos. 121-123.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
The President presented to Lord Avebury the Huxley Memorial Medal in
platinized silver.
Sir John Evans, K.C.B., ex-President of the Institute, moved a cordial vote of
thanks to Lord Avebury for his lecture. Sir Henry H. Howorth, KG. I.E., seconded
the motion, which was put and carried by acclamation.
Lord Avebury briefly replied, and the Meeting adjourned.
A f\A Extraordinary Meeting, November 22nd, 1900. — Mr. W. Gowland, F.S.A., in
1 ^ 1 the Chair.
Mr. D. Randall-Mad ver read a paper " On the Berbers of Algeria, and their
connections with Prehistoric Egypt."
Mr. Anthony Wilkin exhibited, in illustration of the paper, a large series of
lantern slides from photographs taken by himself, and added a few comments on the
paper. The paper was discussed by Mr. Myres and Dr. Garson. A vote of thanks
was proposed, and carried unanimously.
Ordinary Meeting, November 27th, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President,
the Chair. The Minutes of the Meetings of June 12th, November 13th,
and November 27th were read and confirmed.
The election of the following Fellows was announced : — Professor W. Ridge-
way, M.A., Caius College, Cambridge, Messrs. W. W, Skeat, M.A., Cambridge,
N. C. Macnamara, 13, Grosvenor Street, W., E. C. S. George, C.S.I., Upper Burma,
and Captain Stanley S. Flower, Cairo.
The President described certain objects exhibited on behalf of Mr. Alfred Sharpe,
C.B., H.B.M. Commissioner of Nyasaland, namely : —
(1) A wooden stool supported by a carved figure of a woman in native style,
showing characteristic headdress and prominent keloid scars, from
Angoni Land.
(2) A double bell of iron, without clappers, used to announce the approach of
travellers to a village.
(3) A perforated stone implement of hammer-like form.
The thanks of the Meeting were expressed to Mr. Sharpe for his interesting exhibit,
a further account of which, with illustration of No. 1, will be found in Man, 1901,
No. 39, Plate D.
Professor E. B. Tylor, D,C.L., F.R.S., read extracts from a paper by Mr. J. Paxton
Moir, of Hobart Town, on " Stone Implements from Tasmania," and exhibited a
number of specimens. The paper, which is printed in the current volume of this
Journal (vol. xxx, p. 257), was discussed by Mr. H. Balfour, Dr. Garson, Mr. Oldfield
Thomas, and the President. Dr. Tylor replied. A vote of thanks was proposed to
Dr. Tylor, and to the author of the paper, and was carried unanimously.
Meeting, December llth, 1900. — Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President,
the Chair. The Minutes of the previous Meeting were read and confirmed.
The election of the following Fellows was announced : — Messrs. A. W. Withers,
21, Lichfield Road, Kew Gardens, and V. F. Bryce, 4-7, Duke Street, St. James's.
( 120)
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and 'Miscellanea. [No. 124.
The Secretary read a list of the books presented to the library since the last
Meeting of the Institute.
On behalf of Dr. R. W. Felkin, the President exhibited and described a number
of weapons from the south-west side of Lake Tanganyika.
Mr. J. W. Crowfoot, M.A., read his paper on " Survivals among the Kappadokian
Kizilbash (Bektash)," which was illustrated by lantern slides, and is printed in
the current volume of this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 305). The paper was discussed by Sir
Charles Wilson, Sir Thomas Holdich, Dr. Garson, and Mr. Gomme. The President pro-
posed a vote of thanks to Mr. Crowfoot for his paper, which was carried unanimously.
Switzerland : Physical Anthropology. Pittard.
£tude de diccrscs series de cranes anciens de la vallee du Rhone (Valuta.) Eugene,
Pittr.rd, Neuchatel, 1899.
This monograph is one of a long series which is rendering our knowledge of Swiss
craniology both extensive and peculiar. Although racial admixture has occurred in
Switzerland as elsewhere in Central and Western Europe, records are preserved in the
ossuaries of the mountain valleys in a state of purity unequalled in other countries.
M. Pittard has studied 422 skulls from various villages in the upper Rhone valley,
constituting one of the most extensive series available up to the present time. The
author divides his monograph into two parts, the first containing observations of an
ethnological character, the second those having a more special bearing on
comparative anatomy. The skulls naturally divide themselves into two series, a
brachycephalic with characters attaching them to the Celto-Ligurian type, and a
dolichocephalic of Kymric or Germanic affinities, crania of intermediate characters
being of course also found.
At first sight it seems tempting to suppose that an original brachycephalic
population of Rhretic Celts was invaded by a dolichocephalic people, the Burgundians,
Alemanni, or Franks, as occurred in the Rhine valley, but M. Pittard carefully points
out that it is not possible to say at present what is the origin of the dolichocephals
found mixed with the larger number of brachycephals, nor even which of the two were
the first occupants of the Rhone valley.
The following are the author's conclusions : —
1 . The ancient skulls of the Rhone valley are for the most part brachycephalic,
leptoprosopic, rnesorrhine, and megaseme.
2. By all their characters they are to be assigned to the Celtic type,
o. They have given to this district its present ethnic type.
4. The brachycephalic skulls have a longer face, larger subcerebral angle,
and smaller parietal and occipital regions than the dolichocephalic skulls
found in this district.
5. The weight, cranial capacity, diameters, curves, and auricular angles are
absolutely greater in male than female skulls.
6. Relatively the female skulls have a larger capacity than the male. The
female skulls are relatively larger in the frontal and occipital regions, the
male in the parietal regions.
Full details are given in the text of the measurements and characters of all the
skulls described, and full references are given to similar observations on the crania of
other races. J- S.
( 121 )
No. 125.]
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
[1900.
Africa : Livingstone. Roy. Geogr. Soc.
A Memorial to Dr. Livingstone : abstract of a communication printed in the
Geographical Journal, xv, pp. 636-9 (Jane, 1900).
An interesting relic of the great African explorer has recently come into the
possession of the Royal Geographical Society, by whose courteous permission the
photograph which is appended is reproduced. The tree at the foot of which Living-
stone's heart was buried by his faithful native followers in 1873, was found not long
ago by Mr. Weatherly to be in a precarious condition ; and the Royal Geographical
Society at once took steps to secure the removal of the section of the tree which bears
the commemorative inscription, for safe keeping in this country. Through the good
offices of Mr. Alfred Sharpe, the British Commissioner in Nyasaland, and of Mr.
Robert Codrington, the representative of the British South Africa Company in the
Bangweulu region, the section of the tree has been transported to England, and is now
to be seen in the house of the Royal Geographical Society. The inscription runs as
follows : —
"David Livingstone. Died May 4, 1873. Chunia. Souza. Mniasere.
Uchopere."
Subsequently the spot where the tree stood has been marked by an obelisk of
concrete, twenty feet high, surmounted by a ci'oss, and adorned on its four faces with
commemorative inscriptions. Representations of this monument, and of the tree
before it was cut down, will be found in the Geographical Journal on p. 636 and p. 638
respectively. J. L. M.
( 122 )
1900.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [Nos. 126-127.
Tasmania. Ling Roth.
Tlir Ah'in'tjincs of Tasmania. By H. Ling Roth; assisted by Marion
Butler and Jas. Backhouse Walker, with a chapter on the Osteology by J. G.
Garson, M.D. Preface by E. B. Tylor, D.C.L., F.K.S. Halifax: King and Sous,
1899. Second edition, revised and enlarged, with map. 8vo. pp. XIX, 228, CIII.
Trice 21s. nett.
Mr. Ling Roth has made good use of the time that has elapsed since the
appearance of the first edition of the Aborigines of Tasmania. The work has not only
grown considerably but has also been subjected to a thorough-going1 revision. Among
the additions are a map, two new vocabularies, and an alphabetical Tasmanian
dictionary to the vocabularies, which greatly increases their value. In the first
edition Bonwick's work was virtually ignored. Bonwick seems to have printed
a good deal of material without making sure that it referred to the Tasmanians.
Mr. Ling Roth now deals with Bonwick's statements seriatim, and shows that we
have reason for mistrusting what he tells us. Increased knowledge has caused Mr.
Ling Roth to mistrust some of his own earlier information ; as a result he has
withdrawn two illustrations of basket-work which he now believes to be of Australian
origin. In view of the attention which has been given to the subject of late the
chapter on stone implements is of special interest. It seems clear that ground
stone implements were known to the Tasmanians ; why they adhered to the ruder form
is not clear; if it was from a disinclination to expend much time on the preparation of
them we may also infer that the forms which they did use were not highly specialised,
and that an elaborate classification of specimens rests on an unsafe foundation.
If there is one point on which we should be disposed to quarrel with Mr. Ling
Roth it is the size of the index. It is really an excess of modesty to give only four
pages to index a book of this size and character. In other respects the book is excel-
lently got up. We have observed one misprint that has been passed over; p. 182, line
3, for affirmity read affinity. N. W. T.
Physical Anthropology. Stratz.
Die Schonheit des weiblichen Korpers. By Dr. C. H. Stratz. Achte Auflage.
Stuttgart, 1900. 8vo. pp. xii, 268.
This little book, which is admirably got up and illustrated, is dedicated by its
author to mothers, doctors, and artists — to mothers because it professes to show the
ill effects of tight lacing ; to doctors because some of the effects of disease on the
human figure are depicted in it. In selecting examples for illustration the author has
used great artistic judgment; disease, in this country at any rate, does not often leave
its victims with their beauty so little impaired. The dedication to artists is of course
natural, the greater part of the book being taken up with photographs from nature of
celebrated models of varying nationality posing in artistic attitudes, each being
supplemented by a canon of proportion based on the figure represented. The body as
a whole and its component members receive individual and detailed consideration in
the text, which contains much valuable information as to the canons adopted at
different times by all well recognised schools of art. On the whole, as the author seeks
after the ideal rather than the average, the book should be of greater use to the artist
than to the anthropologist. F. C. S.
( 123 )
Nos. 128-130.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Celebes : Ethnography. Dresden Museum.
A Q Q Publicationen aus dem Jc. Ethnographischcn Miiseum zu Dresden: XII, W. Foys
' ™ " Schwerter von der Celebes See. Dresden, 1899. fol. pp. iv, 17, with 6 plates.
Dr. Meyer may well be proud of the series of monographs published under his
direction. The gratitude he has earned is, at any rate in England, not wholly
unmixed with envy at his happy lot. English officialdom, so far as it condescends to
recognise ethnography at all, regards it as an inconvenient appendage to the British
Museum, not on any account to be encouraged. And as for encouraging inquiries
into such frivolous subjects as the mental constitution of the peoples it is called upon
to rule, the very idea is enough to freeze the blood of the average civil servant. Other
countries are more enlightened. They support Bureaus and Museums for the
systematic study of mankind ; they encourage those who come in contact with native
races to record all that comes to their ken ; and in Germany more than one officer in
the navy has received a course of instruction in Anthropology to fit him to do his
work of observation thoroughly when his opportunity comes. England hardly knows
how mediaeval it is. We can hardly hope for an enlightened government, but our
national pride might forbid that other nations should be permitted, with infinitely
inferior opportunities and resources, to outstrip us and put us to shame. We can
only hope that the day will soon come when Dr. Meyer's handsome series will be
permitted to have a rival in English official publications. N. W. T.
Ethnography. Dresden Museum.
A QftAbhandlungen und Berichts des k. Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Ethno-
* ~* ^ graphischen Museums zu Dresden, Festschrift, 1899, No. 3. Zur Timor Orna-
mentiJc, von "W. Foy und 0. Richter. 4° pp. 14, with 38 blocks in the text. No. 5.
Die Folks- Stamme Neupommerns, von R. Parkinson. 4° pp. 14, and one plate.
The first of these contributions is a discussion of a single element in the orna-
mentation of Indonesian peoples — a continuous pattern found on bamboo boxes in
Timor, of which the Dresden Museum possesses a large and valuable series. No work
more useful or necessary can be imagined than the production of monographs of this
nature, distinguished as they are by thoroughness and sane judgment. The author
believes that the basis of the pattern is the widely distributed lizard ornament ; they
recognise that further enquiry is necessary in two directions, firstly as to the occur-
rence of this pattern on other objects and secondly of the meaning and types of Timor
ornament in general.
Mr. Parkinson explains the racial relations of the tribes of Neu-Pommern. He
distinguishes two tribes in the Gazelle peninsula ; one of these is also found in New
Mecklenburgh, the remaining tribes of the islands are related to their New Guinea
neighbours. Mr. Foy, who has since published some of the ethnographical material in
the Publicationen (vol. xiii) of the museum, discusses in a note the bearing of
Mr. Parkinson's information on views put forward by other writers. The plate is as
usual excellent. N. W. T.
Canada, Bourinot — Rimmer.
Canada tinder British Rule, 1760-1900. By Sir John G, Bourinot, K.C.M.G.,
L.D., Litt.D. Cambridge Historical Series. 8vo. pp. xii, 346. 8 maps.
Price 6s.
Memorandum on the Legal Status of British North American Indians. Colonial
Reports. Miscellaneous, No. 15. pp. 22. Price l|rf.
After an inti'oductory chapter on the French regime, lasting from 1534 to 1760, Sir
124 )
1900.] Anthropological -Repines and Miscdlam-n. [No. 130.
Jolm Bonrinot, whose high competence to deal with the subject is universally admitted,
traces in a wonderfully interesting manner the beginning of British rule from the
foundation of Nova Scotia to the passing of the Quebec Act, the effects of the American
Revolution and the action of the United Empire Loyalists, the gradual development of
representative institutions up to the breaking out of the war between Great Britain and
the United States in 1812, the evolution of responsible government in the quarter of a
century which followed, and the new era of colonial government which set in during
the first thirty years of the Victorian Era. He then describes the evolution of
confederation from its first proposal by Chief Justice Smith, of Quebec, in 1789, to its
successful accomplishment in 1867, and the progress of the Dominion of Canada to
the present time, concluding with a view of Canada's relations with the United States,
and her influence in Imperial councils since the separation of those States from the
mother country. Two useful appendices supply a comparison in parallel columns
of the constitution of tbe Dominion of Canada with that of the Commonwealth of
Australia, and some bibliographical notes on the most accurate and available books
and essays on the history of Canada. We must dissent entirely from one passage, in
which Sir John Bourinofc allows himself to speak of " Tom Paine, a mere adventurer."
He cannot have read the life of that remarkable man, with all the evidence of his
self-sacrificing character and far-seeing judgment accumulated by Dr. Moncure
Conway, when he referred to Thomas Paine in these terms. There is little of direct
anthropological interest in the volume, but it contains many incidental notices of the
native tribes that are worthy of consideration.
Tbe Imperial House of Commons having asked for information in regard to the
disabilities and restrictions imposed upon British Indians in Canada, Lord Minto
referred the matter to a Committee of his Privy Council, who instructed the Superin-
tendent-General of Indian Affairs to prepare the information desired. He furnished in
answer a memorandum drawn up by Mr. Richard Ritnmer, the Law Clerk of the Depart-
ment. From this it appears that in the province of Ontario 20,000 Indians hold not
less than 1,144,000 acres of land; in Manitoba and the North- West Territories 21,000
Indians have 3,080,000 acres ; in British Columbia 25,000 Indians have 714,000 acres ;
in Quebec 11,000 Indians have 215,000 acres, and elsewhere in the Dominion 33,000
Indians have 93,000 acres, making a total for the whole Dominion of 100,000 Indians
and 5,240,000 acres of land. A portion of these reserves in Ontario, extending over
675,000 acres, was appropriated in 1784 by the Crown to the Confederacy of the Six
Nations in recognition of their loyalty during the American War. The law in relation
to Indians is contained in the Revised Statutes of 1886, cap. 43, and has since been
several times amended. It contains provisions by which an Indian and his unmarried
minor children may be " enfranchised, and cease in every respect to be Indians of any
class within the meaning of the Act, or Indians within the meaning of any other Act
or law." By sect. 114, the celebration of certain festivals, dances, or ceremonies
whereat presents are made, or human or animal bodies are mutilated, is made an
indictable offence. By the Criminal Code, everyone who steals or unlawfully injures
or removes any image, bone, article or thing deposited in or near any Indian grave is
guilty of an offence. There is no statutory provision against an Indian as such being
elected or sitting and voting as a member of Parliament. Indians enjoy certain
exemptions from the game laws. E. W. B.
( 125)
No. 131.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
Museums: Leiden. Schmeltz.
Rifts Ethnographisch Museum te Leiden : Verslag van de Directeur, etc,
s'G-ravenhage, 1899. (Director's Reports (a) Jan. Ist-Sept. 30tb, 1898; (t)
Oct. 1st, 1898-Sept. 30th, 1899.) pp. 34. 8vo. Frontispiece and Plates. Presented
by the Author.
These Reports contain a full descriptive list of acquisitions for the period which
they cover, arranged in geographical order ; together with a summary of the adminis-
trative work of the year.
The first Report, for the period Jan. 1897 to Sept. 1898, is accompanied by sixteen
photographic plates, repesenting the following objects, numbered successively and
described in the text : — Java — (1) Wajang dolls, of plaited grass, (2) a sm'/t-shears of
damascened iron with geometrical ornament in silver wire. Bali — (3) kris, with
human hair covering on the handle. Dammar Islands — (4) wooden figure of a goddess,
on carved background. Tenamber Islands — (5) woman's hair-comb, with carved
ornamentation. Japan — (6) votive model of a house, with furniture, etc., (7) temple
ornaments. (8) temple frieze, representing (8) dragons among clouds, (9) musical instru-
ments among clouds. China — (10) model gate of honour. Tibet — (11) mask of the
king-devil, (12) bronze figure of the founder of Lamaism, (13) figure of Avalokita, (14)
Bhairava lamp. Congo State — (15) tobacco pipe in form of an animal, (16) wooden cup
carved as a human head. Benin — (17) carved elephant's tusk, (18) bronze cock very
finely modelled, (19, 21, 22) bronze sockets for elephants' tusks, in the shape of human
heads, (20) bronze plaque with figure of an armed man, rosettes in background,
(23, 23a) two-pronged butt-pieces and ornamental points of spears, perhaps from Benin,
but not certainly. Gtiatemala — (24) waist-cloth, embroidered with figures of men and
animals. British New Guinea — (25) wooden dance-shield with grotesquely conventional
human figure. Admiralty Islands — (26) gourd lime-box, (27, 28) carved handle-ends of
wooden spatulse, (29, 30) combs of various patterns, (31) wooden bowl, (32, 33) long-
handled ladles of cocoanut, (34) obsidian knives, (35) thrusting weapon carved with
human figures with double point of ^V/g'cm-spines. Masks (38, 40) from New Hanover
(36), New Ireland (37), house-carving, Kaan Island (38), Sir Charles Hardy Island
(39), and Solomon Islands (40) ; from the Solomon Islands come also (41, 42) prow
ornaments, (43) fetish figure, and (44) specimen of carving, a grotesque human figure,
like those on the paddles.
In the second Report, the frontispiece, representing Mus. Ethn. Lugd. Bat. (Inv.
417/82.101.102), is not described. Plate I represents a winged dragon-figure of wood,
coloured red and gilded, from Bali (Inv. 1216). Plate II shows (1) a ceremonial axe
with " anchor shaped " blade of ground stone, lashed to a short handle from Brazil
(Inv. 1184/1, see p. 14, and 2-3), two rude children's dolls made of clay, hair, and
wood, with long club-like bodies, knob-heads with round eyes inlaid, and voluminous
mop of hair, from East Africa (Inv. 1198/16-17 : see p. 10-11). Plate III represents
(1) a large wooden bii'd with outspread wings, the upper side ornamented with seeds
and feathers set in pitch ; said to be used as a head-dress in a dance, from the south
coast of Dutch New Guinea (Inv. 1222/3, see p. 15) ; (2) a bamboo vessel for palm
wine with a cover in the shape of a bird's head, of which the beak forms the spout ;
from Lombok (Inv. 1208/1, see p. 6) ; (3) another wooden bird like PI. Ill, 1, given in
1896 by Baron van Hoevell as a " prow ornament," but probably, like III, 1, a
dancing head-dress (see p. 16, and Int. Arch.f. Ethn., X 18), from Torres Straits.
J. L. M.
( 126 )
1900.] Anthropological /.'/v/V/rx and Mixrcllanra. [Nos. 132-133.
Abyssinia. Wylde.
Modern Abyssinia. By Augustus B. Wylde. London, Methuen, 1901.
pp. 506, with map. Price 15$. nett.
This is a book which contains a great deal of information, but unfortunately very
little of it bears directly on anthropology. The author has been for a quarter of a
century more or less associated with the country about which he writes, and as
vice-consul for the Red Sea was in an advantageous position for the collection of
information. He seerns, however, like too many others, to have regarded the mental
life of the races with whom he has come in contact as a thing of no interest; he
positively apologises for having found superstitious stones amusing, and tells us he
regards superstitious persons as unreliable and pai'tly insane. However admirable
this attitude may be a priori, a strong-minded person of this type is hardly likely to
bring home valuable material for the student of comparative religion. It must not
be imagined, however, that Mr. Wylde's opinions are an outcome of mere vulgar
prejudice ; his remarks on missionaries and the native clergy are enough to clear him
of any suspicion of insular pride.
Of anthropological matter there is, as has been said, but little. We learn that
among the YVjju no one is thought to have arrived at man's estate who has not
killed a human being, and until he has done so a man may neither braid his hair nor
wear ornaments nor enter into the married state. There is some interesting
information also about the Axum ruins, where coins and bronze figurines seem to be
waiting for some one to pick them up. Mr. Wylde's notes and measurements of the
monoliths and sculptures were unfortunately lost ; he has, therefore, little to say on
the subject. He suggests that the object figured in Layard's Nineveh, i, 125, described
as a fircone is really a trungie or shaddock. Scattered about the book are a number
of notes on the physical features of the various peoples of the country. The general
reader will find the book full of interesting information and eminently readable.
N. W. T.
Civilisation. Cunningham.
An Essay on Western Civilisation in its Economic Aspects. Mediccral and 4OO
Modern Times. By W. Cunningham, D.D. Cambridge Historical Series. 1«^O
pp. xii, 300. 3 maps. Price 4s. 6d.
This volume is a sequel to one dealing with the same subject in ancient times,
comprises books 4, 5, and 6 of the complete work with an introduction, and begins
with art. 71. Though it deals with a subject that possesses great interest for the
anthropologist, it is not treated upon an anthropological method. The author gives
little weight to the evidence of continuity in human affairs, which appears to
anthropologists to be the real key to the problems of the history of mankind. We
believe that nothing happens in history or in economics without a definite cause or
that is not led up to by a long chain of circumstances gradually preparing the way for
it. Nature produces no sudden original outbursts of new discovery. We do not,
therefore, follow the author in his inference that the establishment of the Roman
obedience in ecclesiastical affairs introduced new ideals into economics ; nor that the
Reformation of religion was in any sense a reversal of those ideals. So far as it had
any relation with economics at all, it cannot be doubted that the Roman obedience
exacted far too high a price for any supposititious benefits it conferred; and the
Reformation, so far as it was economic, was a refusal to pay that price. Dr.
Cunningham, who is Vicar of Great St. Mary's, appears to use the word " Christendom "
as a synonym for the Roman obedience. He affects to look back with regret to the time
( 127)
No. 134.] Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. [1900.
when the secular business of government was mainly in the hands of clerical
functionaries, and says, oddly enough, "This attempt to control the life of man in all
its aspects is of the very essence of the Christian religion. Homo sum, et nihil Jiumani
Q, me alienumputo, is the Divine Word to the world." It is certainly amusing to find
the line that brought down the house in a comedy of Terence represented as being a
" Divine Word," and used as a justification for a method of priestly government that
no age and no people has ever yet found tolerable.
When Dr. Cunningham's work is viewed apart from his strange ecclesiastical
proclivities, it is in all respects admirable. In Book VI, which deals mainly with the
industrial progress of the last century, he is on firm ground. He there states briefly
but clearly the conclusions which are developed at length in his excellent book on the
growth of English industry. The work also embodies the substance of lectures
delivered by him at Harvard University in 1899.
Switzerland: Physical Anthropology. Schiirch.
mNeue Beitrdge zur Antliropologie der Schweiz. Dr. Phil. Otto Schiirch. Berne.
Schmid und Francke. 1900.
The materials on which this book has been based are to be found in the museums
and ossuaries of Central Switzerland, whence so much information with regard to the
past history of Europe has been from time to time derived and published in such series
of essays as these of Dr. Schiirch. The author divides his monograph into five
sections, each part being distinct in itself, yet in close association with the remainder.
The first section deals with modern skulls of Central Switzerland obtained from
Berne, Hasle, Altdorf, and neighbouring burial-grounds. In this evidence is pro-
duced that 85 per cent, of the modern Swiss are brachycephalic and only 2 per cent,
or less dolichocephalic ; similarly 80 to 90 per cent, are leptoprosopic and only
10 to 15 per cent, chamseprosopic. The second section deals with the correlation of
the different facial indices proportions as met with in the successive historic eras
and among the varied ethnic elements of the district studied by the author. The
third section, on the proportions and relations of the alveoli and teeth in prehistoric
and recent skulls, contains much matter of general anatomical as well as anthropo-
logical interest, the jaws and teeth of all races being dealt with on a comparative
basis. The next part, on the wearing down of the teeth both in prehistoric and modern
times, is of great importance from both pathological and sociological standpoints in
view of questions as to liability to disease and the effects of a varied dietary on the
teeth. In the fifth section certain prehistoric skulls and lower jaws are described in
detail with full measurements and excellent photographic reproductions, many being
of the natural size. F. C. S.
( 128 )
INDEX.
NOTE. — The numbers in ordinary type refer to the papers ; the numbers in Clarendon
type are the reference numbers of Miscellanea, For collected references, see especially
Africa, America, Arcliceology, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Physical Anthropology, Religion,
Sociology, Technology.
A.
Aberdeen, East, Physical Characteristics,
104ff.
Abnormalities, Crani.il, 141.
Accessions to Museums, 14ff.
Adalia, Figurine from, 251ff.
Adams. Western Rajputana States
(rev.), 63.
Adoption, 76.
Adults in E. Aberdeen, Physical Charac-
teristics, 104ff.
^Egean Ware, 202.
Affinities, Racial, of Aberdeen, 122.
AFRICA —
Abyssinia, Modern (rev.), 132.
Algeria. Exhibition of Algerian and
Kabyle objects, 16.
Algerians, Modern, and Ancient
Egyptians, 100.
Bantu Languages. Grundriss einer
Lautlehre der Bantu Sprachen
(rev.), 26.
Central Africa. In Dwarf Land and
Cannibal Country (rev.), 28; North-
ern Nyasaland (rev.), 27.
East Africa. Bertas, Arms of, 52 ;
Cheloids of, 52 ; Clothing of, 52 ;
Currency, 54; Dwellings of, 53;
Notes on the, 50ff ; Physical Char-
acters of, 51.
Galla, Notes on the, 50ff. Cloth-
ing of, 50 ; Gold washing among,
51 ; Hair-dressing of, 50 ; Huts
of, 50.
Vumba, History of, 275ff.
Egypt, Ancient, Writing in, 153ff, 18 ;
Anthropometrical Work in, 95ff ;
Carved Slate, 23 ; the Carved Slates
from Hierakonpolis, 22 ; Collection
of Stone Implements in. the Mayer
Museum, 21 ; and Cyprus, Relations
between, 207 ; Die Flexion des
aegyptischen Verburns, 19 ; Flint
Bracelets, Plate A ; the Life of
Rekhmara (rev.), 24 ; Perforate
Humeri, 20 ; Prehistoric Period
in, 100 ; Redemption of Egypt
(rev.), 25. v. also Nagada,
Punt.
Livingstone, Memorial to, 125.
Morocco, Ginn and Fairies, 17.
South Africa. The Boer States :
Land and People (rev.), 29; On the
Imperfection of our Knowledge of
the Black Races, 30; Knysna,
Notes on Caves near, 45.
West Africa. Jukos, Ligori, Wuruku,
and Tangale, 31.
Agricultural Labourers, Pigmentation of,
in Aberdeen, 110.
Agriculture of Galias, etc., 51, 53.
Algerian Collection, Maclver, D. R.,
16.
129, ) 9
Algerians, Modern, and Ancient Egyp-
tians, 100.
Alphabet. The Story of the Alphabet
(rev.), 33.
Alphabetic Signs, Origin of, 154.
Altar-stone in Stone Circles, 67, 69.
AMERICA —
Aboriginal Zootechny (rev.), 52.
Alaska. Property Marks of Alaskan
Eskimo, 56.
Amerind — a Designation for the
Aboriginal Tribes, 51.
Canada. Report of the Ethnographic
Survey Committee, 55 ; Under
British rule (rev.), 130; Status of
Indians, 130.
Eskimo, Notes on, 139.
Nootka Sound. Extracts from the
Diary of Mi-. James Strange, 58.
N.W. Coast, Copper Shield from, 54.
Ontario. The Paganism of the Civi-
lised Iroquois, 53.
Vancouvei-. Floats for Alluring
Salmon, 57.
AMERICA (CENTRAL) —
Costa Rica. Besuch bei den Chirripd-
und Talamanca-Indianern (rev.), 59.
Mexico. The Cordillera of Mexico
and its Inhabitants (rev.), 60.
AMERICA (SOUTH) —
Colombia. Note on a Stone Figure,
61.
Amulets, 31, 64.
Ancestor Worship, 286, 31.
Animal, Sacred, 31.
Animal Superstitions, Questions on, 114.
Animism of the Iroquois, 265.
Anniversary Meeting, ] .
Anthi'opological Journal, Portuguese,
91.
Anthropological Lantern Slides. Regu-
lations, 11.
Anthropometrical Work in Egypt, 95 ff.
Anthropometry. Criminal, 161ff; Rivers,
Dr. W. H. R., 12; Abyssinian, 54;
Berta, 54 ; Galla, 54.
ARCHEOLOGY : v. jEgean, Altar-stone,
Armour, Art, British Museum, Bronze,
Chariots, Clay ware, Cup markings,
Cyprus, Figurine, Hierakonpolis, Iron,
Oak, Owl-faced, Pillars, Scandinavia,
Stone Circles, Swords, etc.
Archaeology. Assam, 65.
Armitage, Mrs., Yorkshire Earthworks,
82.
Armour, Cypriote, 213.
Arms and Weapons, Berta, 53 ; Cypriote,
218; Scandinavian, 90.
Arrow Heads from Knysna Cave, 47.
Art, Cypriote, 199 ; Evolution in, 18 ;
Earrings, 315; Maori, 41 ; Japanese,
68 ; Ornamentation, 251ff.
Arts of Life. Aboriginal Anjerican
Zootechny, 52 ; Borneo, 73 ; Juko,
etc., 31. v. Technology.
ASIA —
Adalia, Figurine from, 251ff.
Ainu Inao, 69.
Assam. Archaaology, 65 ; Lushai
Names, 66.
Assyrian Scenes on Cypriote Objects,
210.
Bektash, 305ff.
Borneo. Animal Cults, 70; Ethno-
graphy, 72; Stone Age, 71; Tex-
tiles, 73.
Burma. Hkoung beht set, 64.
Celebes, Swords, 128.
Cyprus, Mycenean, 199ff ; Biblio-
graphy, 62.
India. Raj pu tana States. 63.
Japan. Sacred Trees, 43; -Art, 68;
Religion, 69.
Kappadokia, Kizilbash of, 305ff.
Lushai, 66, 67.
Malacca, 74-78.
New Pomerania, Tribes, 129.
Timor Ornamentik, 129.
Assembly, National, Place of, 30.
Aston. Japanese Gohei, 69.
AUSTRALASIA (see OCEANIA).
Axes, Stone, from Pitcairn Island, 83ff.
B.
Balance Sheet, 3.
Balfour, H., on Tasmanian Stone Imple-
ments, 259.
Baltic Thunder-God, 26 ; Tree-sanctuary,
31.
( 130)
Mauiiiaim, Oacar, 15.
Beddoe, J. Anthropology of W. Yorks,
83 ; Vagaries of Kephalic Index, 93.
Hull, A. M. Palreoliths, 80.
Bertillon System, 165.
Bibliography of Cyprus, 62.
Binet, A. Psychology of Reasoning
(rev.), 106.
Biro. Boschreibender Catalog der Ethno-
graphischen Sammlung (rev.), 44.
Black Ware, 255.
Boas, F. Property Marks of Alaskan
Eskimo, 56.
Bone Implement from Knysua Cave, 47.
Bornholm, 87.
Boulton, W. B. Amusements of Old
London (rev.), 113.
Bourinot. Canada under British rule
(rev.), 130.
Boyle, D. Paganism of Civilised
Iroqnois, 263ff.
Bracelets, Flint, from Egypt, Plate A.
Brigham. Hawaiian Featherwork, 118 ;
Museum Report, 119.
British Association, Ethnographic Sui'-
vey, 55.
British Museum Excavations in Cyprus,
199ff.
British New Guinea, Stone Clubs of,
22iff.
Birnze Age in Cyprus, 219.
Bronze and Iron Ages, Order of Suc-
cession, 16.
Bronze Foundry at Enkoini, 215.
Bronze Pins, Cypriote, 203.
Bronze Vessels, etc., in Scandinavia, 89.
Brown, J. Allen. Stone Implements
from Pitcairn Island, 83ff.
Burial Customs, 85, 31, 59, 74.
Buschan, G. Bornholm (rcc.), 87.
C.
Cairn Custom, 44.
Cannibalism, Tan gale, etc., 31; Nootka,
58.
Canoe Head, Maori, in British Museum,
40.
(.'apacity, Cranial, of Mori-ori, 144.
Cave a.s Sanctuary, 40.
Cavu Dwellers, South African, 46tt'.
Chadwick, H. M. Oak and Thunder-
God, 22.
Characters, Craniological, of Eskimo,
132ff.
Chariots, Types of, 210.
Chatham Islands (v. Mori-ori).
Cheloids among Bertas, 52.
Chief's Dwelling and Temple, 30.
Child, Nervous System of, 107.
Child Study, Abnormalities, 99.
Children, Crania of Eskimo, 134; Ex-
perimental Study of, 108.
Chirripo- und Talamanca-Iudianern von
Costarica (rev.), 59.
Chisels, Stone, 85.
Civilisation, Western (rev.), 133.
Classification of Cards (Metric System),
165.
Classification of Stone Circles, 69, 70.
Clava Cairn (fig.), 64.
Clay Ware, 255.
Clodd, E. The Story of the Alphabet,
33.
Clothing of Bertas, 52.
Clothing of the Gallas, 50.
Clothing, Tangale, 31.
Clubs, Stone, 85.
Cobharn. Bibliography of Cyprus (rev.),
62.
Coptic Script, 157.
Corfu, 88.
Correction, 42.
Council, Report of, 4.
Cradle, 318.
Cranial Markings, 94.
Craniology, Eskimo, 125.
Craniology of Mori-ori, 141ff.
Crichton-Browne, Sir J. On Metric
Systems, 196.
Criminals, Metric System of Identifica-
tion, 161ff.
Cross references, Physical Anthropology,
103; Folklore,- 115.
Crowfoot, J. W. Kappadokian Kizil-
bash, 305ff.
Cunningham, D. J. Microcephaly, 100 ;
Sacral Index, 95.
Cunningham, W. Western Civilisation
(reo.), 133.
( 131 )
Index.
Cup-markings and Stone Circles, 65.
Currency of Bertas, 54.
Cyprus, Mycenean, 199ff.
D.
Dalton, 0. M. Note on a Copper Shield,
54 ; Note on a Stone Figure from
Colombia, 61.
Dances, Iroquois, 267 ; Nootka, 58.
I)e Claparede. Corfu (rev.), 88.
Demotic Script, 157.
Deniker, J. Races of Man (rev.'), 98.
Descent in Male Line, 80.
Descent of Man, 97.
Description of Prisoners, 171.
Determinatives, Egyptian, 155.
Diagrammatic Representation of Indices,
96 ; Plates XI1I-XVI.
Disease, 74 ; Magic against, 74.
Divination, 307 ; 31.
Diwan, Election of, in Vurnba, 278ff.
Dixon, A. F. Cranial Markings, 94.
Dodona, Sanctuary of, 36.
Donar, 25.
Draught-box, Cypriote, 210ff.
Drinking Custom, 315.
Druids, 34.
Duckworth, W. L. H. Crania of Mori-
ori, 141ff ; Contribution to Eskimo
Craniology, 125ff ; on Crania Collected
in Rotuma, 46; Malay Somatology,
75.
Dwellings of Bertas, 53.
Dwellings of Gallas, 50.
E.
Ear-rings, 315.
Eclipses, 111.
Edge-Partington, J. Correction, 42 ;
Feather-Mats in the British Museum,
47 ; Floats for Alluring Salmon, 57;
Genesis of the Maori Scroll-Pattern,
41 ; Note on a Pataka in the Auckland
Museum, Note on a Carved Canoe-
Head in the British Museum, 40 ;
Object of Unknown Use from the
Solomon Islands, 45 ; Shell Adze
from Ambrym Island, 49 ; Note on a
Wommera, 35.
Egyptian Language, Origin of, 158.
Egyptians, Prehistoric, Origin of, 99.
Elworthy, F. T. Horns of Honour (rev.).
109.
Endogamy, 313.
England. Amusements of Old London
(rev.), 113.
Enkomi, Finds at, 202ff .
Erman, A. Die Flexion des aegyptischen
Verbums (rev.), 19.
Errors in Identification, 163.
Ei-ror, Mean, in Metric System, 187.
Eskimo Craniology, 125ff.
Eskimo, Notes on Customs, etc., 139 ;
Teeth of, 134.
Ethnographic Survey Committee. Re-
port, 55.
Ethnography of Borneo, 72 ; of Malacca,
74 ; of New Pomeraiiia, 129 ; Races
of Man (rev.), 98.
EUROPE—
Aberdeen, Racial Elements in, 121.
Crete. Prehistoric, 89 ; System of
Writing, 90.
England. Palaeolithic, 80 ; Physical
Type, 83 ; Silchester Excavations
81 ; Yorkshire Earthworks, 82.
Germany. Folk Medicine, 86 ; Folk-
lore, 85.
Scotland. Somatology, 84, I04ff ;
Stone Circles of, 56ff.
Switzerland, Physical Anthropology,
124, 134.
V. also ^Egean, Bornholm, Clava,
Corfu, Dodona, Great Britain,
Lithuanian, Roman, Romove, Scan-
dinavia.
Evans, A. J. Cretan Script, 90 ; My-
cenean Cyprus, 199ff.
Exchange of Sisters, 79, 82.
Exogamy, 78.
Eyes, Standards of Colour, 106.
F.
Fairies, Ginn and, 17.
Feather-Mats, Notes on some in the
British Museum (Plates F, G), 47;
118.
( 132 )
Index.
I'Ylkin, K. W. O-u-ar Baumann, Pli.l.).,
Obituary, 15.
Fertility, 81.
Fibulae, Cypriote, 204.
Figurine, primitive, from Adalia, 25 Iff.
Finger-prints, IGlff; Classification of,
101 ; Method of Taking, 174 ; Roman,
102.
Fire, Kindling of Sacred, 37 ; Perpetual,
27 ; Sacred, 34.
Fishermen of Aberdeen, Pigmentation,
110.
Flints, Unclassified Worked, 299ff.
Flower, Sir W., Tribute to the Late, 18.
Folklore, 113; Animal Superstitions,
110; Amusements of Old London,
113 ; Germany, 85 ; Horns of Honour,
109. v. also Religion.
Folk Medicine, Germany, 86.
Foramen Magnum, 133.
Forbes, Dr. H. 0. Collection of Stone
Implements made by Mr. H. W.
Seton-Karr, 21.
Forged Stone Clubs, 243.
Form, Metric (fig.), 168.
Fortification, 31.
Footer, Sir M. Physiology (rev.), 96.
Foy, W. Schwerter von der Celebes See
(rev.), 128 ; Zur Timor ornamentik
(rev.), 129.
Frazer, J. G. Criticisms of Views on
Oak-God, 38ff.
Frequency Curve, 186.
Future Life, Iroquois Idea of, 271.
Fysh. Tasmania: Primitive, Present,
and Future, 38.
Or.
Galton, F. On Metric System, 195.
Garsia, Colonel. On Metric System,
194.
(! arson, J. G. Finger-prints, 101;
Metric System of Identification, 161 ff;
On Tasmanian Stone Implements, 261.
Genealogical Method of Collecting Statis-
tics, 74ff.
Germans, Thunder- God of, 25.
Ginn and Fairies, 17.
God, Won! for. in Indo-grnnaiiir, o'.i.
Gold Ornaments, Cypriote, 205.
Gold-washing among Gallas, 51.
Gray, J. Physical Characteristics in E.
Aberdeen, 104; Somatology of W.
Aberdeen, 84.
Great Britain, Metric System of Identi-
fication in, 16 Iff.
Great Spirit, Iroquois Ideas on, 266.
Griffith, F. LI. System of Writing in
Ancient Egypt, 18, 153ff.
Groves, Sacred, 29, 31, 32.
Guardian Tree, 30.
Gurdon. Aswakrantfi (>'ec.), 65.
H.
Haddon, A. C. Ethnography of Borneo,
72 ; Stone Age in Boi-neo, 71 ; Stone
Clubs of British New Guinea, 221ff ;
Textile Patterns of Sea Dyaks, 73.
Haidar-es-Sultan, 307.
Hair-dressing of Gallas, 50.
Hair, Standard of Colour, 107 ; Red,
114.
Hare Superstition, 315.
Hartland, E. S. On the Black Races
of the Transvaal, 30.
Hartog, M. Interpolation in Memory,
104.
Hassan-dede, 308.
Head, Eskimo, form of, 127ff.
Head-hunting, Tangale, 31.
Height, Standing, in Aberdeen, 120 ; of
Mori-ori, 149.
Henderson, J. Northern Nyasaland, 27.
Hero-worship, 307, 313.
Hierakonpolis, Slates from, 22, Plate 1>.
Hieratic Script in Egypt, 157.
Hieroglyphs, 153ff.
Hittite Chariot (fig.), 211.
Hogarth, D. G. Prehistoric Crete, 89.
Hollis, A. C. Notes on History of
Vumba, 275ff.
Hose, C. Animal Cults of Sarawak,
70.
Howarth, 0. H. The Cordillera of
Mexico and its Inhabitants, 60.
Hunting, Tangale, 31.
( 133 ) 9-2
Index.
I.
Identification, Methods of, 162ff ; Metric
System of, 161ff.
Ideographic Writing, 154.
Idols, Many-headed, 33 ; Tree Steins as,
33 ; Colombian, 61 ; Juko, 31 ; Nootka,
58 ; Pitcairn Island, 85.
lies, G. Flame, Electricity, and the
Camera, 34.
Incest, 313.
Incised Pottery, 251.
Indices, in Aberdeen, 117 ; Correlations
of, in Aberdeen, 121 ; in Egypt, 99 ;
Cranial, of Eskimo, 126ff; Diagram-
matic Representation of, 96 ; female,
in Egypt, 99 ; of Kizilbash, 318; Nasal,
in Aberdeen, 118 ; in Egypt, 99 ; of
Mori-ori Skulls, 145ff ; Sacral, 95;
Vagaries of Cephalic, 93.
Inscriptions, Cypriote, 216.
Inspiration, 308.
Intermarrying Groups, 78.
Iron Age in Cyprus, 218.
Iron and Bronze Ages, Order of Suc-
cession, 16.
Italy and Scandinavia, Earliest Com-
munications, 89ff.
Ivory Carvings, Cypriote, 209.
J.
Janissaries, B09ff.
Japan, Sacred Trees in, 43.
Japanese Art (rev.}, 68.
Jiihling, J. Tiere in der Volksmedizin
(rev.), 86.
Juju, 31.
Jukos, Notes on the, 31.
Jupiter and the Oak, 35.
K.
Kappadokian Kizilbash, 30«iff.
Keane, A. H. The Boer States : Land
and People, 29.
Keltic Thunder-God, 26 ; Tree-Sanc-
tuary,, 33.
Kephalic Index, 93.
King, Assassination of, 31.
Kingsley, Mary. Obituary, 13 ; The
Proposed National Memorial to Mary
Kingsley, 14.
Kingsley Society, 14.
Kingston, H. D. R. Notes on Knysua
Caves, 45.
Kinship, 77ff.
Kists in Stone Circles, 57.
Kitchen Midden in S. Africa, 46 ; Tas-
manian, 257.
Kizilbash, 305ff.
Kneeling Position of Figurine, 252.
Knysna, Caves near, 45.
Koettlitz, R. Notes on the Galla, 50.
Kris, Malay, 77.
L.
Laidlaw, F. Malay Anthropology, 75.
Land Tenure, Juko, 31.
Lang, A. Ginn and Fairies, 17.
Langhus, 28, 30.
Language. Die Flexion des aegypti-
schen Verbums (rev.), 19 ; Bantu, 26 ;
Theory of Grammar, 79 ; Mangareva
Dictionary, 48 ; The Inter-relation of
Melanesian, Papuan and Polynesian,
50 ; Vocabulary, Nootka Sound, 58 ;
Prince William's Sound, 58.
Lantern Slides, regulations, 11.
Lasch, R. Die Finsternisse (rev.'), Ill;
Suicide (rev.), 112.
Legge, F. The Carved Slates from
Hierakonpolis, 22.
Lewis, A. L. The Stone Circles of
Scotland, 56ff.
Libyan Chief (fig.), 100.
Libyans, 100.
Lithuanian Cults, 27, 31, 34.
Livingstone, Dr., Memorial to, 125.
Ligori, 31.
Lloyd, A. B. In Dwarf Laud and
Cannibal Country, 28.
Local Exogamy, 78.
Louis, H. Malay Kris, 77.
Lushai Language, 67; Names. 66.
134 )
Index.
M.
Macalister, Professor A. Perforate
lluinci-i iu Ancient Egyptian Skele-
tons 20.
Macdonald, A. Experimental Study of
Children (rcc.), 108.
MacDougall, W. Animal Cults of Sara-
wak, 70.
Maclver, D. R. On Metric System,
194; Recent Anthropometrical Work
in Egypt, 95ff.
McGee, W. J. Amerind, 51.
Magic, Juko, 31 ; Malay, 74, 76.
Magousaioi, 314.
Malay Anthropology, 75 ; Ethnography,
74; Kris, 77; Magic, 76; Metal-
work, 78.
Male Line, Descent in, 80.
Males, Eskimo, Indices of, 129.
Maori Carvings, Plate E.
Maori Scroll Pattern, Genesis of, 41.
Marks on Body, Description of, 172 ;
Tribal, 52, 31.
Marriage Ceremony, in Vumba, 278 ;
Customs, Juko, 31; Kizilbash, 313;
Torres Straits, 78.
Mason, 0. T. Aboriginal American
Zootechny, 52.
Meetings of the Institute (v. Proceed-
ings).
Meinhof, C. Grundriss einer Lautlehre
der Bantu Spraclien, 26.
Metal-work, Malay, 78.
Metric Form (fig.), 168.
Metric System, Errors, 178 ; of Identifi-
cation, 161ff; Outfit, 175.
Microcephaly, 100.
Mimicry of Animals, 58.
Moir, J. P. On the Stone Implements
of the Natives of Tasmania, 36,
267ft
Montelius, Professor 0. Earliest Com-
munications between Italy and Scan-
dinavia, 89ff.
Mori-ori, Skeletal System of, 14 1 IV.
Morocco. Ginu and Fairies, 17.
Morris, C. Descent of Man (>-<i.).
97.
Mourning in Vitiuba, 280.
Museums, Accessions to, 14 IT, 131 ;
Auckland, Pataka in, 40; Bremen,
Maori, Carvings, 39. Publications :
Bcrnice Pauahi, 118, 119 ; Dresden,
128, 129 ; Hungarian, 44 ; Leiden,
68, 131.
Music, 58, 59.
Mycenean Cyprus, 199ff.
Myres, J. L. Figurine from Adalia.
251ff.
Mythology, Eclipses, 111.
N.
Nagada, Skull from (tig.), 100.
Names, Exchanging, 77.
Names not Pronounced, 75.
Names of Dead not Tabu. 80.
Nasal Index in Egypt, 99.
Nasal Indices in Aberdeen, 118.
Neolithic Implements, Tasmauian, 258.
Newberry, P. E. " The Life of Rekh-
mara," 24.
Nomenclature. Amerind, 51.
O.
Oak and Thunder-God, 22ff ; Why sacred,
41.
Obituary. Baumann, Oscar, 15 ; Mary
Kingsley, 13.
Object of Unknown Use from the Solo-
mon Islands, 45.
OCEANIA (AUSTRALASIA) —
Gambier Islands. Mangareva Diction-
ary, 48.
Hawaii. Note on some Feather-
Mats in the British Museum, 47;
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum,
Memoirs, Hawaiian Featherwork,
118 ; Report, 119.
Mori-ori, 141ff.
New Guinea. Beschreibender Catalog
der Ethnographisehen Sammluiig
Ludvvig Bird-s, 44 ; Classification
of Stone Clubs, 2:2 Iff.
Now Hebrides. Note on a Shell Adze
from Ambrym Island, 49,
New Pomerauia, Tribes, 129.
( 135 )
Index.
New Zealand. Correction, 42; Genesis
of the Maori Scroll-Pattern, 41 ;
Pataka in the Auckland Musenm,
Carved Canoe-Head in the British
Museum, 40 ; Schnitzereien der
Maori (rev.), 39.
North Queensland. Wommera, 35.
Pacific. Inter-relation of Melanesian,
Papuan and Polynesian Languages,
50.
Pitcairn Island. Sculptured Bocks,
87 ; Stone Images, 85 ; Stone
Implements from, 83ff ; Burial
Custom, 85.
Rotuma. On Crania collected by Mr.
J. Stanley Gardiner, 46.
Solomon Islands. Note on an Object
of Unknown Use, 45.
Tasmania. Stone Age, 37 ; Stone
Implements, 36, 257ff ; Tasmania :
Primitive, Present, and Future
(rev.}, 38 ; Aborigines of (rev.), 126.
Timor Group. Verslag eener reis in
de Timor-groep en Polynesia (rev.),
43.
Ontario, Iroquois of, 263ff.
Oracles, German, 36.
Ornaments, Bronze, in Scandinavia, 89.
Outeniqua District, Caves in, 45.
Owl-faced Figures, 252.
P.
Palasoliths, English, 80.
Parentage and Adoption, 70.
Pataka in the Auckland Museum, 40.
Pathological Variations in Mori-ori
Skulls, 142.
Pelvic Indices of Mori-ori, 149.
Perforate Humeri in Ancient Egyptian
Skeletons, 20..
Perkunas, 27, 32, 34.
Perkuno, 26.
Perun, 27.
Petrie, Professor W. M. Note on a
Carved Slate, 23.
Phonetic Elements in Wiittug, 154.
Phonograms, Egyptian, 155.
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 103; Abyssinia,
54 ; Berta, 54 ; Egypt, 95, 20 ; Eng-
land, 83 ; Eskimo^ 125ff; Galla, 154 ;
of Kizilbash, 317 ; Malay, 75 ; Mori-
ori, 141ff; Crania from Rotuma, 46;
Switzerland, 124, 134 ; W. Aberdeen,
84.
Cranial Abnormalities, 141 ; Develop-
ment, 92 ; Fertility, 81 ; Foramen
magnum, 133 ; Form of head, 127 ;
Microcephaly, 100 ; Obliteration of
Sutures, 132 ; Perforate Humeri, 20 ;
Pigmies, 75 ; Scaphoid Skulls, 132 ;
Schonheit des Weiblichen Korpers
(rev.), 127; Skin Marks, 117. (v. also
Anthropometry, Eyes, Finger Prints,
Index.)
Physical Characteristics in E. Aberdeen,
104ff ; of Berta, 51 ; of Wuruku, 31.
Physiology, 96.
Pigmentation in E. Aberdeen, 105.
Pigmies, 75.
Pillars, Sacred, 33, 37, 42.
Pine Tree, sacred in Japan (fig.), 43.
Pins, Cypriote, 203.
Pittard, Cranes anciens du Rhone (rev.),
124.
Planes, Magic, 74.
Pleiades and Agriculture, 294.
Polygamy, 79.
Pope-Hennessy, H. Notes on the Jukos,
etc., 31.
Portugalia (rev.), 91.
Pottery : Black ware, 255 ; Cypriote,
202; Incised, 251.
Prayers, Iroquois, 267.
Prehistoric Crete, 89.
Presidential Address, G.
Priest-king, 40.
Priests of Prussians, 32.
Proceedings of the Anthropological
Institute, January- June, 1900, 2,
120.
Progress of Invention. Flame, Elec-
tricity, and the Camera (rev.)} 34.
Property Marks of Alaskan Eskimo, 56.
Prussian Cults, 26, 31, 32.
Psychology. Interpolation in Memory,
104 ; of Reasoning, 106 ; Perception
of Force, 105.
Index.
Punctured Ornamentation, 252.
Punt, Man of (fig.), 101 ; People of, 101.
Purification Ceremony, 74.
B.
Rain, Ancestor Prayed to for, 286.
Kandiill-Maclver (v. Maclver).
Read, C. H. Correction, 42 ; on Tas-
mauian Stone Implements, 201 ;
Presidential Address, 6.
Red Hair in Aberdeen, 114.
Regulations for the Use of Lantern
Slides, 11.
Reklitnara, Life of O'er.), 24.
Religion. Animal Cults, 70 ; Japanese
Gohei, 69 ; of the Iroquois, 53 ; West
African, 31.
RELIGION, Folklore and Magic, r. Altai-
Stone, Amulet, Animal, Burial, Cairn,
Cave, Divination, Dodona, Donar,
Eclipses, Eskimo, Fairies, Fire, Folk-
lore, Future Life, God, Great Spirit,
Groves, Hare, Hero, Idols, Inspiration,
King, Magic, Mourning, Names, Oak,
Oracles, Pine, Plant, Priest, Purifica-
tion, Bain, Roman, Remove, Sacrifice,
Sacrosanctity, Sky Deity, Suicide,
Tabu, Temple, Thunder-god, Village,
Well, White Dog, Zeus, etc.
Remeasurements (Metric System), 178.
Rivers, W. H. B. Genealogical Method
of Collecting Social and Vital
Statistics, 74.
Bocks, Sculptured, 87.
Boman Cults, 28, 35.
Bomau Finger-prints, 102.
Boman Bemains, Silchester, 81.
Bomove and Dodona, 3G.
Remove, Sacred Oak at, 32, 34.
Bosenhain, W. Malay Metal -work, 78.
Lioth, H. Ling. Hkoung beht set, 64 ;
Skin Marks, 117 ; The Aborigines of
Tasmania (rev.), 126.
Royal Geographical Society. Living-
stone Memorial, 125.
S.
Sacral Index, 95.
Sacrifice, 308.
Sacrifices, Human, and Thor, 24.
Sacro-sanotity of Animals, 31.
Salmon Floats fromVancouver Island, 57.
Samagitti, 32.
Sapper, K. Ein Besuch bei den Chir-
ripo- und Talamanca-Indianern, 59.
Savage, M. J. Life beyond Death
(rev.), 116.
Scandinavia and Italy, Earliest Com-
munications, 89ff.
Scandinavia, Thor in, 22.
Scaphoid Skulls, 132.
Scarabs, Cypriote, 206.
Schmeltz. Japanese Art (rev.), 68.
Schmidt, P. W. Inter-relation of
Melanesian, Papuan and Polynesian
Languages, 50.
Sclmitzereien der Maori (rev.), 39.
School Children, Aberdeenshire, Physical
Characteristics, 104ff.
Schurch. Anthropologie der Schweiz
(rev.), 134.
Schurtz, H. Schnitzereien dei: Maori
aus dem Museum in Bremen, 39.
Scotland, Stone Circles of, 56.
Scraper from Knysna Cave, 47.
Script, Cretan, 90.
Search Cabinet, 165, 182.
Searches, Percentage of Finds, Metric
System, 191.
Secondary Totems, 80.
Shakspear. Lushai Language, 67 ;
Lushai Names (rev.), 66.
Shell Adze, Note on, 49, Plate H.
Shell-beds, S. African, 46 ; Tasmanian,
257.
Shell ornament from Knysna, 47.
Shell ornaments (fig-)» 47.
Shinto temples, 44.
Skeat, W. W. Malay Ethnography,
74 ; Malay Magic (rev.), 76.
Skeletal System of Mori-ori, 141ff.
Skin Marks, Permanent Artificial, 117 ;
Hkoung beht set, 64.
Sky Deity, Indo-Germanic, 40.
Slate, carved, Hierakonpolis, 23, Plate
B.
Slavery in Vumba, 278.
Slavonic Thunder- God, 27.
.Slavonic Tree Sanctuary, 32.
( 137 )
Index.
Smith, Tonlmin. Mary Kiugsley
Obituary, 13.
Social Statistics, Method of Collecting,
74ff.
SOCIOLOGY : v. Adoption, Assembly, Can-
nibalism, Cave, Chief, Civilisation,
Currency, Descent, Endogamy, Ex-
change, Exogamy, Genealogical,
Incest, Intermnrrying, King, Kinship,
Land Tenure, Local, Male, Marriage,
Parentage, Polygamy, Priest, Property,
Slavery, Social, Succession, Systems,
War, Wife, etc.
Sonlr 77 ; Animal form of, 77.
Spiritualism. Life beyond Death, 116.
Standard of Colour, 106, 107.
Statistics, Genealogical Method of Col-
lection, 74ff.
Stature of Moii-ori, 149 (v. also
Height).
Steatopygia, 253.
Stokes, Sir G. G. Perception of Force,
105.
Stone Age, Borneo, 71 ; Tasmania, 37.
Stone Axes, 300 ; from Knysna Cave,
47.
Stone Circles of Scotland, 56ff.
Stone Circles, Types of, 69 ; Kists in, 57.
Stone Clubs, Geographical Distribution
of, in N". Guinea, 241 ; of British New
Guinea, 221ff ; types of, 222.
Stone Images (Pitcairn Island), 85.
Stone Implements of the ancient
Egyptians, 21; from Knysna, 47ff;
from Pitcairn Island, 83ff ; from
Tasmania, 257ff ; Types of Tasmanian,
258; of Tasmania, 36.
Stones, Cup-markings on, 65.
Stopes, H. Unclassified worked Flints,
290$.
Strange, Diary of Mr. James, 58.
Stratz. Schonheit der weiblichen
Korpers (rei?.), 127.
Subsistence, Mode of, West Africa, 31.
Succession in .Murray Island, 77; in
Africa, 31.
Suicide, 112.
Sutures, Obliteration of, 132.
Swords, Bronze, in Scandinavia, 90 ;
Celebes, 128.
Syllabary, Cypriote, 21G.
Syria and Cyprus, Contact between,
207.
Systems of Relationship, 78.
T.
Taber, R. G. Notes on Eskimo, 139.
Tabu, None on Names of Dead, 80 ; on
use of Animals and Plants, 70, 77.
Tachtadji, 312.
Tanarus, 26.
Tangale, Notes on the, 3 1 .
Taran, 26.
Tasmania, Stone Age in, 37; Stone
Implements in, 257ff.
Tau- Shield from N.W. Coast of America,
54.
Teeth of Eskimo. 134 ; of Mori-ori, 147.
TECHNOLOGY. Agriculture, 51, 53, 294,
31 ; Arms and Armour, 47, 58, 90,
213, 35 54, 77, 128 ; Carving, 210ff,
22, 39, 40, 41, 129; Clothing, 31,
58, 59 ; Copper, 54 ; Feather work,
47, 118; Fortification, 31; Gold-
washing, 51 ; Hairdressing, 50 ; Hunt-
ing, 31; Huts, 31, 72; Iron and
Steel, 77, 78 (v. also Iron) ; Kris, 77;
Petroglyphs, 87 ; Pottery, 202, 251, 31 ;
Precious Metals, 205, 64, 78 ; Salmon
Floats, 57 ; Scarabs, 206 ; Shell work,
47, 257, 49 ; Skin Marks, 31, 117 ;
Stone Figure, 61 ; Stone Implements,
47, 83, 241, 257, 299, 21, 36, Plate A ;
Textiles, 73 ; Throwing Sticks, 53 ;
Tindalo, 45 ; Trade, 58 ; Zootechny,
52. v. also Archaeology, Art, Costa
Rica, Cyprus.
Temple, R. C. Theory of Grammar
(rev.), 79.
Temple-Boys, 254.
Temple, Scandinavian, 28 ; Shinto, 44.
Ten Kate, H. F. C. Verslag eener reis
in de Timor-groep, 43.
Textile Art, Borneo, 73.
Thomas, N. W. Animal Superstitions,
110; Note on Nootka Vocabulary,
58 ; Questions on Animal Super-
stitions, 114.
( 138 )
fllltrr.
Thor, Attributes of, 24; Chief God of
Scandinavia, 22ff.
Throwing-sticks, Berta, 53.
Thunder-God, Oak and, 22ff ; and Oak,
Association of, 34ff.
Tindalo from Solomon Islands, Plate
K., 45.
Tocher, J. F. Somatology of W.
Aberdeen, 84; Physical Character-
istics in E. Aberdeen, 104ff.
Tombs, Kappadokian, 307, 312.
Totemism, 78.
Totems, Secondary, 80.
Trade, 58.
Treasurer's Report, 2. .
Tree, Dwelling under, 32, 41.
Tree-Sanctuary, Germanic, 28.
Trees, Sacred, 30, 31.
Tregear, E. Mangarera Dictionaiy,
48.
Tribal Marks, 31.
Triliteral Roots in Egypt, 158.
Tumuli, Chambered, 62 ; and Stone
Circles, 59.
Turbeh, 307, 312.
Turner, Sir W. Roman Finger- Prints,
102.
Tylor, Professor E. B. On the Stone Age
in Tasmania, 37 ; Stone Implements
of Tasmania, 257ff.
T'zitzikama District, Caves in, 45.
V.
Village, God of, 43.
Vowels in Egyptian Writing, 154.
Vumba, History of, 275ff.
W.
Walega, Galla of, 50ff.
War, 31.
Warner, F. Abnormalities in Children,
99; Nervous System of Child (rev.),
107.
Waterston, D. Developmental Changes,
92.
Wife's Relatives, Names of, not pro-
nounced, 75.
Weapons of Bertas, 52.
Well, Sacred, 307.
White Dog, Sacrifice of, 269. •
Wilkin, A. Algerian Collection, 16.
Women of Prehistoric Egypt, Indices of,
99.
Wommera, Note on, 35.
Word-signs in Egyptian Writing, 155.
Worsfolcl, W. B. The Redemption of
Egypt, 25.
Writing, System of, in Ancient Egypt,
153ff ; in Ancient Greece, 90; Story
of the Alphabet, 33 ; Syllabary,
Cypriote, 216.
Wuttke, A. Deutsche Volksaberglanbe
(rev.), 85.
Wylde. Modern Abyssinia (rev.), 132.
Z.
Zeus and the Oak, 36.
Zeus as Thunder-God, 27.
( 139
LONDON :
HARBISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER IJVTE MAJESTY,
ST. MARTIN'S LANS
THE JOURNAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
VOL. XXXI.
PUBLISHED BY THE
(fcntflropofogicaf Jneftfufe of <Breaf (grtfain anfc 3refano.
3, HANOVER SQUARE, LONDON, W.
Ml Rig/its Reserved.
1901.
NOTICE.
Each volume of the Journal published since 1899 contains the papers
presented to the Institute between January and December of the calendar year ;
the minutes of the Annual Meeting in January, with the President's Address, and
the Eeports of the Treasurer and Council forming the introduction to each volume.
The present volume, therefore, contains those papers which were presented between
January and December, 1901 ; and opens with the President's Address delivered in
January, 1901.
For convenience of reference, greater prominence is given to the number of a
volume in continuation of the old demy octavo series, Vols. I-XXVII, than to its
number in the new (royal octavo) series which began in 1898 : Thus i.e. New
Series Vol. I=Vol. XXVIII of the old series; and the current volume
(Vol. XXXI) corresponds to N.S. Vol. IV.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Institute, with the Reports
of Council and Treasurer ... ... ... ... ... ... 1
I. Presidential Address. By C. H. READ, F.S.A ' 9
II. On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia. By FRANKLIN WHITE, Esq.
(With Plates I-V) 21
III. Maori Tatu and Moko. By H. LING ROTH 29
IV. The Yakuts. Abridged from the Russian of Sieroshevski, by
W. G. SUMNER, Professor of Political and Social Science in Yale
University, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A., and revised and completed
by M. SIEROSHEVSKI ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 65
V. Cephalometric Instruments and Cephalograms. By J. GRAY, B.Sc.
(With Plates VI, VII, VIII) Ill
VI. Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda. By the
Rev. JOHN ROSCOE. [Communicated by J. G. FRAZER, 23rd April,
1901] 117
VII. The Japanese Ooli&i and the Ainu Inao. By W. G. ASTON, C.M.G.
(With Plate IX) 131
VIII. Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niue. By BASIL
THOMSON 137
IX. Stories from the Southern New Hebrides, with Introduction and
Notes. By SIDNEY H. RAY ... 147
X. Note on some American Parallels to European Agricultural Customs.
By N. W. THOMAS, M.A 155
XI. The Spirit of Vegetation. By E. TREGEAR. Communicated by
J. G. FRAZER 157
XII. Notes on Malay Metal-Work. By WALTER ROSENHAIN, B.A.,
St. John's College, Cambridge. (With Plates X, XI) 161
XIII. Trephining in the South Seas. By the Rev. J. A. CRUMP. (With
Plates XII, XIII) 167
XIV. The Relations between Men and Animals in Sarawak. By CHARLES
HOSE, Resident of the Baram District, and W. McDouGALL, Fellow
of St. John's College, Cambridge. (With Plates XIV, XV) ... 173
XV. Memorandum on the Languages of the Philippines. By WILLIAM
E. W. MACKINLAY ... 214
XVI. A Provisional Classification of the Swords of the Sarawak Tribes.
By R. SHELPORD, M.A., C.M.Z.S. (With Plates XVI, XVII) ... 219
XVII. The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt. By W. H. R.
RIVERS, M.D. ... ... 229
« 2
IV CONTENTS.
PAGE
XVIII. The Races of Early Egypt. By W. M. FLINDERS PBTRIE, D.C.L.,
Edwards Professor of Egyptology at University College, London.
(With Plates XVIII-XX) '248
XIX. Notes on Crania from the Nile-Welle Watershed. By F. C. SHRDBSALL 256
XX. Measurements of Papuan Skulls. By J. GRAY, B.Sc. ... ... ... 261
XXI. Irish Copper Celts. By GEORGE COFPEY, M.B.I. A. (With Plates
XXI-XXXIV) 265
XXII. The Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco. By SEYMOUR H. C.
HAWTREY. (With Plates XXXV-XLI) 280
XXIII. The Native Tribes of Mauipur. By T. C. HODSON 300
XXIY. On a Collection of Palaeolithic Implements from Savernake. By
EDGAR WILLETT, M.B. (With Plates XLII, XLIII) 310
NOTE. — The Anthropological Notes and Miscellanea which formerly concluded the annual
volumes of the Journal, are replaced until further notice by the contents of the Institute's
monthly periodical "Man" (see Journ. Anthrop. Inst. XXX, Miscellanea, No. 1) which will be
found, with its own title page and table of contents, at the end of the current volume
(pp. viii. 192 with Plates A to M.)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES. to face page
I. Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, or Mambo... ... ... ... ... ... 28
TI. Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo :— 1. North-East Side ; 2. Enlarged Portion of
No. 1 ; 3. Western Face 28
III. Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo : — 1. North- Western Side ; 2. Enlarged Portion
of No. 1 ; 3. North- West Corner from East 28
IV. Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo :— 1. Portion of North- West Side ; 2. Square
Corner in North- West Side ; 3. Entrance in North Face 28
V. Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo: — I. Outer Enclosure (G) ; 2. Entrance to
Outer Enclosure (H) ; 3. Outer Enclosure or Guard House (H) 28
VI. -)
VII. > Cephalometric Instruments and Cephalograms ... ... ... 116
VIII. J
IX. Gohei and Inao: — 1. Iwai-Gi; 2. Oho-Nusa ; 3. Gohei; 4. Inao;
5. Gohei of Copper Cash ... ... ... ... ... ... 134
J~ j Malay Metal Work 161
XII. 1. Skull of Toara, of Kabakada, in New Britain ; 2. Skull of
Tororuke, of Kabakada, in New Britain ; 3. Skull of Tighan, of
Ololai, in New Ireland ... ... ... ... ... ••• 167
XIII. 1. Skull of Toara ; 2. Skull of Tororuke ; 3. Skull of Tighan ... 167
XIV. 1. Wooden Model of a Hornbill, made by Ibans, and used in Peace-
making Ceremonies ; 2. Tama Bulan Sprinkling Images of Balli
Penyalong with the Blood of a Fowl ... ... ... ... 173
CONTENTS.
to face page
XV. 1. Murik Tomb, Surmounted by a Small Human Image to which
a Live Fowl is usually Tied; 2. Sprinkling Images of Balli
Penyalong with the Blood of a Fowl ... ... ... ... 1 73
XVI. Pandat (Type 10) ; Niabor (Type 2) ; Parang Hang (Type 1) ;
Bayu (Type 5) ; Jimpul (Type 4) ... 219
XVII. Pakayun (Typo 6) ; Langgai Tinggang (Type 3) ; Parang Pedung
(Type 7) ; Latok (Type 8) ; Buko (Type 9) 219
XVIII. The Races of Early Egypt :— i. The Aquiline Type (1-10) ... 248
XIX. The Races of Early Egypt :— ii. The Plaited Beard Type (11-12) ;
iii. The Pointed Nose Type (13-15) ; iv. The Tilted Nose Type
(16-19) ; v. The Forward Beard Type (20-22) 248
XX. The Races of Early Egypt:— vi. The Straight Bridged Type of
the Dynastic Race (23-27) ; vii. The Mixed Race of the Fourth
Dynasty (28-30) 248
XXI. -j
to V Irish Copper Celts 265
XXXIV. J
XXXV. A Lengna — A Common Type ; Lengua Boy. Mangweam-ai ;
Lengua Boy. Metegyak (i.e., " Born when Father was on a
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XL1.
XLII.
XLIII.
Journey"); Lengua Face Painting
A Lengua Village
1. Lengua Women Dressed for a Dance ; 2. Pottery-making ...
1. Lenguas Playing the Game " Hastawa " ; 2. Women's Dance
at a Lengua Feast ...
1. Lengua Boys with Pellet Bows ; 2. Lengua Boy Using Blunt-
headed Arrow ; 3. Lengna Indian Hoeing Mandioca ...
Miscellaneous Objects of Lengua Manufacture : — 1. Clay
Tobacco Pipe of Primitive Form; 2. Snhin Tobacco Pipe
of Carved Wood : Back and Front ; 3. Fishing Basket ; 4. Doll
of Rags and Bone ; 5. Lengua Method of Making Fire ; 6. Blunt-
headed Arrow ; 7. Iron-tipped Arrow ; 8. Wooden Arrow ;
9. Clay Water Jar ; 10. Clay Vessel (Toothli), Painted
Miscellaneous Objects of Lengua Manufacture : — 1. One-stringed
Fiddle ; 2. Wooden Whistle ; 3. Wooden Whistle (another
form) Ornamented with Strips of Polished Tin. (Toothli) ;
4. Wind Instrument of Cow-horn, with Reed Mouthpiece;
5. String Bag
Flint Implements from Knowle l^arni Quarry, Savernake
1-7. Flints from Knowle Farm Quarry, Savernake; 8. Flint
Implements from Abydos, Egypt (in Pitt Rivers Museum) ...
280
280
280
280
280
280
280
310
310
BLOCKS.
PAGE
Muko Instrument presented to British Musuem by Sir George Grey, 1854
(Fig. 1) ... " 36
Maori Tatu Instruments, after Craik (New Zealanders) (Figs. 2-7) 36
.. Polack (Figs. 8-12) 36
List of the Fellows
CORRESPONDING FELLOWS.
Appleyard, Rev. W. Dewsbury.
Bonsdorff, Professor E. J. Finland.
Carr, Lncien, Esq. Cambridge, Mass.,
U.S.A.
Daa, Professor. Norway.
Duhousset, Colonel Emile. Paris.
His, Professor W. Leipzig.
Hoffman, Dr. W. J. Washington,
D.C., U.S.A.
Howitt, Alfred W., Esq. Melbourne,
Victoria.
Letourneau, Prof. Paris.
Oliver, Captain S. P. Gosport. (f )
Ricarde-Seaver, Major F. I. Athenaeum
Club, S.W.
Ruge, Dr. Sophus. Dresden.
Saunders, Trelawney W., Esq. Newton
Abbot.
Scherzer, Dr. Charles Chevalier de.
Genoa.
Steinhauer, Dr. Karl. Stockholm.
Weisbach, Dr. Augustin. Vienna.
Wilson, T., Esq. Smithsonian In-
stitution, Washington. (^[)
N.B. — The name of any Honorary or Corresponding Fellow whose address, or
that of his agent, shall not be known for the space of two years shall be removed from
the List, but may be restored again by the Council.
LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS.
Bertholon, Dr. R. Tunis.
Boyle, D., Esq. Curator of the Archaeo-
logical Museum, Toronto. (^[)
Cheesman, A., Esq. Auckland, N.Z.
Fawcett, F., Esq. Calicut, India.
Gillen, F. J., Esq. South Australia.
Hamilton, A., Esq. Dunedin, N.Z.
Hobley, C. W.> Esq. Uganda.
Hose, C., Esq. Sarawak.
Latcham, R. T., Esq. Chile.
Myers, C. S., Esq. Cairo.
Orsi, Dr. P. Syracuse, Sicily.
Roscoe, Rev. J. Uganda.
Temple, Col. R. C. Andaman Islands.
White, Franklin, Esq. Buluwayo.
Wray, C., Esq. Perak.
Wray, L., Esq. Perak.
It is particularly requested that Fellows will give notice to the Secretary of the
Society, 3, Hanover Square, W., of any error in their addresses or descriptions, in
order that it may be immediately corrected in the books.
The names with * attached to them are tJwse of Fellows who Jiave compounded
for the Annual Subscriptions.
IT These Fellows have contributed Papers to the Institute.
§ These Fellows are Members of Council.
of the Anthropological Institute. 3
ORDINARY FELLOWS.
Election.
1883 Abercrornby, The Hou. John, 62 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. (*)
1862 Amherst, of Hackney, The Eight Hon. Lord, F.SA., 8 Grosvenor Square, W. ;
and Didlington Hall, Brandon.
1874 Atkinson, G. M., Esq., 28 St. Oswald Road, West Brompton, S.W. (f §)
1863 Avebury, The Right Hon. Lord, F.R.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, 2 St. James' Square,
S. W. ; High Elms, Beckeriham, Kent, (f §*)
1895 Backhouse, W. A., Esq., St. John's, Wolsingham, Darlington. (*)
1888 Balfour, Henry, Esq., M.A., Anthropological Department, Museum, Oxford;
11 Norham, Gardens, Oxford. (1T§)
1894 Barclay, Edwyn, Esq., Urie Lodge, Ridgway, Wimbledon.
1865 Barrett, Thomas Squire, Esq., F.Z.S., F.S.S., F.R.B.S., F.R.Hist.S., Rose
Cottage, Mill/ield Road, Appleton, Widnes. (*)
1876 Barren, E. J., Esq., F.S.A., 10 Endsleigh Street, Tavistock Square, W.C. (*)
1882 Baye, Baron de, 58 Avenue de la Grande ArmJe, Paris. (*)
1901 Beadnell, C. Marsh, Esq., Staff Surgeon, R.N.
1884 Beaufort, W. Morris, Esq., F.R.G.S., 18 Piccadilly, W. (*§)
1854 Beddoe, John, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., F.R.C.P., VICE-PRESIDENT, Foreign Associate
of the Anthropological Society of Paris ; Corresponding Member of the
Anthropological Society of Berlin ; Hon. Member of the Anthropological
Societies of Brussels and Washington ; The Chantry, Bradford-on-Avon,
Wilts. (f§)
1899 Bennett, Albert L., Esq., M.D., F.E.S., 34 Denison Buildings, Uth Street,
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
1899 Bennett, Mrs. G. Nevitt, 15 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, N.W.
1899 Berry, R. J. A., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.S., ~F.R.S.,. Edinburgh School of Medicine;
Royal College, Edinburgh ; 4 Howard Place, Edinburgh.
1896 Blackett, Spencer, Esq., Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road.
1896 Blundell, Herbert Weld, Esq., Brooks' 's Club, S. W.
1869 Bonwick, James, Esq., F.R.G.S., Yarra Yarra, South Vale, Upper Norwood,
S.E. (f )
1872 Bowly, Christopher, Esq., Siddington House, Cirencester.
1864 Brabrook, E. W., Esq., C.B., F.S.A., F.R.S.N.A Copenhagen, VICE-PRESIDENT,
Corr. Member of the Anthropological Society of Paris ; 178 Bedford Hill,
Balham, S. W. ; 28 Abingdon Street, S. W. («f §)
1865 Braby, F., Esq., F.G.S., Bushey Lodge, Tcddington.
1901 Brant-Sero, J. 0., 93 Shirland Gardens, N.W.
1900 Breton, Miss A. C., c/o Col. H. Breton, R.E., St. Margaret's House, Rochester.
1894 Breyer, Dr. H. G., Professor of Natural History, Gymnasium Box, Pretoria,
South Africa.
1889 Brown, J. Allen, Esq., F.G.S., 7 Kent Gardens, Ealing. (1h
2
4 List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1864 Brown, James Eoberts, Esq., F.RG-.S., F.R.S.N.A. Copenhagen, 44 Tregunter
Road, South Kensington, S. W. (*)
1895 Brown, William, Esq., J.P., President Fowler Phrenological Institute,
Hazelwood, Wellingborough.
1885 Browne, John, Esq., Chertsey House, Parkhill Rise, Croydon, Surrey.
1901 Bruce, J., Esq., M.B., Larriston, Town Hall Square, Grimsby.
1900 Bryce, Victor F., Esq., F.R.G.S., By stock, near Exmouth, and 7 Little St. James
Street, S. W.
1867 Bull, William, Esq., F.L.S., 536 King's Road, Chelsea, S. W.
1895 Burnard, Robert, Esq., 3 Hillsborough, Mutley, Plymouth.
1894 Bushe, Col. Charles Kendal, F.G.S., 19 Cromwell Road, S. Kensington.
1901 Bushell, Stephen Wootten, Esq., M.D., C.M.G., Shirley, Harold Road, Upper
Norwood.
1867 Busteed, W. J., Esq., M.D., Brigade-Surgeon. (*)
1893 Caldecott, Percy, Esq., Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue, S. W.
1872 Cammiade, Gilbert Henry, Esq., Madras. (*)
1892 Campbell, C. W., Esq., H.B.M. Consular Service, Shanghai, China.
1865 Carey, Major-General W. I)., R.A., 22 Archers Road, Southampton. (*)
1865 Cavafy, J., Esq., M.D., 10 Fourth Avenue, Hove, Sussex. (*)
1901 Chalmers, Albert J., M.D., F.R.C.S., Medical College, Colombo, Ceylon.
1899 Christian, F. W., Esq., 60 Clyde Road, Addiscombe, E. Croydon. (1f)
1874 Church, Sir W. Selby, Bart., M.D., President R.C.P., 130 Harley Street,
Cavendish Square, W.
1877 Clapham, Crochley, Esq., M.D., The Gables, Mayfield, Sussex. (*f)
1885 Clarke, C. F., Esq., M.R.C.S., 24 Park Road, Plumstead.
1875 Claudet, Frederic, Esq., F.C.S., 10 Oak Hill, Frognal, Hampstead, N.W.
1864 Clerk, Major-General H., R.A., F.R.S., Mountjield, 5 Upper Maze Hill, St.
Leonards, Sussex.
1895 Clodd, Edward, Esq., 19 Carleton Road, Tufnell Park, N.
1898 Codrington, Robert, Esq., F.R.G.S., Government House, Fort Jameson, Rhodesia.
1884 Coffin, Walter H., Esq., F.L.S., F.C.S., 94 Cornwall Gardens, South Kensington,
S. W. ; and Villa Passaic, Kew, Surrey.
1863 Collingwood, J. Frederick, Esq., F.G.S., Foreign Associate of the Anthropo-
logical Society of Paris, 5 Irene Road, Parson's Green, S.W. (*1f)
1888 Collyer, Henry C., Esq., Breakhurst, Beddington, near Croydon.
1896 Connolly, R. M., Esq., B.A., L.R.C.S. Edin., Taiping, State of Per ok. (1)
1895 Corner, Frank, Esq., M.R.C.S., Manor House, Poplar, E. (If)
1861 Crawfurd, O. J., Esq., C.M.G., Oporto. (*)
1893 Crombie, James Edward, Esq., Inverdon, Aberdeen. (If)
1892 Crooke, William, Esq., B.A., Langton House, Charlton Kings, CheltenJiam. (f §)
of the Anthropological Institute. 5
Year of
Election.
1900 Crowfoot, J. W., Esq., M.A., Mason University College, Birmingham. (If)
1883 Cunningham, Professor D. J., M.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. L. and E., 43 FitzWilliam
Place, Dublin, (f §)
1896 Cust, Miss M. E. V., F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., 127 Victoria Street, Westminster.
1875 Czarnikow, C., Esq., 29 Mincing Lane, E.G.
1892 Dallas, James, Esq., F.L.S., Cantralees, Lympstone, Devon. (1F)
1895 Dalton, Ormonde Maddock, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., British Museum, Bloomsbury,
W.C. (If)
1885 Darwin, W. Erasmus, Esq., F.G.S., Ridgemount, Basset, North Stoneham,
Southampton.
1893 Davies, Rev. T. Witton, B.A. (Lond.), Ph.D. (Leipzig), Baptist College, Bangor,
North Wales. (*)
1869 Dawkins, W. Boyd, Esq., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.S., Professor of
Geology and Palaeontology in Victoria University, Owens College,
Manchester, Woodhurst, Fallowfield, Manchester. (1f)
1899 Duckworth, W. L. H., Esq., M.A., Jesus College, Cambridge. (*f §)
1885 Duncombe, Captain the Hon. Cecil, The Grange, Nawton, Yorks.
1901 Durnan, T., Esq., 35 Harcourt Eoad, Sheffield.
1862 Eastwood, J. W., Esq., M.D., Dinsdale Park, Darlington.
1893 Ebbels, Arthur, Esq., 6 Lavender Gardens, Clapham Common, S. W.
1890 Edwards, Stanley, Esq., F.Z.S., Kidfoooke Lodge, Blackheath, S.E.
1896 Elliott, R., Esq., 161 Cambenvell Eoad, S.E.
1888 Ellis, H. Havelock, Esq., Carbis Water, Lelant, Cornwall.
1901 El worthy, Frederick T., Foxdown, Wellington, Somerset.
1891 Evans, Arthur J., Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., VICE-PRESIDENT, Keeper of the
Ashmolean Museum, Youlbury, Oxford. (1f§)
1863 Evans, Sir John, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., V.P.S.A., F.L.S., F.G.S.,
VICE-PRESIDENT ; President of the Numismatic Society of London ;
Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. (1f§)
1887 Evans, Sebastian, Esq., LL.D., Abbott Barton, Canterbury.
1901 Eyles, F., P.O. Box 580, Buluwayo, Rhodesia.
1896 Falconer, Thomas Wentworth, Esq., Foxholes, Christchurch, Hants.
1900 Farnell, Lewis R., Esq., M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
1901 Farquharson of Haughton, Mrs., F.R.A.S., Netherton, Meigle, N.B.
1880 Felkin, Robert William, Esq., M.D., F.R.G.S., 48 Westbournc Gardens, W.
1897 Ffennell, Miss M. C., 172 The Grove, Hammersmith, W.
1883 Finzi, John, Esq., 53 Hamilton Terrace, N.W.
1866 Fischer, Robert, Esq., B.L., Madura, Madras. (*)
1901 Fisher, Mrs., Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia; and Vectis Lodge Bembridge,
LW.
6 List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1901 Flower, Stanley S., Captain 5th Fusiliers, Ghizeh, Egypt
1883 Forbes, H. O., Esq., LL.D., Director of Museums, The Museum, William
Browne Street, Liverpool. (§1T)
1875 Forlong, Major-General J. G. R, F.B.G.S., F.E.S.E., 11 Douglas Crescent,
Edinburgh.
1889 Fraser, Professor A., M.B., 18 Northbrook Road, Dublin.
1885 Frazer, James G., Esq., M.A., D.Sc., Trinity College, Cambridge. (1T)
1871 Fry, Danby P., Esq., 166 Haverstock Rill, N. W.
1862 Galton, Francis, Esq., M.A., D.C.L., F.RS., F.G.S., F.E.G.S. ; VICE-PRESIDENT,
42 Rutland Gate, S. W. (1F§)
1901 Gardiner, A. H., Esq., 25 Tavistock Square, W.
1881 Garson, John George, Esq., M.D., Foreign Associate Anthropological Society
of Paris; Corresponding Member Society for Anthropology, Ethnology
and Primitive Hist, of Berlin ; Corresponding Member of Anthropological
Society of Moscow ; Corresponding Member of Anthropological Society
of Rome ; Adviser and Instructor on the Metric System of Identification
Home Office, 14 Stratford Place, W. (H§)
1901 George, E. C. S., Esq., C.I.E., Deputy Commissioner, Meiktila, Burmah.
1880 Gladstone, J. Hall, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., F.C.S., 17 Pembridge Square, W. (f )
1901 Gladstone, R. J., Esq., 1 Gloucester Gate, Regent's Park, JV. W.
1896 Godden, Miss G. M., Ridgjield, Wimbledon. (IF)
1879 Godman, F. Du Cane, Esq., F.R.S., South Lodge, Horsham. (*)
1895 Gomme, G. L., Esq., F.S.A., 24 Dorset Square, W. (§f )
1901 Gordon, Thomas H, Esq., B.A., Ivy Bank, Tarporley.
1885 Gosselin, Hellier R. H., Esq., Bengeo Hall, Hertford.
1887 Gowland, W., Esq., F.S.A., F.C.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, 13 Russell Road,
Kensington, W. (§*1T)
18"94 Gray, John, Esq., B.Sc., 351 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, S. W. (f )
1888 Greatheed, William, Esq., 67 Chancery Lane, W.C.
1901 Green, F. W. Edridge, Esq., M.D., Hendon Grove, Hendon.
1892 Green, Upfield, Esq., F.G.S., Tenter Street, Moorjlelds, E.G.
1899 Greg, Thos. Tylston, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., 7 Campden Hill Square, Kensington, W.
1899 Griffith, F. Llewellyn, Esq., Riversvale, Ashton-under-Lyne. (f)
1889 Haddon, Alfred Cort, Esq., M.A., Sc.D., F.R.S., M.R.I.A., F.Z.S., PRESIDENT,
Professor of Zoology in the Royal College of Science, Dublin, Inisfail,
Hills Road, Cambridge. (1F§*)
1893 Hale, Charles George, Esq., 16 Dryhill Road, Tonbridge, Kent.
1901 Hall, H. R. H., Esq., British Museum, Bloomsbury, W.C.
1890 Hardy, Norman, Esq., 294 King's Road, Chelsea.
1884 Hargreaves, Miss H. M., Oakhurst, Waterloo Road, Birkdale.
1897 Hartland, E. S., Esq., F.S.A., Highgarth, Gloucester. (*§)
of the Anthropological Institute. 7
Year of
Election.
I860 Haserick, F. Augustus, Esq., 35 Johann Georgen AlUe, Dresden, Germany. (*)
1893 Has well, George Handel, Esq., Cornwall Works, Birmingham.
1889 Haverfield, F., Esq., M.A., Christ Church, Oxford. (*)
1864 Healey, Edward C., Esq., Wyphurst, Cranleigh, Guildford.
1885 Heape, C., Esq., Hartley, High Lane, near Stockport.
1901 Henderson, G. J., St. Catherine's, Oxted, Surrey.
1886 Hervey, Hon. D. F. A., C.M.G., Westfield, Aldeburgh.
1901 Hewitt, Eev. Canon, c/o F. Philipson Stow, Esq., Blackdown House,
Fernhurst, Sussex.
1863 Hewlett, Alfred, Esq., F.G.S., Haseley Manor, Warwick.
1895 Hickson, Prof. S. J., D.Sc., F.R.S., Owens College, Manchester. (*)
1899 Hobson, Mrs. M. A., 5 Beaumont Crescent, West Kensington, W.
1900 Hodgson, T. V., Esq., 147 Tachbrook Street, S. W.
1899 Holdich, Col. Sir T. Hungerford, R.E., K.C.I.E., C.B., 23 Lansdowne Crescent,
Notting Hill, W. (f §)
1887 Hollander, Bernard, Esq., M.D., M.R.C.S., 62 Queen Anne Street, Cavendish
Square, W.
1901 Holies, A. C., Dartmouth House, Dartmouth Park, N.W.
1881 Holmes, T. V., Esq., F.G.S., 28 Groom's Hill, Greenwich, S.E. (f §)
1876 Horniman, Frederick John, Esq., M.P., F.L.S., F.Pt.G.S., F.Z.S., F.S.A. Scot.,
20 Hyde Park Terrace, W. (*)
1894 Horsley, Victor, Esq., F.R.S., F.R.C.S., 25 Cavendish Square, W.
1893 Hose, Charles, Esq., Resident of the Baram, Sarawak, Borneo ; and c/o Borneo
Co., 28 Fenchurch Street, KG. (IF)
1891 Howarth, 0. H, Esq., 209 Gresham House, Old Broad Street, E.G. (If)
1889 Howden, Robert, Esq., M.A., M.B., F.R.S.E., Prof, of Anatomy, Durham
University, 24 Burdon Terrace, Ncwcastle-on-Tync.
1887 Howes, G. B., Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, Royal College of
Science, South Kensington, S. W. (§)
1896 Howorth, Sir Henry H., K.C.I.E., M.P., F.R.S., F.S.A., 30 Collingkam Place,
Earl's Court, (f §)
1879 Hiigel, Baron A. von, 53 Barton Road, Cambridge.
1885 Hurst, Walter, Esq., B.Sc., Kirkgate, Tadcaster, Yorks; and 17 Doughty Street,
W.C.
1898 Hutchinson, Rev. H. Neville, 39 Bedford Gardens, Campden Hill, Kensington, W.
1898 lies, George, Esq., 5 Brunswick Street, Montreal, Canada. (*)
1863 Jackson, Henry, Esq., Litt.D., M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge. (*)
1872 Jeatfreson, W. J., Esq., M.A., Savage Club, Adelphi. (*)
1869 Jeffery, F. J., Esq. (*)
1898 Jevons, Frank Byron, Esq., M.A., LL.D., Principal of Hatfield Hall, Durham.
3 List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1885 Johnston, Sir H. H., K.C.B., H.M. Special Commissioner, Uganda, 27
Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, N. W. (If)
1902 Johnstone, N. B., British Vice-Consulate, Tunis.
1879 Keane, A. H., Esq., B.A., Corresponding Member of the Italian Society of
Anthropology, 79 Broadhurst Gardens, South Hampstead, N. W. (IF)
1896 Keith, A., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.S., 40 Leigh Road, Highbury Park, N. (§f )
1891 Kennedy, George A., Esq., 76 Seedley Road, Pendleton, Manchester.
1865 Kincaid, Major-General W., Messrs. Alexander Fletcher & Co., St. Helen's
Place, Bishopsgate Street, E.G.
1891 Kitts, Eustace John, Esq., Gorakhpur, N.W.P. (*)
1895 Klein, Rev. L. De Beaumont, D.Sc., Montford House, Alexandra Drive,
Liverpool.
1881 Knowles, W. J., Esq., Floxton Place, Ballymena, Co. Antrim. (1)
1893 Ko, Taw Sein, Esq., 2 Latter Street, Rangoon, Burmah.
1894 Krauss, J. S., Esq., B.A., Smedley's Establishment, Matlock.
1863 La Barte, Rev. W. W., M.A., 9 Crefield Road, Colchester.
•1895 Lancaster, G. G., Esq., Marion Hall, Baschurch, Shrewsbury. (*)
1899 Lang, Andrew, Esq., 1 Marloes Road, Kensington, W.
1888 Law, Walter W., Esq., Scarborough, New York, U.S.A. (*)
1885 Lawrence, E., Esq., 56 Blenheim Road, Blackhor'se Road, Walthamstow,
Essex. (*)
1899 Lawrence, George Fabeau, Esq., 7 West Hill, Wandsivorth, S. W.
1901 Lee, D. Carton, The Red House, Tunbridge Wells.
1899 Lee, Mrs. Kate, 8 Victoria Road, Kensington, W.
1901 Lendon-Bennett, M., The Granite House, Putney.
1901 Letts, C., Esq., 8 Bartlett's Buildings, Holborn Circus, E.
1866 Lewis, A. L., Esq., F.C.A., TREASURER, 54 Highbury Hill, N. (*f §>
1893 Longman, Charles James, Esq., M.A., 27 Norfolk Square, W. (*)
1891 Low, Sir Hugh, G.C.M.G., F.L.S., F.G.S., 23 De Vere Gardens, Kensington, W.
1884 Macalister, Alexander, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., Professor of Anatomy in the
University of Cambridge, VICE-PRESIDENT, Torrisdale, Cambridge. (11 §)
1900 McDougall, William, Esq., St. John's College, Cambridge, (f)
1901 Mace, A., Esq., All Saints' Lodge, Hawley, Hants.
1899 Maclver, David, Esq., M.A., Woherton House, Clifton, near Bristol. (1T)
1899 Maclagan, R. C., Esq., M.D., 5 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh.
1900 Macnamara, N. C., Esq., 13 Grosvenor Street, W.
1885 MacRitchie, David, Esq., F.S.A. Scot., 4 Archibald Place, Edinburgh. (1T)
1855 Malcolm, W. E., Esq., M.A., Burnfoot, Langholm, Dumfries. (*)
1881 Man, E. H., Esq., C.I.E., 2 Palace Road, King ston-on- Thames, (f)
of t?te Anthropological Institute. 9
Year of
Election.
1892 March, H. Colley, Esq., M.D., Portesham, Dorchester. (*f )
1896 Marett, R. R, Esq., Exeter College, Oxford. (*)
1868 Martin, Bichard Biddulph, Esq., M.R, M.A., F.R.G.S., 10 Hill Street, W.
("*§)
1894 Maudslay, A. P., Esq., F.R.G.S., 32 Montpelier Square, Knighlslridge, S.W .
(1) '
1881 Meldola, Raphael, Esq., F.R.S., F.R.A.S. F.C.S., F.I.C., Professor of Chemistry
m the Finsbury Technical College, City and Guilds of London Institute,
6 Brunswick Square, W.C. (*1f)
1877 Messer, A. B., Esq., M.D., Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleet, Kinglune,
Carlisle Road, Eastbourne. (*1f)
1901 MiUs, H. V., Rev., Oreenside, Kendal
1901 Mitchell, A., Esq., M.D., M.C,, 87 Regent Street, W.
1885 Mocatta, F. D., Esq., 9 Connaught Place, W. (*)
1883 Moloney, H.E. Sir C. Alfred, K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S., Governor of the Windward
Islands, Government House, St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.
1870 Morrison, Walter, Esq., M.A., M.P., 77 Cromwell Road, S. W. (*)
1894 Mortimer, J. R., Esq., Driffield, Yorks.
1897 Mullen, Ben H., Esq., M.A. (Dub.), F.R.S.A.I., Royal Museum, Peel Park,
Salford.
1885 Munro, R., Esq., M.A., M.D., F.R.S.E., 48 Hanoi- Place, Edinburgh. (*f )
1871 Murray, Adam, Esq., F.G.S. (*)
1875 Muspratt, Edmund K., Esq., F.C.S., Seaforth Hall, Seaforth, near Liverpool.
1896 Myers, C. S., Esq., M.A., 62 Holland Park, W. (1F)
1893 Myres, J. L., Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., SECRETARY, Corresponding Member
of the Anthropological Society of Paris, Christ Church, Oxford. (*f §)
1898 Nazar, M. H., Esq., Representative of Indians in South Africa, P.O. Box 182,
Durban, Natal.
1898 Newton, Win. M., Esq., 96 Wood Street, E.G.
1858 Nicholson, Sir Charles, Bart., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.G.S., F.R.A.S., The Grange,
Totteridge, Herts. (1[)
1869 Oppert, Dr. G., Professor of Sanscrit, Bulowstrasse 55, Berlin, (f )
1870 Parker, W. M., Esq. (*)
1898 Parkin, Wm., Esq., The Mount, Sheffield.
1897 Parkinson, R., Esq., Ralum, Bismarck Archipelago.
1891 Partington, J. Edge, Esq., Park Hall, Great Bardfield, Essex, (f)
1891 Paterson, Professor A. M., Esq., M.D., Anatomy Department, University
College, Liverpool.
1899 Paul, John Dennis, Esq., F.G.S., Town End Close, Ratcli/e Road, Knighton,
Leicester.
10 List of the Fellows
Year of
Election.
1891 Peek, The Hon. Lady, 22 Belgrave Square, S. W.
1894 Pengelly, Miss Hester, Lamorna, Torquay, c/o Eev. Prof. Harley, F.E.S., 15
Westbourne Road, Forest Hill, S.E.
1900 Petrie, W. M. Flinders, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., Professor of Egyptology, Univer-
sity College, Gower Street, W.C. (IF)
1898 Plowden, Sir H. Meredyth, Leintwardine, Herefordshire.
1895 Portman, M. V., Esq., 4 Clements Inn, Strand, W.C.
1896 Praetorius, C. J., Esq., Pomona House, New King's Road, Fulham.
1901 Preen, Ernest A., Esq., Conellan, Malvern Link.
1868 Price, F. G. Hilton, Esq., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.E.G.S., 17 Collingham Gardens,
&flT.(f)
1863 Pusey, S. E. B. Bouverie, Esq., F.R.G.S., 35A South Audley Street ; and Pusey
House, Faringdon, Berks.
1891 Pye, Randall H., Esq., Selbourne, 15 Castle Bar Road, Ealing. (§)
1899 Quick, Arthur, Esq., 33 Brixton Hill, S. W.
1868 Ransom, Edwin, Esq., F.R.G.S., 24 Ashburnham Road, Bedford. (*)
1866 Rao, The Hon. Rajah Sir Goday Naraen Gajapati, Vizagapatam, India.
1883 Ravenstein, Ernest G., Esq., F.R.G.S., 2 York Mansions, Battersea Park,
S.W.(*§)
1890 Ray, Sidney H., Esq., 218 Balfour Road, Ilford, Essex. (IF)
1875 Read, Charles H., Esq., F.S.A., VICE-PKESIDENT, Keeper of British and
Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography, British Museum, 22 Carlyle
Square, Chelsea. (§1F)
1886 Reid, Robert William, Esq., M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of
Aberdeen, 37 Albyn Place, Aberdeen.
1863 Renshaw, Charles J., Esq., M.D., Ashton-on-Mersey, Manchester. (*)
1901 Ridge way, W., Esq., Disney Professor of Archaeology, Caius College, Cam-
bridge. (§)
1893 Rigg, Herbert, Esq., 13 Queen's Gate Place, S.W.; and Walhurst Manor
Horsham.
1850 Ripon, The Most Hon. the Marquis of, KG., G.C.S.L, C.I.E., D.C.L., F.R.S.,
9 Chelsea Embankment, S. W. ; and Studley Royal, Ripon.
1889 Risley, H. H., Esq., C.I.E., M.A., Bengal Secretariat, Calcutta. (IF)
1900 Rivers, W. H. R, Esq., M.D., St. John's College, Cambridge.
1901 Rose, H. A., Census Superintendent, Simla, India.
1882 Roth, Henry Ling, Esq., 32 Prescott Street, Halifax. (1F)
1882 Rothschild, Hon. Nathaniel C., Tnng Park, Tring, Herts. (*)
1899 Riicker, Miss S. C., 4 Vanbrugh Terrace, Blackheath, S.E.
1871 Rudler, F. W., Esq., F.G.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, Corresponding Member of the
Anthropological Society of Paris, 25 Mornington Crescent, N. W. (1F§)
of the Anthropological Institute. 11
Year of
Election.
1863 Salting, W. S., Esq., F.R.G.S., 40 Berkeley Square, W. (*)
1864 Sanders, Alfred, Esq., F.L.S., F.Z.S., The Hawthorns, CaterJiam Valley, Surrey.
(*1F)
1886 Sarawak, H.H. the Ranee of, Kuching, Borneo, vid Singapore.
1876 Sayce, Professor A. H., M.A., LL.D., Queen's College, Oxford. (*f )
1900 Seligmann, Charles G., Esq., 23 Vincent Square, S. W.
1885 Seton-Karr, H. W., Esq., 31 Lingfield Road, Wimbledon. (IT)
1866 Shaw, Lieut-Colonel F. G., Heathburn Hall, Carrigaline, Co. Cork. (*)
1901 Shelf ord, S. H., Sarawak vid Singapore.
1898 Shrubsall, Frank Charles, Esq., M.A., 34 Lime Grove, Uxbridge Road. (*f §)
1901 Skeat, W. W., Esq., M.A., 2 Salisbury Villas, Cambridge.
1866 Skues, F. M., Esq., M.D., Brigade Surgeon-Major, 51 Kingstead Road, Catfoi-d.
(*)
1898 Small, James Willoughby, Esq., Principal Victoria College, Jaffna, Ceylon.
1865 Smith, Worthington G., Esq., F.L.S., 121 High Street, Dunstable. (f )
1893 Somerville, Lieutenant Boyle T., K.N., ff.M.S. " Triton? Chatham, (f )
1867 Southby, Philip, Esq., F.Z.S., Barrister-at-Law, Bampton, Farinydon. (*)
1889 Southesk, The Right Hon. the Earl of, K.T., Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, N.B.
1886 Stanley, W. F., Esq., F.G.S., Cumberlow, South Norwood, S.E. (If)
1873 Stanmore, The Right Hon. Lord, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.C.L., Red House, Ascot.
1880 Stephens, Henry Charles, Esq., M.P., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.C.S., Avenue House,
Church End, Finchley, N. ; and 4 Carlton Gardens, S. W. (*)
1892 Stephenson, Miss Rose.
1881 Stopes, H., Esq., 11 Queen Victoria Street, KG. (*f )
1887 Straker, Joseph, Esq., Dipton House, Riding Mill, Northumberland.
1883 Streeter, E. W., Esq., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S., 2 Park Crescent, TV. (*)
1865 Swinburne, Algernon Charles, Esq., Tlie Pines, Putney Hill, S.W.
1899 Swynnerton, Fred., Esq., Oakwood Place, Simla, India.
.1899 Tabor, Charles James, Esq., White House, Knott's Green, Leyton, Essex.
1901 Tate, H. R., Hampton Court Palace.
1892 Taylor, Frederick, Esq., 250 West 76th Street, New York City, U.S.A. (*)
1879 Temple, Lieut.-Colonel R. C., C.I.E., Chief Commissioner Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Government House, Port Blair, Andaman Island; c/o
H. S. King $ Co. (f )
1881 Thane, George Dancer, Esq., Professor of Anatomy in University College,
London, University College, Gower Street, W.C. (*1f)
1884 Thomas, Oldfield, Esq., F.Z.S., 9 St. Petersburg Place, Bayswater Hill, W. (*f )
1873 Thompson, J. Barclay, Esq., M.A., Lee's Reader in Anatomy, 39 St. Margaret's
Road, Oxford. (*)
1890 Thomson, Arthur, Esq., M.A., M.B., Professor of Human Anatomy in the
University of Oxford, The Museum, Oxford. (1F)
12 List of the Fellows of the Anthropological Institute.
Year of
Election.
1901 Thorn, W. W., Hillmorton, Wallington, Surrey.
1882 Thurn, Everard F. im, Esq., C.B., C.M.G., 1 East India Avenue, E.G. (f §)
1896 Tims, H. W. Marett, Esq., M.D., 19 Lyndewood Road, Cambridge.
1899 Tocher, James F,. Esq., F.I.C., Chapel Street, Peterhead, N.B. (IF)
1895 Tolley, Richard Mentz, Esq., F.H.S., Oriel Lodge, Rushbury, Wolmrhampton.
1901 Travers, Major John A., Field Place, Horsham, Surrey.
1885 Tregear, Edward, Esq., Secretary, Department of Labour, Tinakon Road,
Wellington, New Zealand. (IF)
1879 Trotter, Coutts, Esq., F.G.S., 10 Randolf Crescent, Edinburgh.
1891 Tsuboi, S., Esq., Science College, Imperial Institute, Tokyo, Japan. (*)
1889 Turner, Sir William, M.B., LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. Lond. and Edin., Professor
of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, 6 Eton Terrace, Edinburgh. (IF)
1867 Tylor, Edward Burnett, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., VICE-PRESIDENT, Professor
of Anthropology, Keeper of the University Museum, Oxford, The Museum
House, Oxford. (1F§)
1891 Tylor, Mrs. E. B., The Museum House, Oxford.
1891 Waddell, Lt.-Col. L. A., LL.D., 35 Dartmouth Park Road, Highgate Road,
N.W. (*T)
1901 Waddington, S., Esq., B.A., 47 Cvnnaught Street, Hyde Park, W.
1863 Wake, C. S., Esq., Foreign Member of the Anthropological Institute of New
York, 411 East 45th Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
1874 Walhouse, M. J, Esq., 28 Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood, N.W. (1)
1866 Wallace, A. R, Esq., D.C.L., F.E.S., F.L.S., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S., Corfe View,
Parkeston, Dorset, (f )
1891 Ward, Herbert, Esq., 53 Chester Square, S. W. (f )
1897 Webster, John Aplin, Esq., 21 Castle Street East, Oxford Street, W.
1901 Webster, W. D., Esq., Home Court, Palace Road, Streatham Hill.
1895 Wells, Samuel, Esq., F.R.G.S., Richmond,, Yorks.
1901 White, Franklin, Esq., P.O. Box 669, Buluwayo.
1901 Williams, J. W., Esq., M.E.C.S., L.E.C.P. Lond., F.L.S., 128 Mansfield Road,
Gospel Oak, N. W.
1901 Williams, S. Herbert, Stedman House, Surbiton Hill.
1869 Winwood, Eev. H. H., M.A., F.G.S., 11 Cavendish Crescent, Bath.
1901 Withers, A. Delisle, Esq., Eivhurst, 21 Lichfield Road, Kew Gardens.
1881 Wolfe, Miss E. S., High Broom, Crowborough, Sussex. (*)
SUBSCRIBERS TO THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE.
The Library Committee of the Corporation of the City of London.
( 13 )
SOCIETIES, ETC., EXCHANGING PUBLICATIONS
WITH THB
ANTHKOPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
Dublin... Royal Dublin Society.
— Royal Irish Academy.
Edinburgh.. Royal College of Physicians.
— Royal Society of Edinburgh.
— Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Glasgow... Philosophical Society.
London... British Medical Association.
— Egypt Exploration Fund.
— Folklore Society.
— Geologists' Association.
- Hellenic Society.
- India Office, Whitehall.
— Japan Society.
— Journal of Mental Science.
— Nature.
London... Palestine Exploration Fund.
— Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076.
— Royal Archaeological Institute.
— Royal Asiatic Society.
- Royal Colonial Institute.
- Royal Geographical Society.
— Royal Society.
- Royal Society of Literature.
- Royal Statistical Society.
- Royal United Service Institution.
— Society of Antiquaries.
— Society of Biblical Archaeology.
Taunton...The Somersetshire Archaeo-
logical Society.
Truro , . . Roy al Institution of Cornwall.
EUROPE.
AUSTRO-HUNGARY.
Agram... Kroatische Archaologische Ge-
sellschaft.
Budapest... Magyar Tudomanyos Aka-
demia.
- Magyar Nemzeti Neprajzi Ostalya.
Cracow... Akademija Umiejetnosci.
Vienna... Anthropologische Gesellschaft.
— K. Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Sarajevo... Landesmuseum (Wissen-
schaftliche Mittheilungen aus Bosnien).
BELGIUM.
Brussels.. . Academic Royale des Sciences,
etc. de Belgique.
— Societe d'Anthropologie de Bruxelles.
- Societe d'Archeologie de Bruxelles.
DENMARK.
Copenhagen... Societe des Antiquaires du
Nord.
FRANCE.
Lyons... Societe d'Anthropologie de
Lyon.
Paris... L'Anthropologie.
— Ecole d'Anthropologie.
Pern's... Rev uede 1'Histoiredes Religions.
— Societe d'Anthropologie.
— Annee Sociologique.
GERMANY.
Berlin... Berliner Gesellschaft fur An-
thropologie, Ethnologic, und Urges-
chichte.
— K. Museum fiir Volkerkunde.
— Seminar fiir Orientalische Sprachen.
Breslau... Centralblatt fiir Anthro-
pologie, etc.
Gotha... Petermann's Mittheilungen.
Halle-a-d-Saale... Kaiserliche Leopol-
dina Carolina Akademie der Deutschen
Naturforscher.
— Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesell-
schaft.
Kiel... Anthropologischer Verein fur
Schleswig-Holstein.
Leipzig... Verein fur Erdkunde.
Munich... Deutsche Gesellschaft fur
Anthropologie, Ethnologie, und
Urgeschichte.
14
Societies, etc., Exchanging Publications
Stuttgart... Zeitschrift fur Morphologic
und Anthropologie.
GREECE.
Athens... Ephemeris Archaiologike.
— Annual of the British School of
Archaeology.
ITALY.
Florence... Societa Italiana di Antropo-
logia, Etnologia, e Psicologia Com-
parata.
Rome.., Bullettino di Paletnologia
Italiana.
— Societa Romana di Antropologia.
Rome... Accademia dei Lincei.
Turin... Archivio di Psichiatria.
NETHERLANDS.
Amsterdam... Koninklijke Akademie van
Wetenschappen .
Leiden... Internationales Archiv fiir
Ethnographic.
The Hague... Koninklijk Instituut voor
de Taal-, Land-, en Yolkenkuude van
Nederlandsch Indie.
PORTUGAL.
Lisbon... Portugal em Africa.
Porto... Portugalia.
RUSSIA.
Moscow... Imper. Obshchestvo Lubitelei
lestestvoznania, Antropologii, i Etno-
grafii.
St. Petersburg... Imper. Akademia Nauk.
SWEDEN.
Stockholm... Academy of Antiquities,
National Museum.
— Nordiska Museet.
— Ymer.
AFRICA.
Cape Town... S. African Philosophical Society.
AMERICA.
BRAZIL.
Rio de Janeiro... Museu Nacional.
CANADA.
Montreal... Royal Society of Canada.
Toronto... Canadian Institute.
UNITED STATES.
Cambridge, Mass — Peabody Museum,
Science.
Chicago... American Antiquarian.
— Field Columbian Museum.
New York... American Museum of
Natural History.
Philadelphia... Free Museum of Science
and Art (University of Philadelphia,
Department of Archaeology,) .
Washington... American Anthropologist.
— Bureau of Ethnology.
— Smithsonian Institution.
- United States Geological Survey.
— United States National Museum.
Worcester, Mass.... American Journal of
Psychology.
ASIA.
CHINA.
Shanghai... Royal Asiatic Society
(China branch).
INDIA.
Bombay... Anthropological Society.
— Indian Antiquary.
Calcutta... Bengal Asiatic Society.
Colombo... Royal Asiatic Society (Cey-
lon branch).
JAPAN.
Tokio... Asiatic Society of Japan.
— Tokio-Daigaku (Imperial Univer-
sity).
JAVA.
Batavia . . . Bataviaasche Genootschap van
Kunsten en Wetenschappen.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
Singapore... Royal Asiatic Society
(Straits Branch).
with the Anthropological Institute.
15
AUSTRALIA AND PACIFIC.
Honolulu... Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Museum.
Melbourne... Royal Society of Vic-
toria.
Sydney... Australian Museum.
Sydney... Australasian Association for
the Advancement of Science.
— Royal Society of New South
Wales.
Wellington, N.Z... Polynesian Society.
PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED IN EXCHANGE FOR "MAN."
ENGLAND.
London... Church Missionary Intelli-
gencer.
— Journal of the East India Association.
- Lancet.
— South American Missionary Society.
AUSTRIA.
Prag... Cesky Lid.
BELGIUM.
Brussels... Mission Beige.
Ghent... Volkskunde.
FRANCE.
Dax... Societe de Borda.
Paris... Re vuedes Traditions Populaires.
— Melusine.
GERMANY.
Brunsivick... Globus.
Danzig... West Preussiches Provincial-
Museum.
Dresden... Bericht des Vereins fur
Erdkunde.
Guben... Niederlauzitzer Mittheilungen.
Munich . . . Korrespondenzblatt.
— Geographische Gesellschaft.
Niirnberg... Bericht der Natur-historis-
chen Gesellschaffc.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
Sydney... Science of Man.
PORTUGAL.
Lisbon... Archeologo Portugues.
Serpa... A Tradicao.
SERVIA.
Alexinatz... Karadjitch.
SWITZERLAND.
Zurich... Schweizerisches Archiv fur
Volkskunde.
UNITED STATES.
Boston... American Journal of Archae-
ology.
Chicago... Open Court.
Meriden... Biblia.
New York... Appleton's Popular Science
Monthly.
Philadelphia... Proceedings of American
Philosophical Society.
LONDON :
HARRISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTT,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
JOURNAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.
FEBRUARY 4ra, 1901.
C. H. READ, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting were read and confirmed.
The Election of the following new Fellows was announced :
Mr. J. BRUCE, M.B., Town Hall Square, Grimsby.
Mr. A. H. GARDINER, Queen's College, Oxford.
The PRESIDENT declared the ballot open, and appointed, as Scrutineers, Mr. J.
Gray and Mr. T. V. Hodgson.
The TREASURER presented his Report for the year 1900 ; the adoption was
moved by Mr. GOWLAND, seconded by Prof. HOWES.
The SECRETARY read the Report of the Council for 1900 ; the adoption was
moved by Mr. BRABROOK, and seconded by Mr. WALHOUSE. After some remarks
by Dr. GARSON, the Reports were accepted nem. con.
The PRESIDENT delivered his Annual Address.
The SCRUTINEERS gave in their Report, and the following were declared
to be duly elected, to serve as Officers and Council for the year 1901 : —
t.—]?™*. A. C. Haddon, M.A., Sc.D., F.R.S.
Vicc-Prcsidents.
A. J. Evans, Esq., M.A., F.S.A. | Win. Gowland, Esq., F.S.A.
Prof. G. B. Howes, LL.D., F.R.S.
Hon. Secretary.— J. L. Myres, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S.
Hon. Treasurer. — A. L. Lewis, Esq., F.C.A.
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV).
Report of the Council for the year beginning 30th January, 1900.
Council.
G. M. Atkinson, Esq.
H. Balfour, Esq., M.A.
Wm. Crooke, Esq., B.A.
Prof. D. J. Cunningham, M.D, F.R.S.
W. L. H. Duckworth,_Esq, M.A.
R. W. Felkin, Esq., M.D., F.R.G.S.
H. 0. Forbes, Esq., LL.D.
J. G. Garson, Esq., M.A.
E. Sidney Hartland, Esq., F.S.A.
Col. Sir T. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B.
T. V. Holm.es, Esq., F.G.S.
E. F. im Thurn, Esq., C.B., C.M.G.
A. Keith, Esq., M.D.
E. Biddulph Martin, Esq., M.P.
Sir C. E. Peek, Bart., M.A., F.S.A.
E. H. Pye, Esq.
E. G. Ravenstein, Esq., F.R.G.S.
Prof. W. Ridgeway, M.A.
W. H. R. Rivers, Esq., M.D.
F, C. Shrubsall, Esq., M.A.
Assistant Secretary. — N. W. Thomas, Esq., M.A.
Prof. A. C. H ADDON, having taken the Chair, proposed that a cordial vote of
thanks be given to Mr. C. H. READ, the outgoing President, and that he be
requested to allow his address to be printed in the Journal of this Institute. The
motion was seconded by the Treasurer, and carried unanimously.
Votes of thanks to outgoing Council, and to the Treasurer, Secretary, and
Assistant Secretary were also passed.
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR BEGINNING
30TH JANUARY, 1900.
The Council is able to report very satisfactory progress during the yes.r under
review, which is shown not only in an increased number of fellows elected., and of
meetings held, but in wider activity and usefulness in many directions.
The number of fellows continues to show steady increase ; for the loss of two
honorary fellows by death, and of ten ordinary fellows by death or resignation, has
been more than balanced by the election of twenty ordinary fellows, and niae
local correspondents under the By-law to which further reference will be made
later on (p. 4). There has thus been a net increase of seventeen ; leading to a
total membership to-day of 356.
Among the losses which the Council has with regret to announce are Miss
Mary Kingsley, Lord Armstrong, Sir William Hunter, Lieutenant-General Pitt-
Rivers, and Professor Max Miiller.
During the year under report, eleven ordinary meetings were held, and two
special meetings in June and November for the reception of communications
which could not be presented on the ordinary days of meeting ; while the Huxley
Memorial Lecture, of which more is said below, took the place of the first ordinary
meeting of the autumn session. In addition to these, an extraordinary meeting was
held in Oxford on July 3rd, to enable the members to study the archaeological and
ethnographical collections of the Ashmolean and Pitt-Rivers Museums.
Report of the Council for the year beginning 30/A January, 1000. 3
In the month of June the rooms of the Institute were utilised for an exhibition
nt specimens of Kabyle and Chawia pottery, jewellery and other industrial arts,
collected by our fellows Mr. D. Eandall-Maclver and Mr. Anthony Wilkin. The
exhibition was visited by a number of fellows and others, and set a precedent
which it is hoped may be followed in future years.
The proposal to found a Huxley Memorial Lecture, which has long occupied
the attention of the Council, has at last been realised, and the first lecture was
delivered on the 13th of November, by the first President of the Institute, the
Right Honourable Lord Avebury, D.C.L., LL.D., F.H.S., who took for his subject
" Huxley, the Man and his Work." The lecture was delivered in the theatre of
the Museum of Practical Geology, the scene of many of Huxley's best-remembered
discourses, and attracted a large and distinguished audience. The thanks of the
Institute are due to the Director of the Geological Survey, Sir Archibald Geikie,
LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.S., for his courteous grant of so appropriate a place of meeting.
A Huxley Memorial Medal was struck in silver to commemorate the occasion, and
was presented to Lord Avebury at the close of his address.
One double-number of the Journal has been issued during the year, completing
Volume II of the new series, and Volume XXIX of the old numbering, which it
has been found more convenient to revive.
To facilitate reference to the Journal, and to make it a more convenient record
of the work of the Institute, the Council has authorised the following modifications
in its form and mode of appearance.
1. From Volume XXX (= N.S. Ill) onwards, the annual volume contains the
papers presented to the Institute between January and December of the calendar
year. The first half of the volume thus contains the report of the Annual Meeting
and the President's Address, together with the other proceedings of the Institute
from January to June, and will be published as soon as possible after the end of
the summer session: the second half contains the proceedings of the autumn
session, and will be published as soon as possible after the end of the calendar
year.
2. The arrangement of the cover is changed so as to bring the table of
contents on to the front page, and make room on the third and back page for
notices and other matter ; and the cover itself is printed on paper of more durable
texture than hitherto, and of a shade of green which is found less liable to fade.
3. The Miscellanea of Volume XXX are printed with separate pagination, so
as to permit the whole of the Miscellanea of the annual volume to be bound up
together at the end, and so to leave only one place where short articles are to be
sought, instead of two, as heretofore. At the same time, to minimise the risk of
confusion between two paginations, each item of Miscellanea is provided with a
reference number in the margin, by which it should be quoted, instead of by the
page number. For further convenience of reference each item is also provided
with catch-titles of the subject, and of the author's name.
4. The separate pagination of the Miscellanea, above described, makes it
B 2
4 Report of the Council for the year beginning '30th January, 1900.
possible for the future to issue short copies of each sixteen page sheet of this part
of the Journal in advance, to every one who may desire to have early information
of its contents ; and after careful deliberation, the Council has decided to extend
the scope of the Miscellanea still further on the same lines, by issuing such advance
copies in a separate cover to fellows and others monthly. The Institute thus
comes into possession of a valuable instrument for the furtherance of its work, in
the shape of a monthly magazine, the publication of which, under the title "Man;
a Monthly Record of Anthropological Science" was begun in January, 1901. Man
consists of sixteen pages of text monthly, together with a full-page plate'; and is
sold to fellows at an annual subscription of Qs., and to the public at 10s., or Is. for
the single number. Every fellow, however, whether a subscriber to the monthly
issue or not, will receive in the place of the Miscellanea of the half-yearly volume
of the Journal a complete copy of Man for the preceding six months.
So far as it is possible to judge at present, the prospects of this new departure
are most favourable ; the January number has been well received by the public
press, and has achieved a steady sale.
5. After mature consideration also the Council has resolved to terminate the
long standing agreement with its publishers, Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner
and Co., and to take the publication of the Journal into its own hands. While
taking this step, of which the importance is sufficiently obvious, the Council
desires to place on record its sense of the continual courtesy of Messrs. Kegan
Paul and Co., during the long period of their association with the Institute and
with the previous Societies.
In the general administration of the affairs of the Institute, two or three
points seem worthy of separate mention. The long delayed revision of the
By-laws was brought to a satisfactory termination early in the year, and a printed
copy of them was issued to every fellow enclosed in the latter part of Volume XXIX
of the Journal. The Council desires to call the attention of the fellows to the
provision for an Executive Committee, which has relieved the Council of much
routine work, and enabled it to devote its limited time to weightier matters ; to
the revised Library Regulations, which are working well ; and to the establishment
of a new class of Local Correspondents, which is already securing the closer
co-operation of working anthropologists in the remoter parts of the world.
The simplification of the routine-work above mentioned, and the rearrange-
ment of the duties of the Institute's staff, have enabled the Council to
dispense with the services of a Collector. The fellows have therefore been
requested to pay their subscriptions for 1901 either direct to the Institute or
to the Institute's account with Messrs. Eobarts, Lubbock, and Co., and to adopt as
far as possible the common and convenient practice of making their payments
by a standing banker's order.
It is also mainly in consequence of the readjustment of the office work, and
of the greatly increased activity of the Institute in every department, that the
Council has to announce the resignation by Mr. Webster of the post of Assistant
of the Council for the year beginning 30^/t January, 1900. 5
Secretary which he has held for the past five years. Mr. Webster has served the
Institute vvitli unfailing goodwill and courtesy during a difficult period of its
history, and the Council desires to put on record its sense of his constant devotion
to its welfare. The vacant post has been filled by the appointment of Mr. N. W.
Thomas, M.A. (Trinity College, Cambridge), who is already known to students of
comparative religion by his investigation of animal superstitions, and to whose
energy and resource the Institute is already greatly indebted for a further increase
of activity, and for the marked progress that has been made in the revision and
reorganisation of the library.
At the invitation of the Royal Society the Council has resolved to become
responsible for the compilation of the British part of the section of Anthropology
in the new International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. The Institute is
represented on the British Regional Bureau by its President and by Professor
Tylor; and has secured the adoption of important amendments of the original
schedule. As, however, the schedule of Physical Anthropology even as finally
adopted does not by any means cover the whole of the field of the Institute's
activity, it has been resolved to supplement the titles required for the International
Catalogue by a further list of anthropological literature which will be maintained
in the office of the Institute and published as occasion serves.
Turning from general administration to the management of the library, the
Council has to record substantial progress in several directions. The periodicals
received in exchange have risen in number from 93 to 109 (34 British, 15 Colonial,
GO Foreign), and the number of books and pamphlets presented, from 76 to 180.
With the very small sum (£10) which was available for the purpose, the
current binding has been completed and some arrears made up ; and something
has been done to complete imperfect sets of periodicals by the purchase of missing
numbers. The unbound pamphlets have been catalogued and put away in stout
cardboard cases ; and a large part of the library .was rearranged in the course of
the vacation so as to make the most of the available space. The great increase of
acquisitions, however, and the prospect of even greater increase in the immediate
future — more than half of the acquisitions having been made in the last quarter
of the year — make the question of additional space more pressing even than it
appeared when last year's Report was written ; and the Council has already
thought it well to empower the officers to make the necessary enquiries and to
report during the current session.
The collection of photographs still grows steadily, and an important step has
been taken by the formation of a loan-collection of lantern slides for the use of
lecturers. In this matter, the Institute has had the good fortune to secure the
co-operation of the Folklore Society ; the loan collection of slides being placed
under the management of a joint committee of the two institutions, and
incorporating the small collections which were already in the possession of i-ach.
A full account of the working of the loan-collection will be found in the Journal,
Volume XXX (Miscellanea, No. 11).
6 Treasurer's Report for the year 1900.
In another department also the Council is glad to record co-operation between
the Anthropological Institute and the Folklore Society. Early in June, 1900, the
then President of the Folklore Society brought to the notice of the Council of the
Institute the urgent question of determining by special enquiry the status, laws,
and social customs of the native races of the Transvaal and the Orange River
Colony. After full discussion a detailed memorial was drawn up and submitted
jointly by the Anthropological Institute and the Folklore Society to the Secretary
of State for the Colonies, and from the terms of the reply it may be inferred that
the necessary investigations will be undertaken, so soon as the condition of the
new Colonies may permit.
Turning finally from the present to the future the Council recommends to the
fellows the adoption of a definite policy in regard to some of the most important
sections of the Institute's work. The rapid growth of the library is a source of
continual anxiety ; at the same time the usefulness of a library depends more than
anything upon the extent to which it can be kept up to date by systematic
accessions. The rapidly changing conditions of higher education may make it
necessary before long to act promptly and vigorously if the "proper study of
Mankind " is to secure due recognition in revised curricula, and in new educational
centres. And the continuous and rapid destruction of non-European civilisations,
and of the evidence for earlier stages of culture calls more imperiously than ever
for organised and effectual effort for their preservation, or at least for observation
of them before their inevitable disappearance. To all these points the Council has
given its careful attention, as opportunity has served ; and appeals confidently to
the fellows for their cordial support in carrying out the great objects of the
Institute on the lines laid down in this Report.
TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1900.
The income of the Institute for the year 1900 was £534 10s. ILd., being
£10 2*. Wd. more than the income for 1899. The subscriptions received during
the year show an increase of £75 10s. Qd., consisting mainly of two life
subscriptions amounting to £42, against none in 1899 ; and of arrears £37 16s., as
against £6 8s. in 1899. In consequence of our having published only one double
number of the Journal in 1900, instead of two as usual, the sales of publications
have produced only £63 19s. 5d as against £127 Us. 7d. in 1899, and £92 4s. 2d.
in 1898.
The expenditure during the year 1900 was £588 7s. against £590 3s. lid. in
1899, and has exceeded the income by £53 16s. Id., and in consequence of this
and previous deficits in our revenue account, £100 of our invested stock has been
sold, the produce of which, £108 10s., has been placed to our credit with our
Bankers. The expenditure on the Journal has been £43 less in 1900 than in 1899,
but miscellaneous printing and stationery, and also stamps and parcels, have
increased, as a result of increased activity in the Secretary's department. More
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8 Treasurer's Report for the Year 1900.
has been spent on the library, and it has been supplied with the electric light.
The Huxley Medal and Lecture also appear for the first time in the accounts.
These various increases in expenditure nearly balance the reduction in the cost of
the Journal, which latter, moreover, is only due to the temporary delay in
publication. In order to have more money to spend on the library and secretarial
department the Council has dispensed with the services of its Collector, and trusts
that the members will pay their subscriptions direct, without requiring many
reminders ; for the same reason the Council has resolved to promote " plain living "
by the suppression of refreshments before the meetings, while " high thinking "
will, on the other hand, be encouraged by the issue of a monthly publication called
Man. What the effect of these alterations may be on the receipts and expenditure
will be seen in two or three years' time, but it is hoped that it will on the whole
be beneficial.
The liabilities at the end of 1899 (other than the moral liability to life
members) were : —
£ s. d.
Rent, etc., for one quarter ... ... 33 15 0
Notes and Queries ... ... ... 10 9 8
Printing, Collector's commission, and
sundries, including work on double
number of Journal not completed, say 175 15 4
£220 0 0
The assets at the same date were: — £500 Metropolitan 3^ per cent. Con-
solidated Stock (worth about £540), cash in hand and at the Bankers, £119 10s. Qd.,
some unpaid subscriptions, and the library, furniture, and stock of publications,
blocks, and copyrights.
A. L. LEWIS, Treasurer.
PEESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT THE ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THE
ANTHEOPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
IRELAND.
4TH FEBRUARY, 1901.
BY C. H. READ, F.S.A.
No public function in any part of our Empire can take place at this time without
an allusion to the grievous loss that has befallen us in the death of our beloved
sovereign Queen Victoria. While I do not feel that the occasion calls for many
words, I am sure that the members of this Institute would desire that I should
express their deep sense of the calamity that has come upon us all. The effect of
so long a reign as was vouchsafed to the Queen is that every one of us feels that
we are entering upon a new epoch, a feeling that has no doubt some foundation in
fact. One remarkable feature of the past few days has struck me forcibly, as it
must have struck others, and that is the eminently personal nature of the public
mourning, every person one meets has the feeling of having lost a near friend or
relation, essentially different from the impression produced by the death of one
who was only a great personage in the state. The reason of this intense devotion
of her people to the Queen's person is assuredly to be found in that rare womanly
sympathy and tactful behaviour that she invariably showed in times of national
trouble or disaster — her heart was always with her people, whether in times of
mourning or of joy. May it be that her high standard of a royal life has become a
firm heritage of the crown of England. In our King Edward VII, a name so
entirely grateful to English ears, we have a man who for many years past has
devoted himself with singular self-denial to the many and varied duties that fell to
his lot, while his more recent utterances have been so full of judgment and royal
dignity as to leave no doubt in our minds that he fully recognises the great
responsibilities of his unique position, and is ready to bear them in a manner
befitting the son of such parents, and worthy of the best traditions of the royal
house of England. Long may he reign.
In this the first address from the chair in the twentieth century, it is a real
pleasure to me to be able to say that our own branch of science seems to be on the
upward road. I ventured at this time last year to foreshadow such an improving
tendency, but found somewhat to my surprise that my forecast was not received
10 President's Address.
with the unanimous assent that I had hoped. This year, in place of vague
generalities, I am fortunately able to point to substantial facts in proof of my
assertion, facts that admit of no question.
In the first place I wish to call special attention to our own domestic affairs,
which concern us very nearly. The report of the Council which you have just
heard read, contains much that I consider distinctly cheering. The increase in the
number of Ordinary Fellows elected compares very favourably with previous years,
and I would point out that the importance this year is not so much in the mere
number, for among our new Fellows are some names that stand highest in this
country in the study of anthropology and primitive civilisation. Thus we may
fairly look forward to finding at our meetings and in our publications the very best
material that the country can produce.
Another incident in the past year that I hope may prove fruitful of good
things is the inauguration of the Huxley lecture. This lecture was probably the
most popular function in the annals of the Institute ; and I see no reason why
every succeeding lecture should not be equally so. From the nature of the case
the first lecture was introductory and general, and no more fitting lecturer could
have been chosen than Lord Avebury, whose eminently sympathetic character lent
a charm to the subject, which, though full of incident as well as of human interest,
might well have been turned into a dry and somewhat academic discourse. That
it was nothing of this kind we have to thank Lord Avebury, who thus started this
most important connection between the Institute and the general public. "With a
moderate exercise of judgment, the Huxley lectures may be made a most valuable
means of obtaining recruits for anthropology.
I will now allude to another means of attaining the same desirable end, though
as far as publication is concerned it belongs to the current year. This is the
monthly journal called "Man" of which the first number has appeared. This
departure from ancient methods we owe to the restless energy and resource of our
talented Secretary, Mr. Myres, to whom we owe much in other directions also. It
may at first sight seem wasteful to duplicate the matter that ultimately appears in
the pages of our Journal, but in reality it is not so. It had long been felt a draw-
back to offering current matter to the Institute that an interval of six months or
more would probably intervene before it would see the light in print. For many
things it may be that this is no disadvantage, but it will not be disputed that
prompt publication has many merits, and perhaps even more for the Institute than
for the writer of a paper. Such a journal even of the modest dimensions of our
present venture, serves as a medium of communication between students both at
home and abroad ; it attracts far more material than a quarterly or half-yearly
journal can possibly do, and material moreover of a kind that, though of high
importance, would be quite out of place in a publication appearing less frequently.
It has another virtue that must not be overlooked, in that it brings into notice
at the beginning of every month the useful work that the Institute is doing, a
form of advertisement of great practical value. We have reasonable grounds for
President's Address. 11
hoping that this modest sheet will have such success during the current year that
the Council may feel justified in continuing its issue as a regular part of the
implications of the Institute.
Another new departure from our ancient procedure that has marked the last
year is the appointment of a number of gentlemen located in many parts of the
world, as Local Correspondents of the Institute. Here again we think that useful
material for our meetings and publications will be forthcoming as a result. These
correspondents are invited to contribute not.es and papers relating to the peoples
witli whom they are in daily contact, and their contributions, which will have
special value as being first hand, will appear in the Journal or in " Man " as their
nature may demand.
An undertaking in which we propose to play our part is the International
Catalogue of Scientific Literature. This vast and comprehensive scheme has at
last been brought into something like system and begins its universal work this
year. The Royal Society Committee has had no light task in reducing the various
and often conflicting interests into a working scheme, and it is no secret that even
now there is dissatisfaction among the representatives of the different branches of
science with regard to the schedules that form the basis of their contributions.
Some overlapping of work there must of necessity be, having regard to the intimate
relations of the work of many societies one with another, but to a certain extent
the useless duplication of work has been foreseen and prevented by the instruc-
tions of the Committee. With regard to the schedule for our own section we
ventured to protest against parts of it that we regarded as illogical or impractical,
as well as against its limited character. In great part our protest met with
success, and the result was a modification of some parts and to some degree an
extension of its scope. The exclusion from such a scheme of every branch of
anthropology except that dealing with the physical characters of man reveals,
however, a state of mind in English science that can scarcely be called scientific,
and differs widely from that prevailing on the Continent or in America. There
can be little doubt that it will be found in practice impossible to deal with physical
anthropology, which on another side comes very near to comparative anatomy,
without taking in the vast amount of important literature dealing with man as a
social being and something more than an animal. Thus we have reason to hope
that the inherent difficulties of the present arrangement will work for us in
bringing about the complete acceptance of all sides of anthropology as coming
under the denomination of scientific literature.
I now come to what I think is the most signal step that has been made in the
recognition of anthropology as a useful branch of science, and it came about in this
wise. Some two years ago I had a conversation with Mr. Risley, who lias done
such excellent work in India, with regard to the coming Indian census, with the
result that the aid of the British Association was invoked, and the India Office
appealed to, that some ethnographical material might be collected by the census
officers. The scheme as it came from the British Association Committee was in
12 Presidents Address.
truth of somewhat formidable dimensions, and it could scarcely be expected that
trained photographers and officers competent to take measurements should be
attached to the staff of the census, over the whole area of India. But the India
Office and the Indian Government were both sympathetic, and the following letter
from Sir Arthur Godley to Sir Michael Foster shows exactly what is proposed :—
" India Office,
" Whitehall, London, S.W.
" SIR, " December, 1900.
"With reference to your letter of December, 1899, and my reply No. E. and
S. 3539, of the 16th January, 1900, I am directed to inform you that the Secretary
of State for India in Council has now received the remarks of the Government of
India on the suggestion of the British Association for the Advancement of Science,
that opportunity should be taken to collect ethnographical information by means
of the Indian Census of 1901.
"2. The Government of India entirely agree with the Secretary of State's
recognition of the importance of the investigations which the Association
suggested, but find themselves constrained to say that it is impossible (except
to the limited extent indicated in paragraph 4 of this letter) to make these
investigations by means of, or in connection with, the Census. They consider that
the addition to the Census Schedule of Columns relating to even a small number
of ethnographic facts would expand it to unwieldy dimensions ; the enumerating
agency is wholly unfitted to conduct such an inquiry, and the facts recorded by
it would be worthless ; and they apprehend that there would, be grave risk not
only that the accuracy of the entries in the essential columns would be impaired
by the additional burden imposed on the enumerators, but also that the unusual
nature of the questions asked would give rise to rumours and excite apprehensions
which would seriously interfere with the ordinary operations of the Census.
" 3. The Government of India also deem it impracticable to carry out the
suggestion that photographers should be placed at the disposal of the Census
oilicers, as this, besides being very expensive, would hinder the officers' proper
duties, and would delay the submission of the reports which it is desired to
complete as soon as possible.
" 4. With the view, however, of taking action, as far as may be practicable,
in the direction of collecting ethnographical information, the Census Commissioner
has instructed the Census Superintendents to endeavour, in the districts which
they visit, to obtain, from the most trustworthy sources, particulars under uniform
headings regarding the history, structure, traditions, and religious and social
usages of the various tribes and castes. The Commissioner considers that nothing
beyond this can be undertaken in connexion with the Census operations, and the
Government of India accept his opinion ; but they have considered the question
how far it is possible and advisable apart from the Census to encourage and assist
ethnographic investigations in India, and have submitted a scheme by which it is
President's Address.
that in the course of a few years a fairly complete account of the
ethnography of the larger provinces may be obtained.
" This scheme has received Lord George Hamilton's approval.
" I am, Sir,
" Your obedient Servant,
"(Signed) A. GOD LEY.
"Sm MICHAEL FOSTER, K.C.B., F.R.S.,
" Burlington House,
" Piccadilly, W."
Thus it will be seen that in connection with the Census we may expect to
have a considerable amount of ethnographical material; but there is a larger
matter indicated in the closing words of the letter, where it is stated that the
Government of India have "submitted a scheme by which it is hoped that in the
course of a few years a fairly complete account of the ethnography of the larger
provinces may be obtained." It is to this scheme that I look for something on a
scale worthy of the Indian Government. Mr. Eisley wrote in the autumn of last
year to tell me of the progress that had been made in carrying out the British
Association proposals, and explained how considerable delay had been caused by
the necessity of dealing with the very severe famine.
I should like in passing to point out the high value of men of the knowledge
and experience of Lord Curzon in such a position as Viceroy of India, when a
question of this character arises. Lord Curzon has read much and travelled much,
and has constantly been brought into contact with the natives of many parts of
the world. To a man of his varied experience it is not necessary to bring forward
many arguments to show the value in India of such a thing as an ethnographic
survey. He already fully realises the importance of it, and must, I am sure, have
been of the greatest help to Mr. Eisley in carrying the scheme through. What
this scheme is may be described in a few words. It will be a regular survey
embracing ethnography and anthropometry, and extending over five years. In
every province a selected man will be paid to superintend the work, and special
monographs on particular tribes will be written by various authorities. Mr. Eisley,
I am pleased to say, will control the whole as Director of Ethnography for India.
No one is better qualified by his previous experience and talents for such a post,
and I do not doubt that the results of the five years' work will be found of such
value in the administration of the various provinces that ethnography will be
recognised as an essential part of the administrative machine. Mr. Eisley has
asked the help of the Institute in preparing his sets of questions, and this we
have arranged that he shall have ; but in a general way his plan of operations
will be the same as he pursued in Bengal fourteen years ago. Here, again, I think
I am justified in claiming an advance in the official recognition of anthropology.
Yet another step has been made in the favourable reception accorded by the
Colonial Office to the memorial on the natives of South Africa sent in by the
14 President's Address.
Folklore Society and ourselves to Mr. Chamberlain. The state of the natives in
South Africa, when the time comes for peaceful government, is not easy to foresee.
They have experienced in the past the benefits of British rule, and if our officers
are allowed a fair field, there will probably be few difficulties. But it is quite on
the cards that it will not be easy in some quarters to obtain a fair hearing, and it
is in such cases that the thorough understanding of native laws and customs
becomes a matter of the first importance. We may be sure that the emissaries
working against British influence will be well informed in such matters, and will
be ready to take advantage of every superstitious turn in the native mind. Much
waste of valuable time, money, and even human lives, will be avoided if the
Government takes this matter in hand; the men capable of dealing with the
various African tribes will not be hard to find, and I trust that no time may be
lost in securing their services well in advance of the actual time when they are
needed.
Such are some of the events of the past year upon which I rely to prove my
contention that there is a marked advance in the recognition of anthropology ; and
I think you will agree that they are important enough to justify me in making the
claim.
We now have to consider what this all means and the duties it entails on us.
So far as the Government or official point of view is concerned, it is a commonplace
that routine is apt to control all official action, and that a new departure, while it
may come from within, more generally, and in some ways beneficially, has its
origin outside a Government department. The ethnographic survey of India, of
which I have just spoken, is a case in point. I think it possible, in this case, that
we have obtained a greater concession from the scheme having been put forward
through the British Association than would have been the case if it had originated
entirely with the Government of India, though at the same time I fully recognise that
it is to the enlightened foresight of Lord Curzon that we owe nearly the whole of
the power we possess.
Whether this is the case or no, it certainly behoves the Council of this
Institute to keep now a watchful eye on the current of public events, so that no
opportunity is lost of placing in an obvious light the utility of anthropological
methods. The concessions in this direction that we have obtained of late from
ministers and other public men should be used with judgment and assiduity in
obtaining constant, instead of occasional, recognition of the value of our work. I
have always found that, properly approached, the officers of the higher branches of
the civil service are quite ready to listen to and forward any scheme that has a
reasonable chance of success and is not too costly.
So many great undertakings in this country are, however, the outcome of
private enterprise that it must be borne in mind that fully as much energy is
engaged in private ventures among primitive peoples as can be found in official
circles. I need only instance the Niger Company and others of the kind on the
African Continent, without going back to the East India or Hudson's Bay
President's Address. 15
Companies, one of which has long been Imperial as the other is gradually becoming
absorbed in the Empire. We should in time, if circumstances continue to favour
us, be in a position to give the officers of such companies valuable information for
the conduct of their affairs with natives, and thus be of distinct value to
commercial enterprise. It is only by such measures that the real utility of
scientific methods can be brought home to the public mind ; and when I say that
we must see to this, I do not of course mean that this Institute is to do the work
alone, though 1 trust that it will be always in the forefront, but that all who are
working at, or interested in, anthropology must lose no chance of forwarding the
study, and of putting before both the official and commercial world the money
value of its results. In order to anticipate possible criticism it may be well to
say definitely that I have no wish to regard this or any other branch of science
as primarily a money -getting business. There are many discoveries and methods
in science that have conferred an immense boon on humanity without putting a
penny into anyone's pocket. It is well that it is so, for I am inclined to think
that a branch of science that is essentially commercial is very apt to some
extent to lose caste from this very fact. My point is that anthropology can
confer benefits on the State and on the commercial world, and may, therefore,
fairly demand the corresponding reward. The reward may in some cases take
the form of public recognition, or it may be something more substantial and
tangible ; but in either case it would be a benefit that we cannot afford to overlook,
and, in my judgment, is worth trying for.
There is one other matter that I have more than once publicly advocated, and
that is the more definite recognition of anthropology in our teaching centres. This
really is closely connected with my previous argument, and thus may well follow
it. I say definite recognition, for in most Universities there is a kind of half-
hearted course into which anthropology enters to a degree ; but the way, if not the
will, seems wanting to put the teaching on its proper footing and to let it stand on
its own merits. At Cambridge the way is slowly opening, and I trust that within
a few years there will be a chair of anthropology filled by one of the competent
and energetic men now working there at the subject. Here, again, it is at this
moment the want of means that blocks the way, and I would venture to suggest
that a teginning should be made by one or more of the many wealthy men
interested in Cambridge or in science or in both. I believe a first-rate man would
be forthcoming if only an income of say £300 a year were ensured for a limited
term of five to ten years. If this could be done it would be beneficial in two ways.
It would secure a good man for the University, and he would then have the
opportunity of proving to the University that anthropology really was a branch
of science and that there was no need to mask it as part of a medical degree, or to
call it by anything but its real name. If at the end of the time the unlikely event
happened and it was found to be a redundancy and useless, then the course to be
taken by the University would be simple and nobody could say a word of reproach.
I speak of Cambridge particularly, because the strides made there in this direction
16 President's Address.
during the last few years are most remarkable, and I think the scheme I propose
would he received with favour, as well as give them at the same time a helping
hand in the direction in which they are now going vigorously. But I would by no
means wish to limit the chairs of anthropology to the two great Universities.
Primd facie it might be thought that some of the others would be more likely to
take up the subject, say for instance Birmingham, where the scope of the new
University has been the subject of a good deal of consultation. Here would be a
chance ready to hand of putting into practice the useful side of anthropology.
With regard to the newly constituted University of London I have already
stated my view, but difficulties stand in the way of what I still think is a
practicable scheme. One part of it, though not an essential one, was the installa-
tion by the side of the University of the anthropological collections now belonging
to the nation. This would provide a concrete centre for anthropological study,
such as seems beyond the possibility of realisation within any reasonable time.
Speaking entirely as one of the public, and not as an officer of the British Museum,
for I have no information, it certainly seems unlikely that any addition to the
Museum of a useful size will be made during the next few years. The enormous
cost of the South African campaign will be held a sufficient excuse for any
Chancellor of the Exchequer for some time to come, and meanwhile what is to be
done?
I have recently received from Dr. von., Luschan, one of the directors of the
Museum fiir Volkerkunde in Berlin, a strong statement that he has recently
printed in "Die K. Knorrsche Sammlung von Benin- Altertumern ... in
Stuttgart," 1901 (p. 3), in which he comments in very forcible terms on the neglect
of our opportunities that is so common in England with regard to matters ethno-
graphical. He points out how in Berlin the colonial officials are constantly helping
the national museums, and calls especial attention to the way in which the spoils
of British blood and treasure obtained at Benin were sold to foreign museums.1
1 Zunachst waren natiirlich die Bemiihungen der Fachleute mehr darauf gerichtet, den
einzelnen Sammlungen einen moglichst grossen Anteil an dem Funde zu sichern, als darauf,
die Stiicke selbst ernsthaft zu studieren. So begann ein Jagen und Preistreiben, wie es in
der Geschichte der ethnographischen Museen unerhort ist und sich wohl niemals wiederholen
wird. Dabei zeigte sich die merkwiirdige Erscheinung, dass England selbst nicht im stands
war, den in einer britischen Kolonie entdeckten und mit britischem Geld und Blut gehobenen
Schatz auch ganz allein fiir das britische Museum zu sichern. Das steht mit der unbegreiflichen
und nahezu frevelhaften Geringschatzung im Zusammenhang, welche der Volkerkunde und
der ethnographischen Abteilung des Britischen Museums gegenwartig seitens der Britischen
Eegierung zu teil wird. Die Mahnrufe eines so ausgezeichneten Forschers und so
hochverdienten Beamten wie C. H. Read werden in den Wind geschlagen und die oberste
Leitung des Britischen Museums selbst scheint die ethnographische Abtheilung nur als ein
lastiges Anhangsel zu betrachten, das in jeder Weise niedergedriickt und klein erhalten
werden muss. So fehlt es jetzt in London nicht nur an Geld zum Erwerben und an Eaum
zum Aufstellen von ethnographischen Sammlungen, sondern auch an jenem harmonischen
Zusammenarbeiten der Kolonialverwaltung mit den wissenschaftlichen Instituten, das
z. B. in Berlin so schone und wichtige Resultate zeitigt. Deshalb entsprechen die kolonialen
Sammlungen im Britiscben Museum auch nicht entfernt der politischen Bedeutung des
President's Address. 17
He says that the Ethnographical Museum in Berlin is now seven times as
extensive as the collection in the British Museum, and will in a few years be ten'
times as large, while every year that passes sensibly diminishes the stock of
available specimens, not so much by destruction as by the change in the habits of
the natives. This is not pleasant reading for one in my position, nor should it be
any more pleasant for any Englishman interested in the all-round progress of his
country. How can it be bettered ? For my own part I do not think that any
marked improvement can take place until a proper home is found for the
anthropological collections where they can be set out in a useful and scientific
manner, instead of being considered an excrescence on the national library and
archaeological collections. As I before suggested, if they could be set down in the
Imperial Institute they would be conveniently near the students of the London
University and would be appropriately placed in the vicinity of the Natural
History Branch of the British Museum, to which latter institution they would of
course continue to belong.
On the score of popularity the ethnographical collections of the British
Museum have no need to complain — with the public they come next in interest to
the Egyptian mummies — but I feel sure that in sufficiently large galleries to admit
of their proper display the popularity would be far greater, while the advantage
to the collections themselves would be incalculable, both in the greater facilities for
study and — what I am sure would follow — much more numerous accessions.
I can think of no better solution of the difficulty than this, and I therefore
venture to repeat it here, at the risk of being tedious. What 1 have put together
here is little more than an amplification of the Council's report. But I have
Weltreiches, und so gehen der Wissenschaft Jahr ura Jahr kostbare Schatze iiberhaupt ganz
verloren, weil in dem Augenblick, in dem allein sie gehoben werden konnten, der richtige
Mann an der richtigen Stelle fehlt.
Ich wiirde keinerlei Veranlassung haben, britische Verhaltnisse hier zu beleuchten, und
es wiirde mir vielleicht mehr zustehen, stillschweigend mich dariiber zu freuen, dass die
Berliner Sammlung jetzt siebenmal so gross 1st, als die Londoner, und in einigen Jahren
vielleicht schon zehnmal so gross sein wird — aber iiber das lokale Interesse hinaus giebt es ein
allgemein menschliches, und dieses erfordert, dass auch in England selbst endlich begonnen
wird, der ethnographischen Erforschung wenigstens der eigenen Schutzgebiete jenen Grad von
amtlichem Wohlwollen entgegenzubringen, der durch den Ernst der Lage geboten ist.
Denn ethnographische Sammlungen und Beobachtungen konnen entweder jetzt, in zwolfter
tStunde noch geraacht werden, oder iiberhaupt nicht. Alte Kupferstiche und Bilder wird mail
auch in hundert Jahren noch kaufen oder wenigstens studieren konnen, genau wie heute,
weil sie im Kunsthandel und in allerhand Sammlungen sorgfiiltig konserviert werden — der
ethnographische Besitz der Naturvolker schwindet aber unrettbar dahin vor dem zersetzenden
Einfluss einer fremden Kultur. Handel und Verkehr, Missionare und Beamte arbeiten heutc
alle gleichmassig an dieser Zertriiramerung des Alten, und je energischer die materielle
Besitzergreifung, um so griindlicher und schonungsloser ist auch die Zerstorung der alien
Sitten und Gebrauche. Diese miissen jetzt studiert und fiir die Nachwelt festgehalten werden
oder sie bleiben der Wissenschaft fiir ewig verloren. In diesem Sinne schien mir dieser
Excurs im allgemein en ein nobile officium, dem ich mich nicht entziehen durfte, auch wenn
ich voraussehe, hier und dort bei kleineti Geistern anzustossen, aber er schien mir auch im
besonderen notig, um zu zeigen, wie es iiberhaupt moglich ist, dass auch uur ein einziges
Stiick der englischcu Kriegsbeute von Benin in eine kontinentale Sammlung gelangen konnte.
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). C
18 President's Address.
felt strongly for many years past the urgent necessity for some action in the
various directions indicated that I think my duty on this my last appearance in
the Presidential chair cannot be better performed than by pressing home by other
arguments the recommendations the Council have put before you.
I cannot pass by the list of our losses during the year without a reference to
at least two of the names in it.
I need scarcely say many words about a man of the distinction and world-
wide reputation of Professor Max Mtiller. His contributions to the history of
language have secured for him an assured place in the temple of literature.
General Pitt-Rivers is for us in this room a much more familiar figure, and
his death makes a gap that will scarcely ever be entirely filled. Endowed by
nature with talents of no mean order, he was untiring in his investigations into
the problems of early archaeology and anthropology. It is to him that we owe
the application of the theory of evolution to ethnological objects, which, even if
it was at times strained in the application, was without doubt in the main justified.
He had for many years been a collector and explorer of prehistoric sites, when by
a singular chance he inherited the Ptivers estates in Dorset and Wiltshire, which
were full of ancient remains of just the character that was to him of such interest.
There, within the limits of his own park, he found enough to give him occupation
for the remaining twenty years of his life. His methods of exploration were
most thorough and scientific, and the possession of ample means enabled him to
print full accounts of all his work in a minute and accurate style that would be
difficult to surpass. These volumes alone would be a sufficient monument for any
man, but they were only a part of the work that lie laid upon himself. In his
museum at Farnham in Dorset is to be seen a large-scale model of every
excavation he undertook, showing with the utmost precision the exact position of
every object found, while the objects themselves were shown in cases near by.
The museum contained many other things, however, besides the local relics, and it
was always fascinating to hear the General explain his reasons for gathering
together, in the heart of the country, collections of such variety and extent. By
a recent judgment of the Court of Chancery it is now clear that the museum is to
be kept up in the same way as during the General's lifetime. This, I may say,
was his intention, but the Court ruled that some of his provisions were impossible.
I have made no mention of the Pitt-Eivers Museum at Oxford, a gift from the
General to the University, for this, under the charge of my friend Mr. Balfour, is
now so well known as scarcely to need a reference. It differs from other museums
not so much in its contents as in the method of arrangement. This certainly
adds greatly to the interest of the objects, and is at the same time a fresh
testimony to the originality of the General's ideas.
To many of us his commanding figure and somewhat masterful ways were
very familiar; while as President of the Institute he imported something of
military methods into the procedure. His enthusiasm, his energy, even when in
very poor health, and his versatile talents compelled one's admiration, and for my
President's Address. 1 0
own part I may say that I had a great regard for him. He was of a type rarely
found, and now that he is gone there is no one to take his place.
In Miss Mary Kingsley we have a very different personage. Kindly, sensible,
observant, with a cleverness that was not of a common sort, it was impossible not
to like her. If her genial face and smile were not a sufficient passport, her
common sense would certainly hit the mark. Apparently frail even to delicacy, it
is marvellous to think of the endurance she showed in her West African journeys.
Her influence was no less wonderful, and will long survive her short but well filled
life. The " Mary Kingsley Society," founded by her friends and admirers in the
hope of carrying out some of her plans for the bettering of the state of men, black
and white, in West Africa, will assuredly last until it has done its work. A part
of the general fund raised in memory of Mary Kingsley will be given to the
Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Liverpool, while another part is to be devoted to
the collection of native history tradition and religious or superstitious ideas. With
this latter scheme the Institute must necessarily be in entire sympathy, and we
will hope that it may begin its work soon under the best auspices.
This is the burden of what I have to say in my last appearance as your
President. In leaving this dignified post, to which you were good enough to elect
me two years ago, I must ask you to accept my gratitude for the kind way in
which you have borne with my short-comings. There is only one merit that I can
honestly lay claim to, and that is that I have been a good attendant at the
meetings. Otherwise I fear I have not been able to give as much time to the
work of the Institute as I could have wished, but that was entirely beyond my own
control — a very small part of my time is my own.
Here I should like also to express my thanks to the various officers of the
Institute, who have helped me through many difficulties during the past two
years.
I now leave you with the greatest confidence under the guidance of my
distinguished friend and yours, Professor Haddon. In him the Institute has a
man equally conversant with the theory and practice of anthropology. His wide
experience of travel, joined to assiduous study and practice in teaching at home,
make him in many ways an ideal President of such a society as this. That he
has the interests of the Institute at heart I am quite sure, and I am equally sure
that he will be loyally and ably supported by the officers in every step that may
lead to advancement or improvement.
c 2
( 21
ON THE RUINS OF DHLO-DHLO, IN RHODESIA.
BY FRANKLIN WHITE.
[PRESENTED APRIL 23RD, 1901. WITH PLATES I-V.]
IN the central portion of Ehodesia there are numerous stone constructions, now
more or less in ruins, scattered over a considerable area. So little is accurately
known about them that it is not possible to say definitely with what object they
were built. The native races of the present day attribute to them mysterious
origin of the class which usually appeals to the ignorant imagination.
The occupants most certainly not only possessed but also smelted and worked
gold.
The ruins are generally found on or near granite knolls or bosses, not as a rule
actually in the gold-bearing districts, although auriferous veins are often found at
no great distance away. The builders seem to have selected in preference an
agricultural country with positions easily defended. The granite areas, with their
numerous streams, bare knolls, and scattered boulders, would best comply with
these requirements.
In his Ruined Cities of Mashonaland Mr. Theodore Bent records the
results of his exploration of the Zimbabwe ruin, the most extensive yet discovered,
and it is to be regretted that such systematic research has not been continued.
Now, additional knowledge can only be gained from occasional visits of travellers
to ruins lying near their routes or from work carried on chiefly in search for gold
and ornaments. The latter is fortunately conducted in such a way as to do the
least damage compatible with the treasure-hunting, but it naturally is not done
with the object of collecting information or of investigating points of interest.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The Dhlo-Dhlo or Mambo ruins, the subject of this paper, are located some
50 miles north-east of Bulawayo, or say 19| degrees south and 29£ degrees east
The level above sea is about 4,500 feet.
They occupy a commanding position on a granite plateau between two streams
forming part of the head waters of the Inciza River, a tributary of the Limpopo.
The name " Mambo " is derived from the designation of the tribe of Kaffirs
who occupied this country before the Matabeles conquered it.
I was able to make a fairly accurate plan of the most important part of these
ruins and to take some photographs which show the construction of the walls and
the different styles of ornamentation used by the builders.
22 F. WHITE. — On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia.
Some prominent bosses of bare granite were made use of as base for the walls,
and the builders were fully aware of the tendency of granite to peel off in slabs
under atmospheric influences, perhaps assisted by fire. They thus obtained a large
supply of material well suited for their purpose and close at hand. From the hills
a few miles away they brought slabs of banded ironstones, which were ingeniously
used to form a contrast with the grey of the granite.
A reference to the plan (PI. I) will show that the main building is of a
rough egg-shaped form 350 feet long and 200 feet wide, the longer axis running
north-west and south-east. There are two outer enclosures attached to the main
building, one being on the north-eastern and the other on the south-western side.
The northern and south-western sides of the ruin show the finest as well as
the highest walls. The main entrance was undoubtedly on the north side. There
are several isolated buildings surrounding the main ruin, of inferior construction
STYLE OF CONSTKUCTION.
The buildings are made of blocks or small slabs of granite varying generally
from 7 to 11 inches in length and 2^ to 5 inches in thickness. The lower courses
are generally made of larger blocks. Smaller pieces are used for the ornamental
work.
There are no real foundations to the walls ; they just begin on any ground firm
enough to carry them. As they are seldom more than 8 feet high in any one
face the weight is not great. Where additional height was required the walls were
raised in tiers, the upper one being stepped back, leaving a ledge varying from 1
to 12 feet in width, widening and narrowing without any apparent reason. No
mortar or clay was used in the wall proper, but the top was covered with a layer
of clay and ground-up granite.
Although curves and rounded endings-off to the walls were apparently
preferred, still angular corners and straight lines could be made when considered
advisable.
The batter of the walls varies, but is generally slight. At one point the top
actually overhangs the base.
Some walls were made with two faces, the intervening space being filled up
with rubble.
The courses preserve their thickness fairly well. In some cases a course
widens, and in others disappears.
Boulders of granite lying on the surface were made use of as part of the wall
whenever possible.
The most striking feature of the walls is the attempt made to introduce some
style of ornamentation. In these ruins the following variations can be seen : —
1st. Lines of a different coloured rock (PI. II, fig. 2 ; V, fig. 1.)
2nd. The chess board, or chequered pattern.
This varies (PI. V, fig. 3) from the ordinary gap and stone in
F. WHITE. — On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia. 23
one to eight courses, and groups of three spaces with thin blocks in
two courses, separated by two thicker blocks.
3rd. The zigzag pattern (PL III, figs. 2, 3 ; IV, fig. 2).
4th. The sloping block (PL II, fig. 2 ; III, fig. 2 ; IV, fig. 1 ; V, figs. 1, 3)
varied by alternating granite with red banded ironstone slabs.
5th. The chevron or fish-bone pattern (PL II, fig. 2 ; IV, fig. 1) varied
by alternating red and grey blocks, either in patches (PL II, fig. 2)
or singly and in patches separated by thick granite blocks.
It will be noticed (in PL II, fig. 2 ; IV, fig. 1) that the sloping
blocks incline respectively to the west and to the east, or in different
ways on each side of the main entrance.
As far as I have been able to observe the ornamented patches commence and
finish off in an arbitrary or capricious manner and are not confined to any one part
of the walls.
DESCRIPTION OF RUINS.
To the south and south-west of the main ruin there are numerous and
extensive enclosures, the walls of which seldom exceeded 6 feet in height and
were of somewhat inferior construction. As the grass was high no careful
examination could be made. They were probably cattle pens or locations for
slaves.
The large enclosure (R) on the western side of the ruin is surrounded by a
wall considerably destroyed, but in parts still showing a height of 7 feet. It
was well built and was ornamented with a band of red stone and also with a course
of sloping blocks (PL V, fig. 1).
About 100 feet to the north of the main entrance is a roughly built enclosure
(M) 75 feet by 90 feet with one entrance on the east side (PL I, fig. 2.)
To the north-east of the main entrance and about 155 feet away is a
circular platform (N) considerably destroyed, but apparently 4£ feet high and
130 feet in diameter. Behind this there is another enclosure (0) some 80
feet by 60 feet, with two entrances, one on the north-east and one on the south-
west.
On the south-west side of the main ruin there is a well built enclosure or
platform (P) 95 feet wide by 100 feet long. It is built up on a rather steep
slope strewed with granite boulders, some of which have been utilised as part
of the walls. Only one entrance can now be seen, outside the main wall. There
may have been a communication with the main ruin, but the wall at this point has
been pretty thoroughly broken down, and no signs of a doorway can be seen.
About 100 feet from P is the large area (R) 300 feet long by 190 feet wide.
It had clearly a main entrance at D, and others may have existed in the parts of
wall now broken down. The ground here is flat and good, and this enclosure was
probably a garden or cattle pen.
24 F. WHITE. — On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia.
Between P and R there is a mound of ashes, broken bones, potsherds, etc. It
is evidently the refuse heap of the later Kaffir occupants of the ruins and is now
higher than the top of the wall of platform P. It probably lies over a small ridge
or granite boss.
Some 3 00 feet north-west from the main entrance is another stone construction
(H) perched in a commanding position on the precipitous northern face of a granite
boss which slopes gradually southwards (PL I, fig. I). The wall is well made, but
it apparently did not form a complete enclosure. There is a rather elaborate
entrance at H, and some very regular ornamental work (PL V, fig. 3).
On the east side of the main ruin there is a large enclosure 120 feet along
the wall and 95 feet in depth. It had apparently one gateway on the south-
east side. There are indications of interior divisions or walls, but the whole is too
much destroyed and grown over by bushes to be properly examined without
considerable labour.
DESCRIPTION OF THE OUTEK WALLS.
The main approach was evidently on the north side, where there is an
arrangement of roughly built slopes and platforms leading up to what is certainly
the main entrance (C). This is seen in PL II, fig. 1, as a dark gap, and one side is
represented in PL IV, fig. 3. A long narrow passage running to the centre of the
ruin attracted our attention, and a little work spent in clearing away the fallen
stones and rubbish showed the remains of two stout posts of hard red wood 5£ feet
apart on the west side. The tops of the posts are burnt. They lie partly
in recesses carefully built in the wall. On the east side can be seen similar
recesses. The opening is 11 feet in width, and goes back 15 feet, where there
are signs of another pair of posts, and the passage commences 7 feet in
width.
*
The wall to the east of the entrance is still 8 feet high and is apparently
nearly its original height. About 25 feet from the main entrance a chess-
board pattern of seven courses commences (PL II, fig. 2) in a somewhat irregular
manner. Over this and separated from the top by three courses runs a line of
dark ironstone, and three courses above this there is another row of dark stones
changing suddenly into a course of chevron pattern formed of white and dark
stones in patches, the points being to the east. Three courses above the chevron
and commencing over the western end is a row of sloping blocks dipping to the
west. Four courses above this and more or less over it is a three-course line of
chess-board pattern also commencing at the end of a line of dark stones. Two of
these bands of dark stones run nearly to the main entrance, but this portion of
the wall is built in a somewhat slovenly manner, although it cannot be said that
there is distinct evidence that it has been pulled down and rebuilt. The
ornamentation cannot be traced eastwards, as the wall is partially destroyed and
partly hidden by the fallen stones.
On the western side the walls attain greater height, being in three tiers, the
F. WHITE. — On the fiuins of Dhlo-Dklo, in Ehodesia.
top being some 16 feet above the base. At about 16 feet from the side of
the entrance the walls turn outwards for say 5 feet and then run west for 30
feet to a carefully constructed corner (PI. Ill, fig. 2). The first corner is partially
filled up by a diagonal wall roughly built.
This section of the wall is ornamented as follows : — At the base of the lower
tier there is a row of chevrons spaced off by thicker blocks. The chevrons are
tniiacd of alternate dark and white blocks and point to the west. Eight courses
above this is a row of sloping blocks (white and dark) dipping to the east. Three
courses over this runs a three-course line of chequers.
The upper tiers were no doubt ornamented, but the faces are much damaged
now.
To the west of the second corner (PL III, fig. 2) we see the first piece of the
zigzag pattern commencing near the top and about 3 feet from the corner. It
can be traced westwards as far as the wall is intact, but does not appear to have
continued right round to the western face (PL II, fig. 3). Three courses below the
zigzag is a line of sloping blocks dipping east, and three courses below this is a
two-course chequer pattern. There is, therefore, no continuity of pattern to be
seen in the lower tier. The chevron pattern is also missing to the west of the
corner.
The two upper tiers were ornamented, the upper one with a zigzag pattern
apparently corresponding to that on the western face. There are patches of
zigzag pattern in the middle tier, but the walls are too much destroyed for me to
be able to trace if the patches on the upper and lower walls correspond at all.
The western face (PL II, fig. 3) is very fine, the tiers being 7 feet, 5 feet
and 4£ feet high, standing back each from 12 to 5 feet at the widest part,
thus leaving broad platforms or ledges, which, however, narrow considerably
at the turn (D).
The upper tier finishes off at a corner, where there were probably steps leading
to the top platform. The ornamented courses finish about 3 feet from this
corner.
The patches of ornamentation follow more or less regularly along the north
and west wall of the building, and are most abundant where the walls are most
bold.
The high western wall gradually alters beyond the corner. The upper tier
apparently turned eastwards, enclosing the upper platform, about 80 feet in
diameter.
The second tier continues southwards for about 50 feet, then turning
eastwards to form the second platform.
The bottom tier runs on for about 120 feet, then a part turns east at right
angles and forms another platform and part of the inner line of defence. An
extension of it ran some 100 feet to the south-west, finishing off at a huge granite
boulder which forms one side of the southern entrance.
At the western side of this entrance a well built wall commences. It is
26 F. WHITE. — On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia.
6 to 8 feet high and about 5 feet wide at the top. It runs without a break
round the south and eastern side until it butts up against the continuation of the
north-eastern wall. Inside the wall is a passage or ditch 8 to 15 feet in
width, blocked at both ends. Apparently the idea was to catch the enemy between
the outer and the inner walls.
CENTRAL PASSAGE.
This commences at the northern or main entrance and runs about due south
(magnetic) for 100 feet with a width of 5 feet to 7 feet. It then turns
off a short distance to the south-east. The two walls finish with well made
square ends.
The walls of the passage are now about 6 feet high, but there is some rubbish
on the bottom.
A large heap of stones blocks the main entrance. It is possible that it was
originally covered over with wooden beams carrying a stone parapet.
The recesses in the wall in which the posts are partially imbedded may
correspond to what Mr. Bent saw at Zimbabwe and considered as grooves for a
portcullis.
PLATFORMS.
The top of the main platform was evidently covered over with cement or fine
concrete made of clay and ground-up granite. Treasure seekers have dug a hole
near the centre, exposing chiefly loose stones. On the top of the platform are
several raised ledges or benches of concrete.
On the platform east of the main entrance there are indications of a large
circular dwelling which evidently had hard wood posts built in a cement wall.
The same thing can be seen on the platform to the south.
In the enclosure P are the remains of a circular clay wall 10 feet in diameter,
with a small hole about 2 feet in diameter in the centre.
On the top of the granite boss at H are remains of three circular clay walls
or floors.
It is impossible to say whether these clay or cement structures belong to the
same age as the stone walls. Some are of much better construction than others,
the better being probably older Kaffir work. The stone wall builders may have
used circular dwellings, and the idea would be copied by the natives of the country,
although in an inferior class of work.
In the Khami ruins, near Bulawayo, are remains of a superior class of circular
dwellings which I am told are similar in character to huts in use at the present
day by Kaffirs living near Lake Ngami ; on the granite hills near Khami can be
seen remains of very inferior circular mud huts built by natives of the present
day.
There is a notable absence in the Dhlo-Dhlo ruins (as in all others) of the
remains of dwellings and of places of burial corresponding to the number of
persons who must have been employed in their erection and occupation.
F. WHITE. — On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia. 27
INDICATIONS OF OCCUPATION.
I was not fortunate to find anything of note in these ruins, except a piece of
thin silver plate with an embossed pattern and a few pieces of broken glass,
possibly parts of the widely distributed gin bottle partly calcined by the grass
fires. I am informed that two small Portuguese cannon and a considerable
quantity of silver articles such as would be used by the Jesuit Fathers who would
accompany an early Portuguese expedition were also found here, chiefly round the
enclosure H. No doubt these ruins were used as a convenient resting-place, but
it can be inferred that the expedition left hurriedly.
In the large ash heap I was only able to find pieces of pottery ot inferior
manufacture, pieces of bones, and teeth of animals, chiefly of the antelope tribe.
I am not aware that any emblems have been found such as those which Mr.
Bent discovered at Zimbabwe. The Dhlo-Dhlo ruin, therefore, seems to have been
a fortress rather than a temple, and was probably one of a chain of strongholds
connected with the main route from the east coast. Sofala Bay was probably the
port of entry, as Portuguese records refer to it as being occupied by " Moors," a
term which is equivalent to " inhabitants of Africa."
But even if sacred emblems are wanting, it seems that if people of Phoenician
origin built these structures the pronounced characteristics of style of building, of
general design, and also of the ornamentation used will be sufficient as points of
identification with such work in other parts of Africa or of Asia.
One thing is clear, and that is that this class of building is only found in
South Africa in the vicinity of gold-bearing districts. Also worked gold is found
about them.
There are no definite indications that the occupants were destroyed and any
deliberate attempt made to pull down their buildings. The harm that has been
done may be fairly ascribed to the ordinary Kaffir in search of material to make
his cattle kraal or base of his huts. If the Phoenicians were the builders they
may have abandoned the country in the same manner as the Romans left Britain
when their mother-country was in the last stages of its existence. If this theory
is correct these ruins would be at least 2,300 years old.
It is quite possible that the native occupants of the country would retain some
of the ideas of building, of pottery work, and of working the gold mines, but these
would gradually die out.
In the Khami ruins are found numerous flakes of quartzitic rock, agate, etc.,
and roughly formed stone implements, indicating that this locality had been
inhabited by an early race before the time of the wall builders. These latter were
the workers in gold. There are also found remains of iron assegais and bangles
which may be considered as corresponding to the work of the natives of the
present day. Considerable care is required to discriminate between these records
of different periods.
28 F. WHITE.— On the Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, in Rhodesia.
Mr. Bent in his Ruined Cities of Mashonaland attaches great importance
to the following points as seen in the Zimbabwe and other ruins : —
a. That the patterns on the walls were constructed with a special purpose,
having always the same aspect, viz., south-east (page 103).
I. The south-eastern wall is much better built (page 105).
c. The chevron pattern coincides with the sacred enclosure inside (page
110).
d. The wall in front of the sacred enclosure was decorated with courses
of black slate omitted in the inferior continuation (page 112).
c. Special attention was paid by the constructors to the curves (page
130).
At the Dhlo-Dhlo ruins we find : —
a and I. The most ornamented and better constructed portion of the
building was on the north and north-west.
c. The chevron pattern runs all round this portion, probably in patches.
d. Black slate courses are to be seen in all the main walls and also in the
wall of the outer enclosure.
e. The curves of the walls are apparently chiefly influenced by the desire
to take full advantage of the ground on which they are built, and
by the proximity of boulders.
It seems, therefore, that before any theory can be definitely put forward as to
the special significance of any of these points the characteristics of a number of
different ruins should be carefully studied and recorded.
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT congratulated Mr. Franklin White on having made such
an excellent survey of these interesting ruins while he was engaged on other
wrork. If the secret of their origin is ever to be wrested from the remarkable
stone structures that appear to be so widely distributed in South Africa, it
will be necessary that systematic surveying and excavating should be organised
before it is too late. The operations of irresponsible treasure seekers must
inevitably destroy or falsify much of that evidence upon which accurate
conclusions can alone be based. It is, to say the least of it, unfortunate that the
gold ornaments which the treasure-hunter discovers are melted down without
any record being kept of the finds, or without the curators of museums
and other collectors having an opportunity of securing specimens. It is
also most probable that other objects which have no obvious money value are
passed by or destroyed, and in any case the evidence is lost of the
association of objects in any one find. The various Governments in
South Africa should take all these ruins under their protection and the rifling
of treasure should be prohibited. Antiquities such as these are national
assets, and they should not be allowed to be frittered away by private
exploitation.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate I.
Journal of (he Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate II.
1. NORTH-EAST SIDE.
*ss^r<;£>5£5"^
•-.i -rX.
2. ENLARGED PORTION OF NO. 1.
3. WESTERN FACE.
RUINS OF DHLO-DHLO.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate III.
1. NORTH-WESTERN SIDE.
2. ENLARGED PORTION OF NO. 1.
3. NORTH-WEST CORNER FROM EAST.
KUINS OF DHLO-DHLO.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate IV.
1. PORTION OF NORTH-WEST SIDE.
2. SQUARE CORNER IN NORTH-WEST SIDE. 3. ENTRANCE IN NORTH FACE.
RUINS OF DHLO-DHLO.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX.I, Plate V.
1. OUTER ENCLOSURE. (o)
2. ENTRANCE TO OUTER ENCLOSURE. (H)
3. OUTER ENCLOSURE OR GUARD HOUSE. (H)
RUINS OF DIILO-DHLO.
MAOEI TATU AND MOKO.
BY H. LING ROTH.
PAGE
1. The words Tatu and Moko .... 29
2. General Description 30
3. Eegularity of Lines 32
4. Women's Tatu 32
5. Depilation of Beard 34
6. Instruments Used and Origin of
Moko .... .... .... .... 3")
7. Age at Commencement of Operation 38
8. The Operator 39
9. Position of Patient.... 39
10. The Operation 41
11. Pigment Employed 42
PAGE
12. Pain and Swelling 43
13. Tabu
14. Post-mortem Moko ....
15. Renewal of Moko
16. The Object of Tatu and Moko ....
17. Variety in Face-Design
18. Origin of Tatu and Moko (Native
Statements)
19. Papuan Element in New Zealand....
20. The Patterns and their Origin
21. Comparison with Other Peoples ....
43
44
47
47
50
51
51
54
62
1. THE WORDS TATU AND MOKO.
BOUGAINVILLE does not appear to mention the word tatu, although he must have
known the art, for he wrote as follows : — " Men and women dye their loins and
buttocks of a deep blue. ... I cannot say how they do to impress these
indelible marks, unless it is by puncturing the skin and pouring the juice of
certain herbs upon it as I have seen it practiced by the natives of Canada."1 The
word tatu appears to be first mentioned by Cook and Banks in their respective
journals when at Tahiti in 1769, and is to be found in its original form tattow in
Wharton's transcript of Cook's Journal of his First Voyage? and Hooker's
transcript of Banks's Journal.3 Parkinson spells the word with an a after the t,
thus tataowed and tataowing* and Ellis spells it tatau.5 The Maories called the
operation or design nmoca.6 Joest says the English originally wrote tattaw or
tattow? but the former spelling was certainly not used by Cook nor by Banks.
According to Hale, " The word tau, or tatau, from which ' tattoo ' is derived [he
1 \'oyage Round the World, 4to, Lond., 1776, p. 251
- p. 93. For Cook's First Voyage I have used Wharton only, Lond., 1893 ; for his
Second and Third Voyages I have used Hawksworth. It is a curious fact that in many
descriptions of the people met with, Cook and Banks have used almost identical phrases and
frequently exactly the same words.
1 Lond., 1896, p. 124. « Journal, Lond., 1773, pp. 25, 90, 96, and 97.
4 Tour in Hawai, Lond., 1830. " Banks, op. cit., p. 203.
• TUtoinren, Berlin, 1887, p. 8.
30 H. LING BOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
says it means marking, p. 354] is applied to it in most of the islands." In New
Zealand, however, moko, meaning properly "lizard," or "serpent," is used —
perhaps in reference to the peculiar curves and spirals of which their tattooing
consists1 ; but in his vocabulary at the end of the volume he states : " Moko, mo's,
ubiq. lizard, reptile," and then, " Moko N.Z., the tattooing, probably from its spiral
and curving figures."2 For this Joest takes him to task, on the ground that the
curved lines (Schlangenlinien) were of late origin.3
2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Cook gives 4but a very short account of the Maories amoco, while on the
other hand Banks devotes considerable space to its description. His accounts are
not only the first, but are also very good, and as such are well worth reproducing.
At Poverty Bay he writes5 : " Their lips were stained with something put under
the skin (as in the Otahite tattow), and their faces marked with deeply engraved
furrows, also coloured black, and formed in regular spirals. Of these the oldest
people had much the greatest quantity, and most deeply channelled, in some not
less than one-sixteenth part of an inch." On the Thames Eiver,6 he writes, the
people " had a much larger quantity of amoca or black stains upon their bodies and
faces. They had almost universally a broad spiral on each buttock, and many
had their thighs almost entirely black, small lines only being left untouched,
so that they looked like striped breeches. In this particular, I mean the use of
amoca, almost every tribe seems to have a different custom ; we have on some days
seen canoes where every man was almost covered with it, and at the same time
others, where scarcely a man had a spot, except on his lips, which seems to be
always essential."7 Three days later at Taoneroa, he says8 : " One of the old men
here showed us the instrument with which they stain their bodies ; it was exactly
like that used at Otahite." Banks sums up his descriptions as follows9 : — ': Both
sexes stain themselves in the same manner with the colour of black, and somewhat
in the same way as the South Sea Islanders, introducing it under the skin by a
sharp instrument furnished with many teeth. The men carry this custom to
much greater lengths; the women are generally content with having their lips
blacked, but sometimes have little patches of black on different parts of the body.
The man, on the contrary, seems to add to the quantity every year of his life, so
that some of the elders were almost covered with it. Their faces are the most
remarkable ; on them, by some art unknown to me, they dig furrows a line deep at
least, and as broad, the edges of which are often again indented, and absolutely
black. This may be done to make them look frightful in war ; indeed, it has the
effect of making them most enormously ugly — the old ones especially, whose faces are
1 Ethnology, Philadelphia, 1846, 4to, p. 39.
- Op. cit.,p. 316. 3 Op. cit., p. 63.
4 Wharton, p. 219. 5 Op. cit., p. 1&6.
8 Ibid., p. 203. ' Ibid., p. 204.
• Ibid., p. 205. » Ibid., p. 231.
H. LlNG ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko. 31
entirely covered with it. The young, again, often have a small patch on one cheek
or over one eye, and those under a certain age (maybe twenty-five or twenty-six)
have no more than their lips black. Yet ugly as this certainly looks, it is
impossible to avoid admiring the extreme elegance and justness of the figures
traced, which on the face are always different spirals, and upon the body generally
different figures, resembling somewhat the foliages of old chasing upon gold or
silver. All these are finished with a masterly taste and execution, for of a
hundred which at first sight would be judged to be exactly the same, no two, on
close examination, prove alike, nor do I remember ever to have seen any two alike.
Their wild imagination scorns to copy, as appears in almost all their works. In
different parts of the coast they varied very much in the quantity and parts of
the body on which this amoca, as they call it, was placed ; but they generally
agreed in having the spirals upon the face. I have generally observed that the
more populous a country the greater was the quantity of amoca used ; possibly in
populous countries the emulation of bearing pain with fortitude may be carried to
greater lengths than where there are fewer people, and consequently fewer
examples to encourage. The buttocks, which in the islands [Society Islands] were
the principal seat of this ornament, in general here escape untouched ; in one place
only we saw the contrary." It is curious that at so early a date it was observed
that the methods of marking varied in different parts of the country. Crozet1
agrees with Banks as regards the face spirals, but he continues : " The designs on
the buttocks are always the same ; on these parts they trace in equally indelible
marks a very neat spiral line, of which the first point is on the centre of the most
fleshy part, and successively embraces the whole circumference." Crozet had,
however, not seen so much of the country as Banks. According to Maning,2
" every man almost without exception is covered with tattooing from the knees
to the waist."
The deep furrows mentioned by Banks seem almost to be peculiar to New
Zealand, so that we have in these islands two methods of permanent skin-marking.
This is specially mentioned by Yate3 : " There is a remarkable difference in the
tattoo of the New Zealanders, and that of the Navigators', Fiigee, or Friendly
Islanders. In the latter, the skin is but just perforated with a small pointed
instrument, and the staining-matter introduced ; so that, in passing the hand over
the part that has been tattooed, the skin feels as smooth, and the surface as fair,
as before the operation took place ; whilst in the latter, the incision is very deep,
and leaves furrows and ridges so uneven, that in some places, when long enough,
it would be possible to lay in a pin, which would be nearly buried in them."
Bidwill4 also refers to this peculiar difference between the moko and tatu, but
according to him the rump would appear to have been furrowed likewise, for, in
1 English translation by H. Ling Roth, Lond., 1891, p. 39.
2 Old New Zealand, Lond., 1863, p. 46.
3 Account of New Zealand, Lond., 1835, p. 148.
4 Rambles in New Zealand, Lond., 1841, p. 80.
32 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
speaking of the women's tatu, he says : " This might be called tattooing in England.
It is of the same kind as sailors are so fond of pricking into their arms ; but it is a
totally different thing from the elaborate engraving on a New Zealander's face or
rump, inasmuch as in one case the skin is cut and remains in the same pattern
as the stains, and in the other the marks do not at all affect the smoothness of the
skin." As we shall see later on, the difference between moko and tatu is brought
about by the use of different instruments.
3. REGULARITY OF LINES.
Several travellers refer to the regularity of the lines of the moko. Thus
Banks1 says of a Poverty Bay native : " He was a middle-sized man, tattowed on
the face on one cheek only, in spiral lines very regularly formed." Yate2 reports :
" Nothing can exceed the beautiful regularity with which the faces and thighs of
the New Zealanders are tattooed ; the volutes are perfect specimens, and the
regularity is mechanically correct." While Polack tells us3 : " The nice exactitude of
the lines represented in the moko is scarcely to be surpassed, displaying the fancy
and taste of the artist." These statements, judged by the results attained on
specimens of preserved mokoed heads in our museums, are somewhat overdrawn.
Taking into consideration the difficulty of operating on an uneven surface of
various resistance (according as there is bone near the surface or not), the lines
may be considered tolerably regular.
4. WOMEN'S TATU.
The tatu on the women was not extensive and therefore considerably less than
on the men. In Queen Charlotte's Sound in February, 1777, Anderson reported
of the women that they " have the puncture only on their lips or a small spot on
their chins,4 which is practically identical with what Banks and Cook5 sa;d seven
years before. Angas15 and Jno. Savage7 also speak of the small amount of tatu
on the women's faces. Rutherford's account8 is, " that they have a figure tattooed
on the chin, resembling a crown turned upside down ; that the inside of their lips
is also tattooed, the figures here appearing of a blue colour, and that they have
1 Op. cit., p. 184. - Op. cit., p. 148.
3 Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders, Lond., 8vo, 2 vols., 1840, II, p. 45.
4 Cook (Hawksworth), Third Voyage, book I, chapter viii.
s Op. cit., p. 219.
6 Savage Life, Lond., 1850, I, p. 316.
7 New Zealand, Lond., 1807, p. 48.
8 p. 144. The account of Rutherford's adventures is incorporated in the well known
little work entitled The New Zealanders (Lond., 1830, 12mo), now said to have been written by
Professor G. L. Craik. Rutherford fell among the Maories in 1816. Archdeacon Williams
(Trans. N.Z. Inst., XXIII, 1890, p. 460) throws doubt on Rutherford's story, apparently because
he, the Archdeacon, is unable to trace any vessel named Agnes from which Rutherford
states he was captured. It is not at all improbable that Rutherford was a runaway sailor, and
if so, he would naturally try to hide the manner of his flight, but that is not sufficient to
invalidate the correctness of his story.
H. LINO HOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko. 33
also a mark on each side of the mouth resembling a candlestick, as well as two
stripes about an inch long on the forehead, and one on each side of the nose."
Bidwill, writing in 1838,1 reports that he saw a woman " tattooed behind like the
men. It is a very rare tiling for women to be tattooed anywhere but about the
lips and chins, and this was quite a curiosity. I used to think it rather orna-
mental in the men ; what its use can be in a woman I cannot imagine, as they are
always covered. The women are often quite covered with blue marks. ... I
have seen the arms and bodies of the New Zealand women so covered with these
powerful blue marks, that they looked as if they had on them a tight-fitting
chintz dress." At Banks Peninsula, Shortland2 gives a description of a funnily
tatued woman : " One half of her face was tattooed in every respect like that of a
man, while the other had no more marks than her sex entitled her to ; so that
two persons, who stood opposite each other, each viewing a different side of the
face in profile, while she, perhaps, sat wrapped in her blanket, with a pipe in her
mouth, would have pronounced the object to be a man or a woman, according to
the circumstance of his position. I afterwards met with several other old women
of this tribe, who had similarly engraved on their faces many of the marks, which
in the north island I had never seen but on males." However, he adds3: "The
women have usually merely the lines on the lips, and a scroll depending from tho
angles of the mouth, the fine blue lines, or scratches, which are often to be seen
on their cheeks, arms, and breasts, being the offspring of each person's fancy."
According to Dieffenbach4 : " The girls, as soon as they arrive at puberty, have
their lips tattooed with horizontal lines ; to have red lips is a great reproach to a
woman. With females, in many cases, the operation ceases here, but more
frequently the chin is tattooed, especially in the Waikato tribe, and the space
between the eyebrows, much resembling the tattoo of the modern Egyptians. In
some rare cases it extends over the angles of the mouth. I have, indeed, seen a
woman whose whole face was tattooed." From this it would appear thnt in
woman the tatu was a sign of marriageableness, and in fact Colenso5 affirms this
to be the case. Ife says to have a husband a woman must have the lips tatued,
as red lips are abhorred and black ones considered the perfection of feminine
beauty : " In the female it was confined to the lids, chin, between the eyes, and a
little up the forehead, and on the back part of the leg from the heel to the calf ;
the three last-mentioned being always indicative of rank. The women, also, often
got themselves irregularly marked on the hands, arms, breasts, and face with
small crosses, short lines, and dots. A very few women the writer has seen with
tattooed faces just as a man ; these belong to southern tribes, some of whom had
a very different style of tattooing (such as is shown in Cook's Voyages, plate 13,
1 New Zealand, LontL, 1807, p. 80.
18 Southern Districts of New Zealand, Lond., 8vo, 1851, p. 16.
» Ibid., p. 18.
4 Travels in ATeio Zealand, Lond., 8vo, 2 vola., 1843, II, p. 35.
5 Trans. N.Z. Inst., I, 2nd edition, 187o, p. 356.
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). D
34 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
4to ed.)." This leg tatuing was observed by Kerry Nicholls1 among the Tapur-
vacharuru women, who " follow the peculiar custom, which I have not seen
elsewhere, of tattooing the legs as well as the lips in thin cross lines of a dark blue
colour." It is also mentioned by Angas : " In a very few instances I have
observed women, whose ankles, from the heel upwards, have been tattooed with
ornamental spiral lines."2 There was also some body tatuing or perhaps moko on
the women, for D'Urville relates3 that " Tuao showed me his wife, who was being
further mokoed on her shoulders. One half of her back was already furrowed
with deep designs similar to those which ornamented the face of the parents of
Koro Koro, and a slave was decorating the other half in the same style." Women
evidently considered it essential to be tatued, for, as Darwin relates,4 at Waimata
" the wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them [the women] not to be
tattooed.; but a famous operator having arrived from the south, they said, 'We
really must just have a few lines on our lips ; else when we grow old our lips
will shrivel, and we shall be so very ugly.' " This reminds one of the papeeta or
white face mentioned by Taylor. According to De Blosseville the women of the
southern portions of New Zealand looked upon tatuing as a prerogative of nobility.5
Scherzer0 gives some stanzas of a song showing that a red-lipped and therefore
untatued woman was considered ugly. With regard to Bidwill's account of body
tatuing we may here quote Taylor,7 who says : " The ladies had their lips and
chins operated upon, with a little curl at the corner of the eye. Frequently their
persons also were covered with small strokes of tattooing ; these might be called
beauty patches, such as the ladies used to wear on the face made of a bit of court
plaster, which were once thought ornamental." Is Taylor referring to the tangi,
as does Angas8 when he says : " With the women the tattooing of the face only
extends to the lips and chin ; but they disfigure their breasts and arms with blue
lines, which are the marks of their tangi, or lamentations for their deceased
relations. These incisions frequently run in parallel lines, about a couple of inches
in length, and are cut with sharp shells, and d)7ed, in a similar manner to the
lines upon the face, with a mixture of carbonised Kauri resin." Have the blue
marks covering the women's body, mentioned by Bidwill, anything to do with
tangi, or has the tangi been at the bottom of the whole system of Maori tatu and
moko ?
5. DEPILA.TION OF BEAKD.
" To set off the moko to advantage, it was necessary to give up the beard, which
was not considered in the light of an ornament. In former clays, a pair of mussel
shells were generally employed, but since their acquaintance with Europeans, a
pair of large tweezers, an inch and a half wide, and three or four inches long, will
1 King Country, Lond., 1884, p. 137. * Op. cit., I, p. 316.
3 Astrolabe, II, p. 450. 4 Journal, Lond., 1839, p. 509.
5 Astrolabe, III, p. 693.
6 Voyage of the " Novara," Lond., 1860, III, p. 113.
• Op. cit., p. 150. 8 Op. cit., I, p, 316,
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tain and Moko. .°>f>
generally be seen hanging from the garment or neck ; and whenever the gentleman
can find no other employment, he will occupy himself with them."1 Kerry
Nicholls also mentions that depilation was practised before tatuing, and llobley
relates that in 1864-66 he " took several sketches of natives showing moko on the
face with hair, for though the practice of moko was then fairly vigorous, yet the
growth of beard and moustache was common among the natives, with the
exception of the older men. The older men being well tattooed never used to
wear hair on the face."2 Cruise, who published his book in 1823, gives a portrait
of the chief- Tetoro, whose face is fully tatued with a full-grown beard.
6. INSTRUMENTS USED.
When Banks says, as we have seen above^ that he was shown a tatuing
instrument and that it was exactly like that in use in Otahite, he was obviously
unaware that the Maories used a variety of instruments, and also that to obtain
the deep furrows described quite a different instrument was necessary from the
one provided with a series of sharp points or teeth. Our first authority for a
description of this special instrument is John Rutherford. He describes it as
" made of bone, having a sharp edge like a chisel and shaped in the fashion of a
garden hoe."3 He adds4 : " They employed, however, various instruments in the
course of the operation, one which they sometimes used being made of a shark's
tooth, and another having teeth like a saw. They had them also of different sizes
to suit the different parts of the work." Marsden,5 writing in 1819, says the
operation " was performed with a small chisel made of the wing-bone of a pigeon
or wild fowl. This chisel was about a quarter of an inch broad, and was fixed in
a handle, four inches long, so as to form an acute angle at the head ; something
like a little pick, with one end." Next we have Cruise,6 who tells us: "The
point of the tattooing chisel was about half a quarter of an inch wide ; it was
made of the wing-bone of an albatross, and fastened in a transverse \vooden
handle. ... As the lines of the amoco become contracted, a narrower
instrument was used." D'Urville,7 writing in 1827, tells us : " The instrument is
composed of the bone of an albatross set at right angles to a small wooden handle
3 or 4 inches long, having the shape of a veterinary's lancet. The bone has some-
times simply a cutting edge, at other times flattened and furnished with several
sharp teeth like a comb." Yate, writing eleven years after Cruise, merely refers8 to
the instrument as a " small chisel of very rough workmanship." But he also tells
us9 an interesting fact : " At the southward, when you come as far as Waiapu, or
the East Cape, you find the cuts much deeper on the nose and forehead, and in all
parts of the face much broader. The reason they assign for this is that theirs
1 Taylor, op. cit., p. 151. * Moko, Lond., 4to, 1890, p. 30.
* Op. cit., p. 135. 4 Ibid., p. 136.
* Missionary Register, Lond., 1822, p. 252.
• Journ., 2nd edition, Load., 1824, p. 136. J Op. cit., II, p. 448.
• Op. cit., p. 149. • Ibid., p. 151.
P 2
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
FIG. 1. — Moko Instrument presented to Brit. Mus. by Sir Geo. Grey, 1854,
4f-in. (121 ram.) long.
FIGS. 2-7. — Maori Tatu Instruments, after Craik (New Zealamlers). They bear a close
resemblance to those from Tahiti (see Banks' remarks above). Compare Fig. 7 -with the
mallets Figs. 14 and 16.
fl
I
FIGS. 8-12.— Moko and
Tatu Instruments
after Polack (I>
p. 45).
H. LING ftcmi. — Mauri Tutu, and Moko. 37
are purely native instruments, made of stone ; whilst the Bay-of-Islanders have
latterly introduced iron, which is capable of being made much sharper, and conse-
quently of inflicting a wound without striking so hard a blow, or causing so deep
or broad a furrow." Polack, who was in New Zealand from 1831 to 1837,1 says the
instrument is formed of bone or hard wood, fashioned like a chisel." Farther on2
he depicts five instruments ; two are chisel adzes, while three are toothed adzes
similar to instruments used in Tahiti, etc. Shortland, writing in 1843-4 near
Banks Peninsula, merely refers to the instrument as " a very small chisel "3 ; while
Dieffenbach4 appears to be the first to give the native name of the instrument,
describing it as " the sharp bone of a bird," or " a small chisel called uhi." As a
last authority we may quote Taylor, who, when he had been about fifteen years in
New Zealand, wrote : " The uhi or instrument used was a small chisel made of the
bone of an albatross, very narrow and sharp."
It is curious that not one of the above writers, excepting Banks and Ruther-
ford, refers to the instruments provided with pricks for making real tatu similarly
to that in vogue elsewhere in the Pacific. It is very curious that all these writers
refer to the instrument as a chisel, and while one can hardly suppose that the
earlier writers copied one from another, yet one cannot but think that the later
writers had in their minds what the earlier ones had written, for with the exception
of the vertical cutting portion (i.e., vertical when in operation), the instrument
does not look like a chisel at all nor is it held like a chisel, although, on the other
hand, it is driven like a chisel. To compare the instrument with a garden hoe (in
miniature, of course), as Rutherford does, or to a model of an adze would be more
correct than comparing it to a chisel. The only reason for calling it a chisel is
that another tool, the mallet, was necessary for using it. A chisel has not a series
of sharp points. With regard to Yate's statement as to the introduction of iron
Robley remarks5 : " When iron tools were introduced much finer work became
possible than with the bone or tooth instruments " ; but he adds : " In the earliest
days chisel work was the only method employed in tatuing ; but later on, the
system of pricking was introduced, and allowed the artist far more scope for his
elaboration of detail." Whether the introduction of iron tools would make fi net-
work possible would depend largely upon the fineness of the iron tool, and as to
the priority of introduction of either the chisel or the pricker, this would not be
easy to prove. The earliest describers, Banks and Crozet, mention practically
both tatu and amoko, for Banks speaks of the pricking instruments, which, how-
ever, do not make the tatu, and of the furrows (moko), which are, however, not
made by the prickers, and Crozet speaks of the engraved faces made by means of
pricking ! If the Maories brought with them the tatuing from the east they had
prickers in all probability, and as the art developed their vain desire to show how
they could bear pain might have been the cause of the introduction of a more
1 Journ., 2nd edition, Lond., 1824, II, p. 44. 2 /bid., II, p. 45.
3 Op. cit., p. 18. * Op. cit., II, p. 33
4 Op. cit., p. 50.
38 H. LING BOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
lacerating instrument — that is, if the chisel cause more agony than the pricker.
If, on the other hand, tatu developed from moko, which developed from tawji, tho
possibility of which was suggested on p. 34, then Robley would be correct.
7. AGE AT COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATION.
As mentioned above by Cruise,1 the young men were commenced to be
operated upon at about twenty years of age.
FIG. 13.— Moko pattern from Banks' Peninsula,
after Shortland, to show nomenclature.
In the original No. 10 is not placed so
I have indicated it according to Dieffen-
bach's description " on the lower maxilla
where the masseter lies." For explanation,
see p. 64.
Polack merely states2 it was " at an
early age." In Middle Island " the
people submit to this operation at
a much earlier age ; and many of
them are fully tattooed about the
face before they have arrived near
the prime of life."8 Sir Walter
Buller, however, told Kobley4 that
it was the universal rule amongst
Maories never to commence moko
until a subject was adult, and that,
as a matter of fact, he had never
seen a Maori boy or girl with a
tatued face. In commencing the
operation " the first attempt is
applied to the lips, then the fore-
head, cheeks, etc., are submitted to
the same process."5 " There were
regular rules for tattooing, and the
artist always went systematically
to work, beginning at one spot and
gradually proceeding to another,
each particular part having its dis-
tinguishing name."6 Taylor gives
a list of nineteen such names,
Dieffenbach seventeen, and Short-
land twelve such names from
Middle Island ; the
names are
almost identical. As Sidney H. Kay writes me about them : " Names like ngu,
wero, repa, seem to suggest that the patterns were named from animals, or else
merely descriptive of their location, as pu-karu, pu-taringa, kauwae, etc."
1 Journ., 2nd edition, Lond., 1824, p 264.
3 Yate, op. cit., p. 151.
6 Polack, op. cit., p. 144.
z Op. cit., p. 45.
4 Op. cit., p. 38.
6 Taylor, op. cit., p. 153
H. LING lloxii. — Maoi-i Tatu and Moko. 39
8. THE OPERATOR.
Earle describes a professor of tatuiny as follows1 : " He was considered by his
countrymen a perfect master in the art of tattooing, and men of the highest rank
and importance were in the habit of travelling long journeys in order to put their
.skins under his skilful hands. . . . This 'professor' was merely a Kooky or
slave, but by skill and industry he raised himself to an equality with the greatest
men of the country." He seems to have been handsomely paid. According to
Yate2 : " There are persons in New Zealand whose lime iw principally occupied in
FIGS. 14, 15, 16. — Mallets and methods of holding them. Fig. 14 after Earle ; there appears
to be some cloth wrapped round the handle to give it a tinner grip ; in shape it is very
like a Tahitian mallet illustrated by Parkinson. Fig. 15 after Polack ; the woodcut is
very poor and does not show the pricker ; the mallet is of European form. Fig. 16 after
Eobley.
performing this painful operation. They go about from village to village for the
purpose, and are most amply rewarded for their services." " The natives of the
East Cape are accounted as particularly clever in this art, and when slaves have
been acquainted with it, their advancement from bondage has been immediate."3
Referring to a youth being tatucd, Dieffenbach4 says : " The Toliunya (priest) is
charged with this function ; but it is not everyone that is able to perform the
operation. Some of the chief masters of the art are slaves, and the Waikato tribe
are celebrated for their skill in the perfection of the designs." According to
Angas5 : " The Tohunya, or priest, is most generally the operator in the ceremony
of tattooing, he being supposed to excel in the art of carving both on wood and
on flesh." But, strange to say, according to Savage" these tohunya themselves
" have only a square patch of tattooing over the right eye."
9. POSITION OF PATIENT.
Rutherford and his companions, when operated upon, were held down by five
or six men each, and appeared to have two operators each, but then theirs was
probably an exceptional case, the Maories not knowing how the Europeans would
1 Narr. of Nine MontliJ Residence in X.Z. in 1827, Loud., 8vo, 1832, pp. 137-8.
2 Op. cit., p. 149. * Polack, op. cit., II, p. 50.
1 Op. cit., II, p. 33. 5 Op. cit., p. 314. " Op. cit., p. 47.
40
H. LING KOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
take to the operation. According to Yate : " When anyone is desirous of being
tattooed, he lies down, with his head between the legs of the operator, and his feet
against something firm, for the purpose of pressure. The lines upon his face are
then traced out with a piece of charcoal ; these marks are, however, soon effaced
by the streams of blood flowing from the wounds." Cruise thus describes the
preparations of a native about to be mokoed : " He lay upon his back, with his head
resting upon the knees of the operator, who sat upon the ground, and for whose
guidance the intended form of the amoco had been previously traced in black lines
upon the patient's face."1 Polack's testimony is similar :2 " The head of the
patient rests for convenience on the knees of the artist. The pattern about to be
FIG. 17. — The moko professional, Aranghie, at work. After Earle.
engraved is painted in lines, by a small piece of stick dipped in powdered charcoal
and water." According to Savage3 the device was marked out with a piece of
burnt stick or red earth. D'Uiville4 speaks of a preparatory design. "The
pattern was first drawn either with charcoal or scratched in with a sharp-pointed
instrument," says Taylor,5 and he continues : " The person operated upon was
stretched all his length on the ground, and to encourage him manfully to endure
the pain, songs were continually sung to him. . . . This song was chiefly to
remind the gentleman of the duty he owed to the operator, who, not having any
regular professional charges, chiefly depended on the liberality of his patient, who
1 Op. cit., p. 136.
» Op. tit., p. 46.
» Op. cit., II, p. 44.
4 Op. cit., II, p. 448.
Op. cit., p. 152.
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko. 41
was expected not only to feed him with the best, but to make him a very
handsome present as well. And when the operator suspected that he should not
be remembered, he frequently became very careless in his work, and rendered the
person an object for life. Some of the mokos are very coarsely done, whilst others
are finished with an artist's touch, by which we are able to judge of the way they
have severally paid the owner of the sounding chisel." As mentioned above,
however, the coarseness and fineness depended much upon the tools used. Earle
gives an illustration of a patient lying comfortably on the ground leaning on one
elbow, while his thigh is being tatued. Polack1 illustrates a patient with
his head similarly on the operator's lap, and Robley2 shows a very like group.
When D'Urville3 went to see the shoulder mokoing of Tuao's wife she was lying on
her belly.
10. THE OPERATION.
The flow of blood, naturally very great, the operators " kept wiping off with
the side of the hand, in order to see if the impression was sufficiently clear.
When it was not they applied the bone a second time to the same place."4 During
the operation on Rutherford, Aimy's (the chief's) eldest daughter several times
wiped the blood from his face with some dressed flax. According to Marsden :5
" One end of this stick (uhi) was cut flat like a knife, to scrape off the blood as it
gushed from the cuts ; " while, according to Yate,6 " the blood is constantly wiped
away with a little dressed flax, tied upon the forefinger of the left hand." Some-
times the puncturer carefully wipes away the blood with a " piece of scraped flax
or the end of his garment."7 " One can understand," writes D'Urville,8 " that
blood must flow in abundance, but the operator takes care to wipe it off with the
back of his hand or with a small wooden spatula. According as the skin is
gashed the colour or the moko is introduced into the cut by means of a small
brush." But the brush was of course a European innovation. There were thus
different methods in use to get the pigment inserted into the skin or flesh. When
Rutherford was mokoed the instrument was dipped into the liquid, and then
applied ; Marsden, Cruise, Yate, and Dieffenbach all speak of this dipping ; but
Polack0 says : " Charcoal is afterwards [i.e., after the striking] powdered and let into
the wounds;" while, according to Taylor:10 "The operator held in his hand a piece
of muka (flax) dipped in the pigment, which he drew over the incision
immediately it was made." Angas11 likewise says the charcoal was rubbed in after
the pricking had brought forth blood. All accounts agree as to the method of
holding the moko instrument in the one hand while it was struck " with a small
piece of wood "12 or " with a stick about one foot long, in the same manner as a
1 Polack, II, p. 43. 2 Op. tit., p. 51.
I Op. cit., II, p. 451. « Rutherford, op. cit., p. 135.
5 Op. cit., p. 251. • Op. cit., p. 149.
• Polack, op. cit., II, p. 44. " Op. cit., II, p. 448.
» Op. cit., II, p. 44. »« Op. cit., p. 151.
II Of>. cit., p. 316. " Rutherford, op. cit., p. 135.
42 H. LING BOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
farrier opens the vein of a horse with a fleam,"1 or " a bit of stick not longer than
a common pencil,"2 or "a light tap is given it with a small mallet, mahoe."3
Diefienbacli, however, says the chisel was driven into the skin by the hand.4 The
tapping makes the tool cut into the flesh as a knife would do,5 or in the words of
Marsden,6 " the chisel appeared to pass through the skin at every stroke, and cut
it as a carver cuts a piece of wood." Polack7 merely says the tool cuts deep into
the flesh ; and D'Urville tells us : " The instrument is applied against the skin, and
struck with a small stick on the back of the chisel to make it penetrate into the
epidermis, and to gash sufficiently in following the prepared design "8 ; while
Taylor makes the following extraordinary statement, namely, that the tool is
driven " quite through the skin, and sometimes completely through the cheek as
well, so that when the person undergoing the operation took his pipe, the smoke
found its way out through the cuttings."9
11. PIGMENT EMPLOYED.
There is considerable difference in the records as regards the material of the
pigment used. When Rutherford was mokoed, a piece of charcoal was rubbed upon
a stone with a little water until a thickish liquid had been produced.10 According
to Marsden11 " the liquid was made from a particular tree, and afterwards mixed
with water, which communicates the blackness " ; Cruise speaks12 " only of charcoal
and water " ; according to Yate13 the pigment " is merely the root of the flax burnt
to charcoal, reduced to powder and mixed with water " ; according to Dieffenbach14
the pigment, called narahu, is prepared by carbonising the resin of the Kauri pine.
Gunpowder appears to have been substituted in Polack's time.15 Colenso16 says :
" For the purposes of tattooing they used various kinds of charcoal, both animal and
vegetable, obtained from several peculiar sources, and manufactured in a highly
curious manner with much labour and skill," the peculiar, sources being described
by Taylor as follows17 : " The substance generally used as colouring matter is the
resin of the kauri or rimu, which, when burnt, is pounded and converted to a
fine powder. At Taupo, I went to see the place where this pigment was
manufactured. A narrow pit was sunk at a little distance from a precipice, and
from the face of the cliff a passage was cut to the bottom of it, over the mouth of
which pieces of wood containing the resin were burnt, and the residuum, falling
within, was taken away by means of the passage." Scherzer's description gives us
1 Marsden, op. cit., p. 251. * Cruise, op. cit., p. 136.
8 Yate, op. cit., p. 149 and Taylor, op. cit., p. 151.
4 Op. cit., II, p. 33. 5 Rutherford, op. cit., p. 135.
B Op. cit., p. 251. ' Polack, op. cit., II, p. 44.
8 D'Urville, op. cit., II, p. 448. • Op. cit., p. 151.
10 Op. cit., p. 135. » Op. cit., p. 252.
12 Op. cit., p. 136. ls Op. cit.
14 ,Qp. cit., p. 34. »* Op. cit., II, p. 44.
16 Trans. N.Z. Inst., XIV, 1881, p. 61. » Op. cti., p. 151.
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko. 43
another method of preparation1 : " The necessary colouring stuff, nyarahu, is made
from the soot of the wood, when burnt, of the Kauri fir (Dammara Aicstralis),
which is collected in the leaves of the Ti-reed (Cordylive Australis), and is
prepared with an infusion of the bark of the Hinau (Elveocarpus Hinau) in the
form of small cones." Edge-Partington,2 in describing the pumice stone boxes
in which the pigment was kept, says : " The pigment was a mixture of lampblack
and either milk or fat. A dog starved for the purpose was fed upon this. His
excreta were re-mixed and buried in these boxes until wanted." Mr. Chas.
Smith Wangauni was his informant.
12. PAIN AND SWELLING.
We can well believe Eutherford when he says the pain was very acute ; but he
says he neither moved nor uttered a sound, while his comrades moaned dreadfully.3
Cruise tells us4 that the pain was borne by the natives " with surprising fortitude "
and " with perfect composure." Marsden,5 Yate,G Cruise,7 and Polack8 ascribe the
incompleteness of the mokoing to the intense pain and inflammation, which
necessitate considerable intervals of repose. Rutherford, who was four hours under
the operation, was, in consequence, blind for three days, and did not wholly recover
for six weeks, while Marsden observed9 " proud-flesh rising in some parts which
had been cut almost a month before." According to Dieffenbach10 : " The persons
operated upon never allow the slightest expression of pain to escape them. . . .
The tattooing of the lips is the most painful part of the operation." And Polack
says11 : " The victim to this curious fashion lies recumbent, wincing and writhing at
every stroke given by the operator, the body quivering under the torments
inflicted." " Tuao's wife seemed to suffer very much, and the blood streamed
abundantly from her wounds ; nevertheless she did not even sigh, merely looked
at me with a smile without disturbing herself or the woman carrying out the
important operation.'"'12 " To tattoo a person fully is therefore a work of time, and
to attempt to do too much at once endangered the life. I remember a poor
porangi, or insane person, who, during the war, was tattooed most unmercifully by
some young scoundrels. The poor man's wounds were so dreadfully inflamed that
they occasioned his death."13
13. TABU.
When Rutherford and his comrades were mokoed they were tabued also.14
" During the time that anyone was being tattooed, all persons in the pa were tapu,
' Trans. N.Z. hist., XIV, 1881, II, p. 111. * Album, Series III, No. 173.
3 It may in a considerable measure have been due to his hardiness that Rutherford was
the only one of the European party who ultimatoly escaped from the Maories.
4 Op. cit., pp. 136, 264. * Op. cit., p. 252.
fi Op. cit., p. 149. " Op. cit., p. 264.
s Op. cit., II, p. 45. » Op. cit., p. 252.
10 Op. cit., II, p. 34. '» Op. cit., II, p. 43.
18 D'Urville, Op. cit., Ill, p. 451. 13 Taylor, op. cit., p. 142.
14 Op. cit., p. 137.
44 H. LING BOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
until the termination of the work, lest any evil should befall them."1 Best tells
us of the Tuhoe or Urewera tribe2 : " When the daughter of an important chief
had her lips and chin tatued, a day was set apart on which the tribe would
assemble to view the work of the artist. A party would be sent forth some time
before to secure a member of another tribe ' for sacrifice and to give strength to
the tribe by eating.'" Earle remarks3 on this tabu that one evening strolling
through a village where many chiefs were being mokoed, " it appeared as though
some dreadful disease had suddenly struck the greater part of the inhabitants and
deprived them of the use of their limbs," for being all " under the law, they could
not feed themselves with their hands." Many museums possess one or more
specimens of the funnel by which men were fed when undergoing the operation of
moko.
14. POST-MORTEM MOKO.
I have not been able to trace any reference to post-mortem tatuing by any
early traveller in New Zealand, although it is hardly likely that its occurrence
should not be recorded somewhere. In so far as my studies have carried me, the
first mention of it at all was made by Garrick Mallory,4 where, describing two
New Zealand preserved heads, he remarks : " Whether any mechanical work was
performed upon the heads after death is not positively known, though from the
general appearance of the work it would be suggested that the sharp creases or
grooves was [sic] done subsequent to the death of the individual." It must be
remembered, however, that Banks noticed the grooves on the living in 1769.
Eobley gives a good many illustrations of post-mortem moko and says5 : " Post-
mortem moko is easily distinguished by the non-appearance of the subcutaneous
colour, and where moko was incomplete at the time of death the pattern was often
added to. But the difference of the cuts on the live and on the hardened flesh is
easily recognised. Again, sometimes the pattern scored in life has been recut
deeper into the leathery surface after death. These new marks on the old
lines are also readily distinguished. In one of the British Museum specimens
this post-mortem tracing is of a totally different pattern from that cut during
life, and this is the more regrettable as the original pattern was not only good and
complete and well preserved, but the new one is carelessly worked or scratched,
and looks pale over the blue of the older and real moko." In answer to my
inquiries General Eobley informs me : " There are heads that were tatued in
life, and then these real lines with 'subcutaneous colour in them which need not
have been touched were incised to make patterns appear deep as in life, for the
stretched and dried skin would cause the grooves to flatten out." While in some
cases the post-mortem cuts are clearly distinguishable in the leathery surface, in
other cases where they are not cut so deep it is not easy to distinguish them, and
1 Taylor, op. cit., p. 152. * Trans. N.Z. Inet., XXX, 1897, p. 38.
* Op. cit., pp. 144-5.
4 Fourth Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, p. 76.
« Op. cit., p. 189.
H. LI.NTC; Horn. — Maori Tata awl Moko.
45
when all is said the examination can only be a supsrfieial one and therefore not
wholly reliable.
To make an attempt to get the question settled whether there was any post-
mortem moko, with the kind permission of Professor Chas. Stewart, I asked
Mr. Samuel G. Shattock, the pathological curator of the Museum of the lioyal
College of Surgeons and Joint Lecturer on Pathology and Bacteriology at St.
Thomas's Medical School, London, to examine what appeared to be post-mortem
moko on a portion of the skin of the forehead of a New Zealander's head (No.
1010) in the Museum. Mr. Shattock reports as follows : —
" With the object of endeavouring to determine whether the moko in this
FLO. 18.— Maori head in Museum Royal College of Surgeons (No. 1010), showing post-mortem
clear incised work overlapping original moko. Mr. Shattock's examination was
made from this specimen.
region had been done after death, a microscopic examination was made of a portion
of the skin by means of sections cut at right angles to the direction of one of the
gaping sharply edged incisions. The dried skin was first soaked in water and after-
wards passed through increasing strengths of alcohol ; the sections were cut upon
a freezing microtome and stained with Ehrlich's Htemataxylin and eosin. In
46 H. LING EOTH. — Maori Tatn and Mol'o.
these sections all the chief structures of the skin are easily recognisable ; the
epidermis, however, is wanting.
" On either edge of the incision the fibrous bundles of the corium terminate
quite abruptly ; there is no trace whatever of repair in the form of exudation or
granulation-tissue. Blood has escaped into the incision, and the extravasation
extends a considerable distance laterally between the bundles of fibrous tissue, and
even amongst the cells of fat.
" Is the amount of extravasation compatible with a post-mortem moko, or
does it prove that the process was carried out during life ? In order to test this
question I made the following observations : — Dec. 2, 1899 ; weather mild. I
lightly struck a sharp chisel, a quarter of an inch broad, into the -scalp (a little
way above the ear) of a well-developed man who had died sixteen hours previously.
The scalp and parts about the neck were congested. Blood at once oosed freely
out of the wound and continued to do so. I pressed and manipulated the parts
without using violence, and then excised the piece with the incision in its centre,
pinned it on filter paper and allowed it to dry in a warm room. When dry it
was placed in alcohol, and some days afterwards cut and stained as in the other
case.
" In another body in which there was no visible congestion I made a similar
injury in the same position. Blood welled up from the wound, but did not flow out
to the same extent as in the first case. Such injuries when made over the malleoli
gave exit to no blood, even on pressing the parts. The differences in result depend
obviously upon the amount of blood in the tissue selected.
" Microscopic examination of the post-mortem injury made in case 1 : There
is a zone of blood in the course of the incision, and blood has been displaced
laterally between the bundles of fibrous tissue, in places for a considerable
distance, as well as between the fat cells, the entire result being precisely like
that in the moko.
" The microscopic examination of the New Zealander's wound shows quite
clearly that it has been produced by a sharp chisel-like instrument, and not by a
series of punctures. No artificial colouring matter was detectable either on the
faces of the incision or between the divided bundles of fibre. There is no sign of
any inflammation having taken place.
" The conclusions arrived at are : The absence of histological changes,
whether of active inflammation or repair, in the section of the Maori skin shows
that the moko must have been done either shortly before or after death. But
against the first supposition is the wide extent of that part of the moko having
the same naked eye characters as the piece selected for examination, and
obviously done at one and the same time. It is too extensive to have been
carried out at a single sitting, covering as it does the whole of the forehead and
both the malar regions, and it may be safely concluded therefore that it was
done after death."
Mr. Shattock's opinion may be confirmed by the probability that if the
H. LINO ROTH. — Mm>ri Tutu «n<l Moko. 47
moko had been done before deatli colouring matter would have been inserted
as usual. That tlio operation was done soon after death is also probable, as at
that period the skin would be easier to operate upon than later, when the head
would have hardened under the process of preservation.
15. RENEWAL OF MOKO.
" Tatuing by the Maori is renewed occasionally, as the lines become fainter by
time, to the latest period of his life. Tetoro, who returned to New Zealand in the
Dromedary, was re-tattooed soon after his arrival."1 Polack2 also says: "After a
series of years, some chiefs have had the courage and patience to be retouched and
renovated." But as to D'Urville's statement3 that Cook mentions repeated
tatuings, I have not been able to trace this remark in that discoverer's records.
16. THE OBJECT OF TATU AND MOKO.
Marsden,4 referring to an agreement regarding the alienation of some land at
Ranghee Ho in February, 1815, says : " The chief has signed the grant in a
manner extremely curious and perfectly original. He has displayed the ingenuity
which is characteristic of his countrymen, in a minute and laborious copy of the
tattooed lines upon his own face." The lines as illustrated by Marsden are very
roughly drawn and resemble very closely the design of an amokoed face published
by Shortland5 from Banks Peninsula in Middle Island, and the Maori witness has
given a signature which appears to be part only of face tatu or moko. Scherzer
was informed authoritatively" " that on the occasion of the chiefs ratifying the
treaty with the English they superscribed the various documents with the lines
upon their faces, like so much heraldic blazonry, instead of writing their names."
The custom first referred to by Marsden had apparently become popular, but there
appears to be no reason for Polack's statement7 that " tattooing is the sign-manual
and crest of a native chief. In title-deeds of land-purchases, or receipts of any
description, the moko or fac-similes on the face of a chief are correctly represented
by him on paper. The initials or crest on the seal attached to the watch or ring
of a European is accounted by a native as the ' moko ' of its owner." In fact,
Diefifenbach states plainly the " moko does not form what might be called the arm's
of an individual,"8 and adds that the affixing of their moko or some other figure
as their signature by the natives seems a " modern invention " — which, of course,
it must have been. " Slaves, if they have been taken when children, are not
tattooed, nor is the operation completed in those cases where it has already been
partly performed upon them."9 " Slaves are tattooed as well as the chiefs, but
there are various forms which the former are not permitted to use."10 This fact
1 Cruise, op. cit., p. 264. - Op. cit., II, p. 45.
< Op. cit., Ill, p. -450. 4 Miss. Register, 1816, p. .'328.
s Op. cit., p. 16. « Novara, Lond., 1863, III, p. 114.
• Op. cit., II, p. 48. • Op. cit., II, p. 34.
9 Op. cit., II, p. 34.
10 JJvown, N.Z. and its Aborigines, Load., 1845, p. 31,
48 H. LING ROTH.— Maori Tatu and Moko.
probably led Darwin to write when at Waimata that " as it is a badge of dis-
tinction between the chief and the slave, it will probably long be practised.''
D'Urville's information was to the effect that mokoing "is not allowed to the
Kukies (slaves), to the general public, and even to those who dare not join in
combats unless they are authorised to wear them on account of high birth. Tuai
assured me that the general public acquire the right of molto by means of exploits
of war, and after an honourable campaign, the chiefs generally added some new
design in token thereof. He also told me that the same designs were gone over
several times in the course of one's life, sometimes even four or five different
occasions. He told me that Shongui had received all his mokos, as his face had
been subjected to five tatuings. As for himself he had only got as far as his
second tatuing, but he counted on obtaining his third on the return of an
expedition which he was then meditating. Perhaps these honour degrees in moko
are not so precise as Tuai wished me to believe, anyhow it is certain that the
privileges of moko are limited to men of distinguished birth or to warriors
celebrated for their grand deeds, and that a ranyatira considers himself the more
honoured the more his face is mokocd." To D'Urville, moko " seemed to be the
exact equivalent to the armorial bearings of Europeans, with this difference, that
the armorial bearings simply proved the individual merit of him who had first
been able to obtain them without in any way proving any merit in his children,
while the decoration of the New Zealanders proves in an authentic way that in
order to have the right of wearing it he has had to show proof of extraordinary
personal courage and patience. Nothing demonstrates better these ideas which
the New Zealanders attach to their moko designs and their analogy with our
armorial bearings than the following observations : — Tuai one day, with great
pride, called my attention to some bizarre designs engraved on his forehead, and as I
asked him what there was so remarkable about them, he replied : ' The Koro Koro
family is the only one in New Zealand which lias the right to wear these designs ;
Shongui, powerful as he is, could not take them, for the family of Koro Koro is
much more illustrious than his.'1 In fact, the strange decorations have the
advantage of announcing at the outset and in an authentic manner the rank of
every individual, and to assure him of the consideration to which he is entitled."2
In his short reference to mokoing, Anderson3 says, " but it is doubtful if this be
ornamental, or intended as a mark of particular distinction," and we are informed
by Crozet that " the chiefs were very pleased to show us all the tatuings on their
bodies, and several were proud and conceited about them."4 Savage at the time of
his visit, found the men still proud of their marks. He says : " The pantaloons,
particularly the posterior part, are in general very highly embroidered, and of which
they are not a little vain."5 D'Urville0 found the natives of Cook's Straits as vain
of their mokoing as those of the northern portion of Ika na maui. If a youth
1 Op. cit., pp. 451-3. - D'Urville, ibid., p. 453.
3 Cook, Third Voyage, book I, chapter vii, 4 Op. cit., p. 39.
5 Op. cit., p. 47, 8 Op. cit., p. 449.
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tutu and Moko. I'1
twenty years of age be not mokoed " he is considered unmanly if he has not endured
part of this painful process. . . . When Wlieety, who was half anglicised
by a long residence amongst us, was told that he ought riot to adopt this frightful
custom of his countrymen, he said if he did not he should be despised, and
perhaps taken for a woman."1 Similarly "Tooi informed us [Marsden] that
Korrokorro wished him to be tattooed. We told him that it was a very foolish
and ridiculous custom ; and, as he had seen so much of civilised life, he should
now lay aside the barbarous customs of his country, and adopt those of civilised
nations. Tooi replied that he wished to do so himself; but his brother urged him
to be tattooed, as otherwise he could not support his rank and character as a
gentleman among his countrymen, and they would consider him timid and
effeminate."2 Although Dieffenbach3 tells us that " moko is not an enforced
ceremony, but any one may have it done, or not, according to his wishes," we
have Taylor's statement4 that a "papatea or plain face was a term of reproach,"
thereby supporting Marsden. According to Yate " the tattoo is not a special mark
of chieftainship, as has been stated by almost all [sic] writers on New Zealand ;
for many chiefs, of the first rank, are without a single line ; others, even to old
age, are only partially covered ; and many a slave has had the greatest pains
taken, to give this ornamental operation the greatest effect upon his plebeian face.
Nor do the peculiar marks on the faces of different people denote their rank, or
the tribe to which they belong ; it all depends upon the taste of the artist, or upon
the direction of the person operated upon."5 " Each man thinks himself, and is
thought by others, to be more brave if he submits boldly and unflinchingly
to the taps of the tattooing instrument ; and not a few imagine that it adds to
their beauty, and submit to it that they may be followed and admired by the
women."0 " Persons at all ages and of all ranks who possess means or influence to
obtain it, get tattooed, chiefs, freedmen, hereditary bondsmen, and slaves. Though
often a distinctive insignia for a tribe, yet it is no sign of rank, as warriors are
captured at all ages, marked or otherwise."7 "The moko is neither intended to
constitute a distinctive mark between different tribes, nor to denote rank, as has
been variously stated. It is, in fact, only a mark of manhood, and a fashionable
mode of adornment, by which the young men seek to gain the good graces of the
young women. It only so far denotes rank, that the poor may not have the means
of paying the artist, whose skill is necessary."8 " To have fine tattooed faces was
the great ambition of young men, both to render themselves attractive to the
ladies and conspicuous in war ; for even if killed by the enemy, whilst the heads
of the untattooed were treated with indignity, and kicked on one side, those which
were conspicuous by their beautiful moko were carefully cut off, stuck on the
iuruturu, a pole with a cross on it, and then preserved ; all which was highly
1 Cruise, op. cit., p. 264. « Op. cit., 1822, p. 252.
3 Op. cit., II, p. 34. « Op. cit., p. 150.
5 Op. cit., p. 148. 6 Ibid., p. 149.
7 Polack, op. cit., II, p. 47. 8 Shortland, op. cit., pp. 16-17
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). E
50 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
gratifying to the survivors and the spirits of their late possessors."1 In the early
days Marsden wrote2 : "In time of war, great honour is paid to the head of a
warrior, when killed in battle, if he is properly tattooed."
17. VARIETY IN FACE DESIGN.
As we have seen above, Banks remarked on the fact that no two individuals
had the same moko. Shortland in describing some scrolls, one of which
occasionally replaces another, continues : " This is the only notable variation I have
ever seen, and this is merely a matter of taste. As a general rule, two fully
marked faces selected at hazard from distant parts of the country would, on
comparison, manifest merely some slight dissimilarities, attributable to the
difference of skill or taste of the artists who had executed the work."3 It must
be remembered, however, that the greater part of Shortland's experience was limited
to a small portion of the southern districts. Brown4 differs from the above
opinions with regard to the moko not being distinctive of a tribe or individual, and
in speaking of the great sameness exhibited by the lines continues : " Notwith-
standing that they are positively different in each individual, being varied to suit
the peculiar formation of his countenance. Tatooing appears almost reduced to a
system, as each tribe possesses some peculiarity in the form of the tatoo ; so much
so, that, by its means, members of one tribe at once recognise that to which a
stranger belongs." Similarly Yate5 : " With respect to all fully-marked faces, there
is in the marks a great similarity ; and it requires a person to observe them very
minutely to detect the difference." This is in accordance with Polack, who says
the stains and incisions are so far from being confined to one fashion or pattern,
that tribes are known by such distinctive marks, and many chiefs whose
countenances have never been seen by a distant tribe are known simply by the
distinguishing mark which has been peculiarly engraved on their countenances."6
Joest, when considering the circumstance that tatu (? moko} served wherewith to
recognise individuals, says such fact " proves most conclusively that every man bore
on his face his specific mark."7 Robley likewise says : " No two Maories were alike
in their markings."8 The foundation patterns appear to be seven in number, so that
with allowance for individual taste and artist's fancy it is quite possible the adult
males of a population numbering, at the first arrival of the Europeans according to
Re'clus, one hundred thousand, can have found sufficient variety to give every one
a design sufficiently differentiated to be quickly and appreciably noticed. To
obtain a fairly conclusive answer to the question as to whether there was this
variety a comparison might be made of the designs on every head, of which there
must be a few hundreds in our museums.
1 Taylor, op. cit., p. 152. 2 Op. cit., 1822, p. 252.
3 Op. cit., p. 18. 4 Op. cit., p. 30.
« Op. cit., p. 151. • Op. cit., ii, p. 42.
7 Op. cit., p. 29. " Op. cit., p. 91.
H. LING ROTH, —Maori Tatu and Moko. 51
18. THE ORIGIN OF TATU AND MOKO.
As regards the origin of moko, Taylor1 tells us : " Before they went to fight, the
youths were accustomed to mark their countenance with charcoal in different lines,
and their traditions state that this was the beginning of the tattoo, for their wars
became so continuous that to save the trouble of thus continually painting the face,
they made the lines permanent by the moko ; " but in the second edition of his
book, published in 1870,2 he adds: "It is, however, a question whether it did not
arise from a different cause ; formerly the grand mass of men who went to fight
were the black slaves, and when they fought side by side with their lighter-coloured
masters, the latter on those occasions used charcoal to make it appear they were
all one," an explanation difficult to accept. All the same, Taylor3 was told in 1840
by an old native that originally his people were not warlike, that charcoal was
used to mark the faces, and that mokoing was a late invention.
19. THE PAPUAN ELEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND.
We must now make a slight discursion and examine into the question of a
pre-Maori black population in New Zealand.
Crozet, writing in 1770, expresses his astonishment at seeing three varieties of
men in the Bay of Islands, one with yellowish white, with black hair, another more
swarthy, not so tall, with hair slightly frizzled [? curled], and a third kind the men
of whom consisted of " true negroes with woolly heads, and shorter than the other
two." He speaks of all three kinds being handsome and well -formed men.4 I
cannot find that either Cook or Banks refer to this black people, but Banks5 says :
" A few [natives] had on their faces or arms regular scars, as if made with a sharp
instrument, such as I have seen on the faces of negroes." These may be merely
the marks left by the tangi, or they may have been those we now call keloids, which
the negroid races are so fond of marking on their bodies, and which are widespread
amongst the Melanesians. If, however, either Banks or Cook had seen these true
negroes they would probably have recorded the fact. D'Urville6 describes in fairly
conclusive terms the peculiarities of two varieties of people in New Zealand, one
variety of which, according to these descriptions, was decidedly negroid. It must,
however, be remembered that D'Urville kept no proper journal and his accounts
were almost wholly written from memory, which detracts from the value of his
statements. Lieutenant Charles Hamilton Smith7 supports the opinion of the
existence of Papuan and Polynesian races in New Zealand on linguistic and
legendary evidence neither of which as given by him can be considered by
themselves very satisfactory. He refers on p. 460 to Plate XX in his book, one
1 Op. cit., p. 151. » Ibid., p. 320.
3 Op. cit., p. 194. * Op. cit., p. 28.
5 Op. cit., p. 186. ° Op. cit., II, p. 387.
• Nat. Hist, of the Human Species, Edin., 1848, p. 231.
E 2
52 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
figure on which he describes as a Polynesian Maori and the other a Papuan Maori,
and adds : " The two figures confirm that two distinct races existed there anterior to
the European discovery." But in both figures the hair is shown curly although
the physiognomies are quite distinct; however, neither of the portraits can be
considered sufficiently accurate in order to base an opinion thereon. Dieffenbach1
enters fairly fully into the characteristics of alleged two distinct peoples and adds
that the black race, " which is mixed in insensible gradations with the former, is
far less numerous, and does not predominate in any one part of the island, nor does
it occupy any particular station in a tribe, and there is no difference made between
the two races amongst themselves, but I must observe that I never met any man
of consequence belonging to this race, and that, although free men, they occupied
the lower grades." He further gives it as his opinion that it is very doubtful
whether those differences which we observe amongst the natives of New Zealand
are due to the previous existence in the country of a darker race afterwards
conquered and nearly exterminated by the arriving Polynesians. He remarks on
the absence of any trace of blending in the language and no trace of it " in the
traditions, which certainly would have mentioned the conquest of one race by the
other if it had really happened." Finally, as regards Crozet's discovery of the
darker race at North Cape, he could on visiting the place seventy years later find
no trace of such blacks there, and adds : " Nor are these darker-coloured individuals
more common in the interior ; I should say even less so." Polack2 draws a clear
distinction between the two peoples : " The nation consists of two aboriginal and
distinct races. . . . The first may be known by a dark brown complexion, well
formed and prominent features, erect muscular proportions, and lank hair, with a
boldness in the gait of a warrior, wholly different from that of the second and
inferior race, who have a dark complexion, brown-black hair, hair inclining to the
wool like the Eastern African, stature short, and skin exceedingly soft. In
physical character the two castes differ in a great degree." Taylor3 tells us : " The
remains of this race [the Melanesian] are to be seen in every part of New Zealand,
especially among the Nga-ti-ka-hunu, to which the derisive name of Pokerekahu —
Black Kumaru — is applied." Quatrefages and Hamy* call attention to the fact
that although many travellers speak of the existence of blacks among the Maories
their interpretations of their observations are extremely varied, nor are they
based on anatomical investigations. They say Dieffenbach's description of a male
skull tallies exactly with that of a Papuan.5 They also maintain that a New
Zealand skull presented by Arnoux in 1847 to the Mus. Nat. Hist., Paris, as a good
type of the skull of the New Zealand black race, has decided Papuan characteristics.
They assert that the skull described by Huxley6 cannot be distinguished from those
from Melanesia, and especially from those from the New Hebrides. They say the
Paris Museum contains two prepared heads brought home by Freycinet and Lesson,
1 Op. cit., pp. 7-11. - Op. cit., I, p. 6.
3 Op. cit., 2nd edition, p. 13. 4 Crania Ethnica, 1882, p. 293.
5 Op. cit., II, p. 7. ° Journ. Anat. and Phys., 1, 1867, pp. 60-77.
H. LlNG ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko. 5tt
the woolly hair on which completely recalls that of pure Melanesians. They assert
that the Museum recently received a large collection of skulls from New Zealand,
amongst which it was not difficult to find several which showed a certain number
of changes of type in a Melanesian direction. They are evidently convinced there
was a pre-Folynesian black population in New Zealand, and that there was at one
time a black element in New Zealand. But they omit to mention that Huxley in
describing the skull referred to expressed considerable doubt as to its New Zealand
origin, while Carter Blake considered it came from New Caledonia.1 If it did
come from New Zealand it would only support the contention that Melanesians
formed part of the aboriginal population, to the limited degree of one specimen.
In the map to his paper on " The Distribution of the Principal Modifications of
Mankind " Huxley gives the New Zealand islands one colour, thereby indicating a
pure and not a mixed race.2 This is perhaps due to the fact later on mentioned by
Flower3 that though the Melanesian element in its wider sense is present in New
Zealand " it is completely overlaid by the Polynesian." Quatrefages and Hamy
also call in the aid of Hochstetter, Cook at Cape Brett, Nicholas, and Earle,
but in none of these authors can I find any confirmation. Hochstetter4 says
nothing about the presence of Melanesians in New Zealand ; Cook does not refer to
the question at all either at Cape Brett or elsewhere ; Nicholas5 merely mixes up
Polynesians and Fijians ; while Earle indulges in some unimportant comparisons.
Hursthouse's New Zealand, also referred to by Quatrefages and Hamy, I have not
seen. Sir W. Turner, writing two years after Quatrefages and Hamy, points out
that in the crania of the Maori there is a tendency " to assume dolichocephalic
proportions and thus to depart from a pure Polynesian type, much more strongly
than is the case with the Samoans, the Marquesas Islanders, or even the Sandwich
Islanders,6 and he comes to the conclusion that New Zealand had been occupied
by a dolichocephalic and probably a Melanesian race, before the Polynesian
element was introduced to it."7 This priority of local existence he extends to
other islands, for he adds,8 he is led to "a conclusion similar to that arrived at by
W. L. Ranken from a consideration of other data, viz., that the South Sea Islands
had been inhabited by Papuans prior to the Mahori colonisation." Sir W. Turner
is, however, apparently not quite satisfied on account of other ethnological data
as to whether the two races, Melanesians and Polynesians, were the " only races
which have ever occupied these islands."9 In opposition to these views we
find Hale writing in 184610 : " Some voyagers have believed that they saw
in the natives of New Zealand at least two distinct races of men, of which one
approached the yellow Polynesian and the other the black Papuan family
' Anth. Rev., IV, p. 407 * Journ. Ethn. Soc., N.S. II.
3 Journ. Anth. Inst., XIV, p. 384.
4 New Zealand, English edition, Stuttgart, 1867.
s Narrative, II, p. 267.
• "Challenger" Reports, Part XXIX, "Human Crania," p. 108.
' Ibid., p. 109. • Ibid., p. 110.
9 Ibid., p. 113. » Op. ciL, p. 11.
54
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
The latter, they say, are distinguished by their shorter stature, darker
complexion, and frizzled hair. Our observations did not confirm the correctness
of these statements It appeared to us that the physical differences were no
greater than are seen in every country between different classes of people —
between the well-fed, luxurious idler, and the half-starved, ill-clad labouring
man. We saw many stunted forms and dark complexions among them, but no
instance of what could properly be termed frizzled or woolly hair." Deniker1
ignores the question altogether. To obtain linguistic evidence as to whether
there existed or did not exist any Melanesia!! or Papuan element in the Maori
dialects I applied to Mr. Sydney H. Ray, who kindly replied as follows : — " The
Maori and other Polynesian languages seem to be the modern representatives
of an ancient language which was cognate to certain Melanesian languages, but
not to all. The present Melanesian languages most closely related to Polynesian
are those of the South Solomon Islands (perhaps also New Guinea), Fiji, Banks
Islands, and North New Hebrides. In parts of the Polynesian region, especially
in Paumotu and Tahiti, and to a less extent in Rarotonga and New Zealand, there
are traces of an older stock, of which words only have survived without
appreciably affecting the grammar. This strange element is not Melanesian (for
Polynesian and Melanesian vocabulary and grammar are mainly the same but are
•distinct). For want of a better name it may be called Papuan." This opinion
places the Maories on the same footing as other Polynesians, and practically
supports the theory of some pre-Polynesian race or races. The evidence of
European eye-witnesses is, as we have seen, meagre and vague, and hence of
itself not of sufficient value as a factor of determination, but added to the
cranial and linguistic evidence, the three together must be accepted as proving
a Melanesian element to have once existed in New Zealand.
20. THE PATTERNS AND THEIR ORIGIN.
There appear to be seven patterns made use of by the Maories in their tatu
and moko : —
1. The line of dots or strokes.
2. The mat- or plait- work pattern.
3. The ladder pattern.
4. The chevron.
5. The circinate coil.
6. The anchor.
7. The trilateral scroll.
The first pattern is shown by S. Parkinson and consists of consecutive short
vertical lines dropping down over or following the contour of the forehead or of
dotted lines following somewhat the contour of the face (Fig. 19).
The Races of Man, London, 1890.
H. LING BOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
The second pattern is shown by Tregear1 in a sketch of a tatued native whose
face, but for a solitary letter-S-shaped line (Fig. 20), is covered with parallel lines
in groups of three, each set more or less alternately in such
a way that if extended to their full they would make the
<-i mmion basket-, mat-work, or plait pattern. Of this he
says : " In New Zealand the curves of the modern tattooing
(the tattooing of Mataora) are said by Mr. White (whose
knowledge of the Maori is very great), to have superseded a
different fashion for marking called mokokuri. From the
description given to Mr. White by the old priests I drew the
picture forming the frontispiece of his new work The Ancient
History of the Maori. It can be seen by this that a peculiar
system of marking existed : horizontal and vertical lines
arranged in sets of threes." Scherzer, who must have
obtained his information from White or some old resident,
for he did not stay long enough in the islands to investi-
gate for himself, unfortunately turns this statement2 into
one that this early stage had only been reached when Cook visited the islands,
which, with Cook's, Banks's, and Parkinson's descriptions before us, we know
FIG. 20.— Tatu marks
according to White as
depicted by Tregear
(New Zeal. 7w**.,XX),
to show No. 2, or
plait-work pattern.
FIG. 19. — Portrait taken at Poverty Bay
(Gisburne) by S. Parkinson, showing No. 1
pattern on forehead and cheeks and under
eyes ; No. 3, or ladder, pattern across nose ;
and No. 5, or simple circinate coil, on
cheeks, nose, etc.
1 Trans. New Zealand Inst., XX.
FIG. 22. — Portrait taken at Cape Brett, Bay
of Islands, by S. Parkinso •, showing
No. 1 pattern on forehead ; No. 3, or
ladder, pattern ; and No. 7, or trilateral
scroll, pattern on nose and cheek.
Op. cit., Ill, p. 110.
56
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
FIG. 21. — Wooden effigy in Brit. Mus.
, 15£ inches (0'394 in.) high, showing
No. 2 pattern on chest, No. 5 simple
L circinate coil on face and return
circinate coil on face and abdomen,
also line pattern based on this coil ;
No. 6, or anchor pattern ; and No. 7,
or trilateral scroll pattern on thighs,
etc.
must be incorrect. A small wooden effigy in
the British Museum has similar lines, but in
sets of two, arranged in the same way (Fig.
21). This form reminds us of the mat-work
carved patterns so common in Polynesia, and
especially of the tatu in Hawai1 as depicted by
Choris as late as 1822.
The third or -ladder pattern is shown in
Sydney Parkinson's portrait of a chief2 (Fig. 22)
taken at Cape Brett, Bay of Islands, on Cook's
first voyage, and makes as it were a background
to the curious trilateral scrolls. Choris shows
this ladder-like form in tatu marks in the
Sandwich Islands, and it is found as decoration
on utensils in Fiji, Tonga, and elsewhere. It
may have resulted as an elongation of the
lines of the first pattern. D'Urville shows the
thigh tatuing of a Maori man in which the
rungs have disappeared so that only parallel
lines remain, and Robley3 shows the ladder
pattern with the rungs close together.
The fourth pattern is the chevron, not
very common (Fig. 23). Robley shows it on
tatued lips,4 and it is to be seen on the left
cheek of a well preserved moko head in the
Bankfield Museum, under my care in Halifax.
1 ''Artificial Skin Marking in the - Sandwich
Islands," by H. Ling Eoth. Internationales Arckiv
fur Ethnographic, Leiden, 1900, p. 198 et seq. In
connection with this coincidence I may mention
Frank's opinion, referred to by Moseley, that "as far
as regards the special development of art, and forms
of implements of use amongst the New Zealanders,
that people are nearly allied to the Hawaiians, certainly
more nearly so than to the Samoans, from colonists of
which race |Hall supposed that the Maories were
sprung. The stone adzes of the New Zealanders are
of the same form as those of the Hawaiians, and both
differ for example from those of Tahiti. Naturalist
on the Challenger, London, 1879, p. 510." Dieffenbach
(II, p. 91) seems to have htld a similar opinion in
regard to language, custom, and relationship. He
says : " There is such affinity between the dialects of
the natives of Hawai and those of New Zealand, and to a far greater extent than that common
tie which unites all Polynesians." Biichner, too, found great similarity between the Maories
and Hawaiians. Reise d. d. stillen Ozean, Munich, 1878, p. 326.
2 Op. cit., Plate XXI. Op. cit., p. 20. 4 Ibid., p. 74,
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
57
This pattern may possibly have originated amongst the Maories as follows:—
The spaces under the tails of the coil are filled in with slant parallel lines, generally
concave towards the coil,- and diminishing in length ; when two such coils are
placed back to back, without a dividing line, we have as a
result a series of V's fitting into one another, and these when
extended would give the chevron.
The fifth pattern. — With the introduction of this, the
circinate coil, as shown by Parkinson in the portrait of a chief1
taken at Poverty Bay (Gisborne), appears to have come an
adaptation of the moko lines to the contour of the face,
somewhat similar to the lines adopted in the first pattern.
For instance, wavy lines start from the centre of the forehead FlG 23 _ Moko on
following the shape to the head, a series of lines curl round face of Tangieri, a
from the nostrils to the chin, which lines are made to pass
round the mouth in a more or less parallel form. At least so
far as my investigations have carried me I have not seen any
moko faces with the coil and at the same time without these
lines. Not infrequently the large coils are supplied with spokes, perhaps due
to the mere desire to fill in space, or they may have originated as follows : — On
plank end and canoe heads it has not been possible to carve the coils without
supports (Fig. 24) or spokes, and from this design the spokes may have been copied
chief of Maunga-
kaia. After Polack.
To show possible
origin of Maori
chevrons.
FIG. 24.— Carved wooden panel from a house in Rotorua, Brit. Mus., 78£ in. x 15 in. (1'994 m.
X 0'381 m.). To show return circinate coil with spokes adapted from moko pattern.
back on to the moko pattern. Herbert Williams2 tells us : " The circinate fern
fronds or pitau are acknowledged in the beautiful carved scrolls on rapa (head) of
the war canoe."3
The sixth or " anchor " pattern, from its resemblance to an anchor, owes its
name to Schurtz, who says of it4: "There can be no doubt as to its motif: it is
1 Op. cit., Plate XVI. * Hamilton, Maori Art, Wellington, p. 118.
3 Tregear states very rashly (Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XIX, p. 101), " I believe that I can
prove etymologically that the curves of Maori tattooing are snake coils, which they must have
learnt far away from Polynesia." Later on (Trans. N.Z. Inst., 1890, XXXI 1), having forgotten
this statement, he endeavours to prove that the spiral or coil was intimately connected with
Maori sun worship.
Globus LXXVII 27 Jan. 1900, p. 53.
58
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
FIG. 27.
FIG. 28.
FIG. 29.
Effigies after Angas. Figs. 27 and 28, Plate XXV, Maketu House, Otawhao Pah ; Fig. 29,
Plate XXXVIII, House at Raroera Pah. To show obliteration of nose and prominence of
tongue, from which anchor pattern could not have been developed.
FIG. 30.
FIG. 31.
FIG. 32.
Patterns on Maori house rafters. After Herbert Williams in Hamilton's Maori Art, Part II,
Coloured Plates, Nos. 18, 26, and 5. To show partial later development of anchor pattern
according to Williams (p. 118).
H. LING KOTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
59
nothing else than a crude drawing of a face with nose, mouth, and outline of
the cheeks," etc. (Figs. 25, 26). In its douhle form (Fig. 25) it may suggest a
FIG. 25.— Design on the end of a storehouse
at Papaitonga. After Hamilton (Maori
Art, Part II, Plate XV), to show No. 6
or anchor pattern.
FIG. 26.— Pattern on Motu Motu Toarifi
(New Guinea) shield, Brit. Mus. To
show concentric lines round human
mouth for comparison with Fig. 25.
human face, all the more so when compared with a conventionalised face from
New Guinea (Fig. 26). But I doubt whether the pattern be what Schurtz
appears to maintain, that is, a conventionalised Maori face,
because wherever we see a carved Maori face in course of
devolution the tendency is for the tongue to hang below
the mouth, so that the characteristic feature is no longer
the nose ; hence, instead of the anchor pattern, we should
have a pattern like this Y- The accompanying illustrations
from Angas show this (Figs. 27-29). The anchor may
however be and probably is a survival of the face of pre-
Maori Melanesians of New Zealand. Herbert Williams,1
who has studied the scroll patterns, of which this forms one,
on the spot and with native assistance, tells us the midribs
are a " modern invention " (Figs. 30-32), and he points out2
how the sweep of the outer curve of the scroll got broken.
But this requires further proof.
The seventh or trilateral scroll, which is apparently
not as rare as the chevrons, is made up of return curves.
FIG. 33. — Pattern on These return curves are by Williams3 considered to owe
Maori Buliroarer, their origin to fche flower of the Cliaidlius punicem (Fig. 33)
Brit. Mus. To show
probable connection The mterest m Maori art as distinguished from that of
between anchor and the rest of Polynesia lies in the preponderance of curves
trilateral scroll pat- and especially of spirals, the latter of which are almost
entirely wanting among Polynesians outside New Zealand.
The Marquesans, who carried tattling to its extreme and considerably surpassed
the Maories, had a design on the back of the hand which may possibly be a
1 Op. dt., p. 119.
3 Ibid., p. us.
» Ibid,, p. 118.
GO
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
spiral, while a not uncommon design on their incised work is a small and double
spiral.1 On the other hand, the Papuan branch of the Melanesians, if we are to
distinguish between them, revel in the spiral in its various developments. The
indications would therefore be that there has been some considerable contact
between the Papuans and the Maories. This view appears to be strengthened
by the strong resemblance between some of the Maori and New Guinea scrolls.
For instance, if we compare the excised portion of Haddon's illustration of the
decoration of a Maori nose flute with the decoration of the coco-nut from Dutch
New Guinea we find a very close resemblance. Looking at the joined coils ( Figs. 34
and 35) A B, we find in both cases A has an arm running out in the direction
C, the filling-in being likewise similar in both cases. These resemblances may
possibly be coincidences due to the
extreme variability to which the
scroll or connected coil lends itself,
but I doubt it. Haddon remarks
that these resemblances2 are more or
less superficial, that there is more
interlocking in the Papuan than in
the Maori patterns, the bird element
is entirely wanting, etc., etc. Schurtz,3
in discussing Maori carving, considers
that in the spiral tatu (moko) and
carving " we have to deal with a new
fashion, which has so much in common
with Melanesian art that it can hardly
pass as independent origin (Erfindung) ;
perhaps it belongs to the Melanesian
element in the Maori population and
FIG. 34. FIG. 35.
FIG. 34. — Portion of the decoration on a Maori
flute. After Haddon (Evolution in Art, p. 72).
FIG. 35. — Decoration on a coconut from Dutch
New Guinea. After Preuss (Internationales
Archiv fur Eihnographie, Leiden, XII, p. 178).
To show resemblance between the two decora-
tions.
had by chance after long neglect become
fashionable again." This is not at all improbable: Pitt-Rivers has shown an
example of revival in ornamentation on Solomon Island spears.4 Mention has
been made above of a wavy line or a letter-S-shaped figure on a face covered
with an early form of tatu. Robley gives a drawing (Fig. 20) of this face
reproduced from White's Ancient History of the Maori,6 but in the text -his
engraver has mutated the form of the letter S into that of the Greek sigma,
This letter S is mentioned by Crozet in 17726 : " They have also on both hands
two little black engravings drawn very correctly in the form of an S." Polack
1 An illustration in U.S. National Museum Report, 1888-9 (Plate LII), of an Easter Island
paddle in the National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, appears to be ornamented with
spirals, but a close examination shows this not to be the case.
2 Evolution in Art, London, 1895, p. 72. « Op. cit., p. 53.
Nature, 1881, XXIV, p. 238. Vol. i, frontispiece.
Op. cit., p. 39.
H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tain and Moko.
61
FIG. 38.— Tatu mark on
back of hand of Maori
chief Tamaroa, whose
face bears the usual coil
and other nioko pat-
terns. After Polack (I
p. 67).
gives an illustration of a hand with a curious design which may have developed
I' mm the S 1'orm (Fig. 38). That a wavy or S line could have developed into
trilateral spirals or coils has been shown by Flinders
Pctrie to have been the case with some ornamentation
on scarabs1 (Figs. 36 and 37). There is no reason why
the almost infinite variety of spirals and scrolls as
depicted in Maori art could not have had an independent
origin, the circinate coil being the basis, with a natural
motif in the bracken, as mentioned by Williams and
already referred to. If a topographical survey of the
distribution of ornament in New Zealand could be made
it would probably throw considerable light on the origin
and development of the patterns under discussion, for the records of Cook and
Banks show that in different localities different patterns prevailed. If we were
shown that in localities where the Melanesian element existed the spiral was
originally more prominent either as moko or other
decorative design than elsewhere we could fairly con-
clude that the spiral in New Zealand was of pre- Poly-
nesian or of Melanesian origin. But so far as I can find
while spirals were met with by Europeans in the early
times in the moko at Bay of Islands and Poverty Bay in
the North Island and on Banks Peninsula in Middle
Island, there is as yet nothing to show that the Maories
in these parts were more or less pure Polynesians than
elsewhere, although Sir W. Turner found that the cephalic
index varied occasionally in the same tribe.
I am inclined to adopt a non-local origin for the spiral patterns for which there
appears to be also possible support in the fact that the Maories who have a com-
paratively large amount of Melanesian mixture
make use of the spiral to an unlimited extent
while the Marquesans, who have less of this
mixture, show very little of the spiral. The
Sandwich Islanders with about an equal
amount of mixture appear to be without any
spiral at all in their decorative art, and a
branch of the Melanesians, i.e., the Fijians,
appear to be equally wanting in the spiral.
But as the decorative arts of both Fijians and
Hawaians are in about an equally low stage,
they can be left out of consideration.
In a question of this sort we are bound to
consider the race elements, and the Melanesian
FIG. 36. FIG. 37.
FIGS. 36 and 37.— Patterns
on scarabs developed
from a wavy line. After
Flinders Petrie (Egyp-
tian Decorative Art,
Lond., 1895, pp. 26, 27).
FIG. 40.
FIG. 39. — Scroll pattern on Danish
bronze celt from Mem. d. Antiyuaires
du Nord, 1887, p. 258, quoted by G.
Coffey (Jour. Roy. Soc. Ant., Ireland,
1896). FIG. 40.— Scroll pattern on
Stele from Grav. V. Mycene, after
Schliemann, quoted by Coffey, ibid.
To show existence of trilateral scroll
and anchor pattern in countries with
improbable connection with New
Zealand.
Egyptian Decorative Art, London, 1895, pp. 17 et teg.
G2 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
element (though hidden) is probably not so far distant that it has no influence
on the decorative art, and if this view is correct we may all the more reasonably
arrive at the conclusion that the spiral pattern in Maori tatu and moko was of
Melanesian origin.
In his tentative thought that the style of carving was altered to suit the new
tat.u (moko) patterns, Schurtz conies to the same conclusion as Haddon, who records
his impression1 " that the carved designs have been mainly derived from tattooing,"
etc. Both Haddou and Schurtz, therefore, would not agree with Joest2 that the
tatu patterns of a people always correspond to those on the utensils in daily use,
for in the case of the Maories it is the carvings which correspond to the tatu
marks.
21. COMPARISON WITH OTHER PEOPLES.
Katzel,3 in speaking of African tatus (really keloids, as his text shows), says :
" But the tatuing of the Tushilange has been compared with that of the New
Zealanders ; it is certainly the most complete of all African tatus. Even Virchow
has compared the patterns (Linienfuhrung) with that of the Maories." As Ratzel
gives no reference for this statement, it is impossible to verify it, but in all
probability Virchow's reference is merely to some superficial resemblance between
FIG. 41. FIG. 42.
Faces of Ba-shilange with keloid patterns on face. After Biichner quoted by Frobenius. To
show superficial resemblances with Maori moko pattern.
the two. Frobenius4 gives two portraits of Bashilange whose tatus (? keloids) he
compares with those of the New Zealanders. I cannot trace any such marks on
Maori faces, but there are somewhat similar patterns on the carved feather-box
(Fig. 43). The curved lines on the lower cheek (Fig. 42), from the upper lip to
' Op. cit., p. 72. * Op. cit., pp. 28 and 121.
:t Volkerkunde, second edition, Leipsig, 1895, II, p. 79.
* Ursprung der Kultur, Berlin, 1898, p. 338.
H. LING HOTII. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
FIG. 43. Carved Maori box. Brit. Mus. To show superficial resemblances with Bashilange
keloid patterns.
the chin and back to nose, are quite different from the similarly placed lines on the
Maori, and the conventional exaggerated snake form (Fig. 41) is not found in the
Maori.1 The range and developments of the coil are
infinite ; we find them in the decorative art of the Celts,
Saxons, Egyptians, Americans, etc., but superficial
resemblances of this sort can have no ethnographical
meaning. If individual lines such as those round the
mouth are to be of any value for determination of
affinity, then we must find relationship between some
of the Naga hill tribes (Fig. 44) and the West Africans
and Maories. Such comparisons are not reasonable. In
their straight line stages Maori moko and tatu had prob-
ably close connection with other Polynesian designs,
and possibly closest with those of Hawai, but through
the adoption of the Melanesian circiuate coil, they
obtained a series of designs quite different from that of
any other people. On the other hand, the operation
of moko, as opposed to that of tatu, has its counterpart in other countries.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. BEAD observed that the most important point to determine was the
original purpose of the practice of moko. He thought that the reasons adduced
by Mr. Ling Roth and by others were scarcely adequate. There was an intimate
connection between the painting of the face or body and the habit of tattooing,
and in his judgment a strong motive was required before a man would undergo
such a painful operation. Painting was a simple process, and could readily be
done for a special occasion. The virtue of moko was its permanent character.
Mr. EDGE-PARTINGTON said that in his opinion the tattooing implements
shown on the screen were with the exception of the one at the extreme top from
either Tahiti or Tonga ; he differed from the opinion expressed by Mr. Ling Roth
1 Bateman gives a portrait of a woman of the same tribe, with scroll pattern tatus
(? keloids), which is very different from any Maori pattern. First Ascent of the Kasai, London,
1889, p. 20.
FIG. 44.— Tatiu-d face of a
Vengam of Senua, Naga
Hills. After Woodthorpe
(Journ. Anth. /»«£., XI). To
show tatu lines following
contour of the features.
64 H. LING ROTH. — Maori Tatu and Moko.
that the variations in the designs on the tattooed head were simply due to the
fancy of the artist, and pointed out that Maori carvers in wood were subjected to
severe penalties if they deviated in the slightest degree from the traditional
pattern. He agreed with the view of Taylor (N.Z. and its Inhabitants, 1855, p. 151),
namely, that the tattooing of the face originated from the old custom so common
all over the Pacific of painting the face before going into battle.
The PRESIDENT gave a demonstration illustrated by lantern slides on the
scroll patterns of the Massim District of British New Guinea (i.e., Lousiades,
d'Entrecasteaux Group, etc.), and showed that they were derived from the
frigate-bird motive. The Maori spiral differs in character from that of British
New Guinea, and there is no evidence that it is derived from the head of the
frigate-bird. Several years ago he had published the opinion that the Maori
spiral was derived from linear tattooing following the contours of certain parts
of the body, such as the cheeks, the alse nasi, and the buttocks. The carvings
recently published by Mr. Edge -Par tington (Journ. Anth. Inst., xxx, Miscel.,
Nos. 40, 41, Plate E) had caused him somewhat to modify this opinion (Man,
May, 1901, No. 55), although he still believed that the influence of body contours
was potent in retaining and emphasising the scroll designs even if it was not
actually responsible for their origin. He also alluded to a considerable amount
of evidence there was for the view that a large portion of Oceania was inhabited
by Melanesians before the Polynesian migrations, and that some of the anomalies
to be met with among populations supposed to be of pure Polynesian origin
could be accounted for on this hypothesis. Volz even believes that in Melanesia
and New Zealand there was an Australoid population prior to the expansion of
the Melanesians.
Explanation of Shortland's Nomenclature to Fig. 13, Page 38. By SIDNEY H. KAY.
1. Tiwhana = to be curved like a bow, whana = to recoil (Samoan, fana = shoot with a
bow).
2. Repha = (?) repa = belly of a shark (in Hawaiian, repa — border, fringe or. hem of a
garment).
3. Ngu — cuttle fish.
4. Pongiangia = pongi = nostrils, angi = to blow gently (in Samoan, pongai-isu = nostrils,
i.e., pogai = stump, isu = nose).
5. Wakatara = (?) waka = canoe, tatara = untied, loose.
6. Kumikumi = beard under chin. Samoan, umi = to lengthen out, umi = long.
7. Rerepehi = (?) rera = a waterfall, running of water, to flee, sail, or leap, etc., pehi = to
weigh down, press, lie down. Tahiti and Hawaiian, to throw stories,
etc. = pei.
8. Wero = to stab, cf. Samoan, velo = the horns of a cray-fish, also to cast a spear, etc.
9. Pukaru = (pu probably = spot or mark, knob), pukoro = surround with halo, karu =
head or eye, koro = noose.
10. Koroaha = koro = noose.
11. Paepae = may be from pae = horizon, paepae = threshold. In other Polynesian
languages, e.g., Tahiti, paepae = a pavement of stones, Hawaiian, pai =
to stamp or print pattern on cloth.
12. Putaringa — cf. pukaru = above, taringa = ear.
13. Kauwae = chin.
14. Titi = a peg, pin or nail, bird.
THE YAKUTS.
ABRIDGED FROM THE RUSSIAN OF SiEROSHEVSKi,1 BY W. CJ. SUMXEK, 1'rofessor
of Political and Social Science in Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A.,
and revised and completed by M. Sieroshevski.
T. — SOCIETAL AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION.
THE Yakuts inhabit a territory in North-east Siberia which is roughly 1,300,000
square miles in area, equal to about two -fifths of the area of the United States
without Alaska. It all lies north of the parallel of 60 and is colder than any other
part of the inhabited globe. The Yakuts number a little over 220,000. (See
note A, p. 108.)
[p. 415.] The economic unit amongst the Yakuts, taking the whole territory
into account, consists of four persons — two grown labourers, one youth, and one
boy or old man incompetent to do full work. Ten head of cattle are regarded as
indispensable for the maintenance of such a group. Above that norm the Yakuts
think that comfort begins, and below it, poverty. In those districts where fish can
be obtained as an adjunct, those who have ten head of cattle are well off; but
where neither hunting nor fishing offers additional resources, fifteen or twenty
head of cattle are indispensable to secure the existence of a family. The latter is
the case in the north, on account of the duration of the winter and the badness
of the meadows (see note B, p. 108). In the south, where tillage is available
as an important subsidiary industry to maintain life, and where it is easy
to find wages occupations in winter, the limit of independent means of
existence falls to one and a half head of cattle per soul. In spite, therefore,
of the wide difference between the absolute amounts of wealth indicated by
these limits — from six to twenty head of cattle, i.e., from 120 to 400 rubles
($60 to $200) of capital — all the households that are at the limit stand on
the verge of distress. The least accident overthrows the security of their
existence, and the least subsidiary resource gives them a chance to live and grow.
Such households constitute the great mass of the population. In one Nasley taken
as a specimen, of 248 households, 101 are at the limit; 10 have no cattle; 74 have
one head, or one and a fraction, per soul ; 54 have from 3 to 9 head per soul, that
is, are well-to-do in different grades: one has 12 and one has 18 head for each soul
1 Yahity, published by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, St. Petersburg, 1896,
vol. i, pp. 720. The author, a Pole, was sent as a political exile to the land of the Yakut?,
where he remained more than 12 years.
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). F
66 W. O. SUMNER— The. Yafatt*.
in the household. Tlie author knows only one man in the whole Yakut territory
who has 500 head of cattle. There are hut two or three persons in the whole
country who have at their disposition from 100,000 to 200,000 nil ties of capital.
Such persons have won their wealth hy trade, and their capital consists in wares,
money, and various credits.
The limit is set to the growth of households which depend on herding alone,
in the first place by the small supply of wages-labourers, and secondly by the
communal ownership of land. The point is that the family consisting of four or
five souls, of whom three are productive labourers, with a subsistence capital of
three head of cattle per soul, constitutes an organisation which can maintain itself
with hired labour. The best Yakut mower and two female rakers can make in a
summer from 1,200 to 1,800 -puds (22 to 32 tons) of hay, according to the season.
This amount is sufficient to carry through the winter from twelve to fifteen head
of cattle. Any household in which the above-described organisation is incomplete
must hire labourers, or buy hay, or keep its cattle in a half-starved condition. On
the other hand, those who have less than one head of cattle per soul must hire
themselves out for wages. Under this organisation the most common and striking
phenomenon is that the more independent ones get a higher price for their time
and their products than those who are in distress.
The rate of wages is almost everywhere nominally the same. The men get
from 35 to 40 rubles per annum with board, if they are able-bodied mowers ; and
women who rake, or tend cows, get from 20 to 24 rubles, with board. The rations
are determined by custom ; those of the men are better than those of the women.
Only a small part of the wages is paid in money ; generally the employers give
wares, sometimes such as the employe does not need and which he must sell at a loss.
It is still more customary to pay with cattle, especially with horses, either slaughtered
or living. The employers try to keep the employed in debt to themselves, and to
this end even encourage them in vice — for instance, in gambling. Often an
employer retains a portion of the wages and threatens not to pay it at all if the
labourer does not consent to work for him still another year. It is not difficult
for rich men to execute such an injustice as this, on account of the power which
they possess in all Yakut communities. The scarcity of labourers is the cause of
this conduct of the employers, but it also causes them, when once they have hired
persons, to treat them well. In families in moderate circumstances, employes are
taken in on an equal footing. In the north, even in the richest households, if no
strangers are present, the employe* sits at table with the family. He takes part in
the conversation and in household proceedings. His intercourse with the members
of the family is simple and free from constraint. The Yakuts are generally
polite in their intercourse, and do not like haughtiness. Employes expect the
customary courtesy.
The favourite form of labour contract, from the side of the labourers, is piece-
work with payment in advance, although the rate of discount for this advance is
very excessive. They think it a disgrace to lend money on interest. Probably
\V. G. SUMNKI;.— The JW.7//X. IJ7
these prejudices are due to ancient customs touching economic relations, such as
lending out cattle to be fattened upon a contract, or lending out milch cows and
mares for a milk return.
The Yakuts dislike to hire themselves out for wages. They return to
independence if the least possibility offers. For those who are poor the struggle
for independence is so hard that it is useless to talk about their laziness or lack of
forethought. If they have less than one and a half head of cattle per soul, they
suffer from hunger nearly all their lives. When dying of hunger, they refrain
from slaughtering an animal, from fear of losing their independence. The author
knows of cases in which the authorities have forced people to slaughter their cattle
that they might be saved from death by starvation. Hunger periods occur in
every year, during which two-thirds of the Yakut population suffers from semi-
starvation for a longer or shorter time. This period is not longer than a few weeks
for those whose cattle during the winter were tolerably well nourished, so that in
spring they quickly recovered their vigour, or for those who have such a number
of cows that the latter produce calves at different times. The poor, however,
suffer hunger for months, during which they live by the alms of their more
fortunate neighbours. For them the most interesting subject of conversation is,
Whose cow7 has calved ? or, Whose cow will soon do so ? Sometimes it happens
that all the cows in a certain neighbourhood calve at the same time ; then, if there
is in that district no tillage, or if the grain harvest has failed, famine ensues.
Poor people when asked how they manage to live through those frightful months
said, " We go to bed and cover ourselves with the coverlet." They drink brick-tea
and a decoction of various herbs, and eat splinters of larch or pine, if they still
have a stock of them. They cannot obtain them in winter. No axe could then
split the wood, which is frozen to the hardness of stone. Where they plant grain,
and the harvest is fair, the circumstances are less stringent. On the whole
therefore, the dependence on chance is almost tragical. If things that must be
purchased rise in price to the slightest degree, if one neighbour has deceived
another, or the merchant has cheated in weight, or if calves have died, any of
these incidents come as heavy blows upon the barely established equilibrium of the
family budget. A few such blows throw the household into the abyss of debt,
from which it rarely, or with great exertion, emerges. Two-thirds of the families
are in debt ; one half of them for small amounts which can be repaid, but the other
half are hopelessly indebted, the debts consuming the income year by year. Even
amongst those who are called rich, the expenditure rarely surpasses two or three
hundred rubles per year, and this they cannot win without hired labour, because the
care of the herds which are large enough to produce this net amount far surpasses
the power of an average Yakut family ; therefore, only a large one, with well
combined forces, can get along without hired labour. There are but few such
families, and any co-operative organisation is strange to the Yakuts. They prefer
to work individually at their personal risk and chances. Even individual
handicraftsmen do not organise regular artels on the Russian type.
F 2
68 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
[p. 436.] Economic Bond of the Sib Group. Common Participation in
Goods. — The size of the sib group has always been determined by economic facts.
By virtue of an economic shock only does the sib begin to split up, and then first
do the notions about blood tie make themselves felt to an appreciable degree.
This they do in the following manner: — Two brothers, and still more, a father and
son, cannot fall into two different sibs ; nor can grandfather and grandson, or uncle
and nephew in the male line and the first degree, do so during the life of the
elder. But grandsons in the male line may belong to different sibs, especially if
the grandfather is dead. We have an especially good opportunity to observe the
significance of economic motives in dividing up the sibs, and also to observe the
insignificance of kin motives in the case of the sibs that are still complete, but in
which new sib centres can already be perceived. These new centres are defined
by the relations which are forming about them, although they have not yet
acquired new names. They are all separated from each other by greater or less
distances in space, and their territorial advantages vary. Also an important part
of the property in these new group centres (house, garden, stock of hay, petty
household wares and furniture), in case of the death of the owners, have no value
except for members of the group in which they are. It is impossible, or not worth
while, to transport them, and it is not possible to sell them, since there is no
market.
In former times, when the chief wealth of the Yakuts consisted in droves of
horses, the size and the conditions of subdivision or combination of the sib groups
were entirely different. In that distant time we must believe that the consumption
on the spot of products which had been obtained from the droves, or from hunting,
served as the external condition of the existence and size of a sib group. Many
traditions point to this fact. For instance, they tell us that if a Yakut slaughters
an animal, the viscera, fat, and entrails are divided into portions of different size
and worth, and distributed to the neighbours, who, having learned that the
slaughtering was to take place, generally take turns in visiting the owner. To
fail to give any neighbour a share is to make an enemy. To pass anyone
over purposely is equivalent to a challenge, and will put an end to friendly
relations between families. We are convinced of the antiquity of this custom by
tradition, and by its dying out nowadays. In the places where civilisation has
advanced the most it has lost much of its power. That it was a sib custom, we are
convinced by certain usages at marriages and ceremonies of reconciliation.
Distributions of meat are now a part of marriage ceremonies, and the chief
dishes served at marriages consist of meat. The formulas of language employed
in connection with this use of meat are reminders that the ceremony has created
relationships between the participants.
The strength of this custom was proved by a case observed by the author,
who saw the gladness of a good-for-nothing fellow, who up to that time had done
nothing but receive large shares, but who suddenly, by chance, drove a fat wild
reindeer into a swamp, and so in his turn was enabled to make presents to his
W. 11. Su.MNKi;.— T/ic Yakut*. <>9
neighbours of portions ul' meat. No comparison would do justice to the self-
satisfaction of this individual, when he at last served up the game which he had
won. He reserved for himself almost nothing. Other things which are subject to
immediate consumption, and can he distributed into small portions, are shared in
the same way, especially dainties, like sugar, cookies, or other rarity. Vodka is
always divided amongst all who are present, even the children getting a drop.
Tobacco also is subject to this custom. It is not degrading but honourable to
receive a gift of food from one who is eating, especially if he is an honoured
person. It is a violation of etiquette to give little to a rich man and much to a
poor man. The opposite is the rule. If one man's cow calves earlier than those
of the others, custom requires that he shall share cream and milk with those
neighbours who at that time have none. This explains the interest with which, in
the spring time, when the cows give no milk, the Yakuts calculate and distribute
information about anyone of the rich whose cow is about to calve. This also
explains how the poorest people live through the starvation months. When the
population is substantially equal, it is evident that these customs are not
burdensome, and this is why they prevail especially amongst people of a middle
class. The Yakuts would not believe the author when he told them that, in his
country, there were rich and populous cities in which people sometimes died of
starvation. They asked why anyone should die when he could go to eat with his
neighbours ?
The circumstances are in all respects more archaic in the northern provinces
and more advanced in point of culture in the southern. In the latter the custom
is already coming in to sell food to travellers, and even to neighbours, but in many
parts of the north they consider it a shame to trade with food. Even the poorest
think it an offence if it is proposed to them to take money for lodgings or food.
Travellers in winter take hay from the stacks on the meadows, with which to feed
their animals, and it is regarded as right. These customs all give some coherence
and permanence to the petty groups of the Yakuts which wander in the woods.
When travelling, so long as they are in inhabited districts, they need not fear
hunger, though they take no provisions with them. The custom constitutes a
system of mutual insurance against the misfortunes of life.
Paupers. — Care for the poor and unfortunate has always been regarded as an
obligation of the sib. Impoverished families are cared for in their houses, while
the helpless and paupers go about amongst the householders and take their places
at the table with the members. Trifling tasks are given them to perform. The
author found that the poor and middle class people treated them better than the
rich did. According to the notions of the people, it is sinful to despise the
unfortunate, who are, however, distinguished from professional beggars living on
alms. The latter often are not poor, and it is the belief of the people that tho
beggars often beg out of greed. The provision for the poor, however, is of a very
wretched kind, for the object of the sib is to organise persons of equal power and
equal right, and not to provide charity.
70 W. G. SUMNKU.— The Yakut*.
Philosophy of Common Participation. — The custom of distributing fresh meat,1
and other things, which lias been described, was convenient and perhaps necessary
in a certain state of the society. The groups remained in close neighbourhood in
order to realise those advantages. (See note C, p. 108.)
The kumiss is spoiled in winter by the frost and in summer by the heat,
and it does not bear transportation. The Yakuts have never known how to
preserve meat by drying or smoking. Hence it was in the highest degree
convenient for them to live in groups of such a size that the kumiss and the
meat obtained from the cattle and horses could be used as soon as possible.
They even have a tradition that horse thieves in ancient times tried to organise
themselves into bands large enough to divide and eat up, in a night, the animals
they had stolen. We must believe that in ancient times the fundamental
grouping of the people consisted of bodies constituted upon the basis of a
convenient consumption of the product of a proportionate number of animals.
(See note 1), p. 108.) Hence the distribution of kumiss and meat served as a
symbol of peace, friendship, and union in the sib.
The Notion of Property. — Right of private property in the house evidently did
not exist amongst the ancient Yakuts. Even now they are inclined to regard the
dwelling as a common good. Anyone who enters may stay as long as he will. A
traveller has a right, according to their notions, to enter any house at any hour of
the day or night, and establish himself so as to drink tea or cook food, or pass the
night. The master of the house does not dare to drive out, without some
important and adequate reason, even one who is offensive to him. In former
times they had scarcely any permanent dwellings. They were nomadic, and
carried with them all of the house but the framework, which later comers, in their
turn, might use. The land belonged to nobody. The herds were considered the
property of each separate nomadic group. The nominal owner was the head of the
group.
[p. 444.] When the Russians first came in contact with the Yakuts, the sib
organisation had reached its highest development, and the headship of the sib was
a dignity exclusively for war and the administration of justice. The groups were
then just about what we now see. The elected government was even more
nominal than it is now. . All questions, as well economic as jural, were decided
by a council of the elders. Even now the most independent individuals avoid
making any important changes in their industry or sales or expenditures, without
taking the advice of older relatives. Such conduct is approved.
Limitations of horse-herdiny. — The subdivision of property, and its con-
sequence, the internal subdivision of the sib groups, became possible with the
1 We are not surprised to be told that cases occur in which attempts are made to conceal
the time of slaughtering, in order to escape from the custom of distribution. These are
mentioned especially in the southern provinces, and are consistent with the advance of
civilisation there.
W. U. SUMNKI!.— '/'/„: 1W,-,//,- 71
gradual introduction of horned cattle, whicli could be kept independently and in
small groups. A drove of two or three head of horses had no sense: horses must
l»e united into droves which could roam about the neighbourhood. No distance
and no care could prevent them from roaming. Therefore no Yakut family of four
individuals, at the minimum, could tend a drove of ten horses, which we may
regard as the minimum. Moreover, the time necessary for the constant changes of
position, protection, and care of such a petty drove is not a bit less than for one,
two or three times as large. We may take it as a rule that the larger the drove,
the more the power of the group which owns it is set free for subsidiary
occupations, hunting, fishing, and handicraft, and the better they are provided
with food and implements. The social habits of the horses, which love to live
in large droves, were a natural cause of the union of their keepers. The wi/e of
the droves depends at last on the size of the pastures, which vary much in these
districts. Hence the differences in size of the sib groups amongst the Yakuts,
as they are described in the traditions, consequences of which are now to be found,
and which astonish us by their apparent arbitrariness. The case was changed
when they moved from the grand and unbroken steppes to the small expanses
broken by forests, their dwelling of to-day. In the latter places, the droves arc
comparatively broken up. Hence the unions of the men cannot endure. This
difficulty is intensified by the necessity of speed in changing position, and of
frequency in movement from meadow to meadow, when the herds are large.
Consequently the economic arrangements come into strife with the traditional
instincts of the *ib and the community. We may take a drove of ten or fifteen
head, consisting of five mares, one stallion, one two-year-old, one one-year-old, and
two suckling colts, for the minimum unit herd of horses. We may take for the
maximum herd, for a district amongst the Yakuts, from three hundred to five
hundred head. The minimum would hardly suffice to keep from distress a family
of four souls. The maximum would allow a community of fifty souls to live in
comparative ease. Within these limits, the effort of the Yakuts to sub-divide and
scatter over the country must be bounded. Some of their traditions and customs
lead us to think that once there was a much greater concentration of people and
accumulation of wealth amongst them than now, and that they were spread over
the country even less regularly than they are now. In their legends, large
expanses of territory are spoken of as l»eing empty, while in others large numbers
of people, with their cattle, are described as existing.
Out of the minimum unit drove of horses consisting of five mares, one
stallion, one two-year-old, one one-year-old, and two suckling colts, only one grown
horse could be killed per annum, and the kumiss would not suffice for four souls
The requirement of kumiss is from 15 to 20 litres per person per day; one mare
gives that quantity only in summer, and then she is considered a very select
>]ieeimen; a middling one gives only half so much. In winter many are for a
time not milked, and older ones, even if the food is adequate, give in winter not
more than o or 4 litres a day. Consequently eaeh person needs in a year from
72 W. G. SUMNEI;.— The Yakuts.
5,475 to 7,300 litres of kumiss. One mare gives in a year from 2,000 to 2,500
litres, if she is milked the whole year around. Hence there is needed lor a grown
person two and a half milch mares, and for the three grown persons in a Yakut
family, seven and a half milch mares.
The largest number of settlements contain four or five huts, with twenty or
thirty souls. Occasionally one is met with in which there are forty or fifty huts,
and some hundreds of souis. The winter houses for the most part stand
separately, and at some distance from each other, but near to the hay-stacks. In
this detail the influence of the later economic system dependent upon hay is to be
seen. The summer dwellings, on the other hand, seem to represent more nearly
the ancient mode of life. The summer group consists of many huts which stand
quite close together, although not apparently in order, but distributed according to
the convenience of water and the pleasantness of the place. They are distributed
so that the nibs stand together, which is probably an ancient feature.
In the populous nomadic settlements of ancient times, whether in the south
or the north, the Yakuts arrived at the basis on which their civil existence is
based. This basis was the breeding of horses. There their best instincts were
nourished ; arts and handicrafts took their origin ; songs and legends were
composed ; the system of their group-life was developed and strengthened.
There they acquired the custom of enduring misfortune and conquering hardships
in friendship and in common.
In everything that they did in those times we seem to see a reflection of
the character of the powerful animals which then constituted their chief wealth
and the basis of their existence. The breeding of horses demands special qualities
of mind and special knowledge, especially knowledge of geography and physio-
graphy, very careful power of observation, and sagacity in the selection of
places and in the regulation of the wanderings, so as to secure good adaptation
to the facts of climate, season of the year, distribution of water, and depth of
snow. It demands of the drovers cleverness, courage, decision, and a knowledge
how to execute quick and complicated evolutions, so as to direct, arrest, or
drive on to the proper place the obstreperous herds. Hence the custom of
discipline and of group- wise action, which is to this day observable amongst the
Yakuts.
War and Blood-revenge. — In all their legends and traditions, the stealing of
women and cattle is presented as the cause of war. Not less frequently the
occasion was the obligation of blood-revenge. The blood of a man, if spilt,
required atonement. The children of the murdered took vengeance on the
children of the murderer to the ninth generation. (See note E, p. 108.) In
ancient times the responsible person having been captured, was not killed at
once, but horribly tortured.
The Yakut meeting, with ceremonies for reconciling quarrels, has to
this day a sib character. Gifts are made for the entertainment of the
blood relatives, a small part of which comes into the hands of the injured
W. G. SUMNEU.— Tin )W.w,. 7::
I'.niy. Many surviving customs show how strong \vas tuicr the solidarity
of the .s//w, and how deeply the I'rrling of responsibility for the conduct
of its meinliers had penetrated into the sentiments of the nib. The Yakuts are
very zealous for the honour of their nib comrades. They like to hear the praises of
their tribe, sub-tribe, or nib. When they hear blame of the same, they feel
sorrow. Hence the wonderful righteousness of the Yakuts within the sib, which
often excites the astonishment of the observer. A man who is entirely indifferent
when he sees quarrelling, cheating, robbery, oppression and extortion, will take
them very seriously to heart if he sees them happen within the sib, or so that a
nib comrade is the victim, especially if the guilty person belongs to another nib :
on the other hand, they will often shield evident wrong-doing by sib comrades.
Their tribunals are comparatively just in sib affaire, but between members of their
own and another sib they decide on behalf of their comrade. One of them
explained this very easily by saying that, in a certain case, the thing at stake
should have been divided equally, but that one of the parties belonged to another
tribe : " Could we, for his sake, harm one of our own ? " In modern times,
however, in the same measure as the sib groups have broken up the convenience
of tending herds, and have scattered themselves more widely, the active exchange
of mutual services between the members has declined. The need of mutuality
has disappeared; they have come in contact more rarely; their feelings have
become hardened, and there remains only a dim reminiscence of a common origin.
[p. 4G4.] Political ami Civil Usages. — Mass meetings, or popular assemblies,
are held, in summer, in the open air, not far from the meeting-house of
the sib. The oldest and most influential sit in the first rank, on the bare
ground, with their legs crossed under them. In the second rank sit or kneel the
independent but less wealthy heads of households. In the third rank are the youth,
children, poor men, and often women, for the most part standing, in order the
better to see and hear. In general it is the first row which decides affairs ; the
second row sometimes offers its remarks and amendments, but no more. The third
rank listens in silence. Sometimes the passions are aroused, and they all scream
at once ; but the decision of the question is always submitted to the first rank. It
conducts the deliberation. The orators come from, its ranks. Oratory is highly
esteemed, and they have some talented orators. The first rank are distinguished
for riches and energy. They can submit or withhold questions; but decisions are
never considered binding until confirmed by a mass meeting. According to their
traditions, in ancient times, a prominent role in these assemblies was played by
old men, who must, however, have distinguished themselves, and won prestige, by
^ood sense, knowledge, and experience. They decided questions according to the
customs, and gave advice when the nib was in any difficulty.
[p. 47*.] The divisions of the Yakuts are the Uhts, the Naslcy, and the aya-
(= nib). Taking into account three provinces or districts, the author shows
means in Yakut father (nga) — sib (naoa) ; AW also means sib (ussa).
74 W. G. SUAINKK.— The
that two Naslcys consist of only one aya-uxsa, fourteen of two, tit'ty-eight of three,
fifty-nine of four, seventeen of tive. The number of those that contain more "//<«-
aw, is small, but there is one each containing1 thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, thirty -
four, and forty-three.
[p. 485.] Land-system, — lie-allotments of land between the Nuslcys within the
same 171-its, occur frequently ; between the aga-ussa of the same Nasleg, still more
frequently ; and between the allotments of the same aya-ussa, almost every year,
with the purpose of equalisation. There is in every aga-ussa a sworn functionary,
chosen for a number of years, whose name is a corruption of the word deputy.
Anyone, rich or poor, may be deputy, if he is a just and sensible man. He
must understand all about the advantages and disadvantages of land. He has
the difficult task of equalising the allotments. If he is incompetent, he makes
mistakes. Sometimes he cheats intentionally, whence arise quarrels and fights.
Sometimes the deputies fight, if they meet to decide a question between the
aya-ussa of a Nasleg. Each Nasley selects an officer, who has the oversight over
the deputies in order to allay their disputes. The Yakuts say that the allotments
to the Naslegs, within a Ulus, ought to be readjusted every forty years. The
allotment is made by an assembly of all the officers and head men. Within
the Naslegs the re-allotment takes place at undefined periods, when some new
necessity arises; for instance, from the necessity of setting off a glebe for the
church, or when meadows have been spoiled by a freshet. Nowadays the
deputies act only administratively to execute the decisions of the sib assembly.
Individuals are constantly asking for a readjustment of allotments, upon all
sorts of pleas. Leaving out of account the bits thus added or subtracted, it may
be said in general that individuals dispose of their allotments without limit
of time, and even give them in inheritance. In the north, a certain part of
the meadows is apportioned to certain homesteads. These are regarded as the
inalienable property of the householder. Only gores and strips which lie further
off, or are purposely left for that purpose, are subject to division. By means of
them equalisation is brought about.
[p. 489.] Pastures and woods almost everywhere are in the undivided use of
till the inhabitants of a locality, without regard to the aya-ussa or Nasley to which
they belong. It is true that rich men in many places have divided amongst them-
selves separate cattle ranges out of the common lands, and have fenced them, but their
sib comrades look upon such land-grabbing with disfavour, and if the rich man dies
or loses influence, they try to break down his enclosures and throw open the land
again. There is a strife of interest between cattle owners and tillers ; the latter
enclose their lands ; the former drive their cows home three times in the day.
The enclosures make this journey longer. In general the sib group reconciles
itself to the individual disposal of a plot of land which has been won by clearing
woods or meadows, or of mowing lands obtained by drying up swamps and ponds,
when it has been established by prescription, and even if the appropriated land is
made inheritable, provided that the plot is not large and is all utilised by the
W. G. SUMNKK.— The. YmkwU. 7.~>
o\siier. But if the size k great, 01 the owner rents any (if it, tin1 N/V; assert- it>
rights. The onlv question then is whether the owner has won back from the land
a remuneration for t lie labour and capital expended by liim upon it. Often they
undertake large clearings or drainages communally. Those who have, a share in
l he land thus won are, first, those who lived there he fore : then all the "//" - n*x<i of a
\<txl«l in proportion to their share in the work, and their need of land.
II. — MAKRIAGE AND THE FAMILY.
|'p. ~>()7.] A ,!<•;< til T//JK oj tin Finn Hi/. — It is established beyond a doubt that
when the Russians came in contact with the Yakuts, polygamy existed amongst
the latter. (See note F, p. 108.) They had a word for all the offspring of one man,
and another for his offspring by a particular wife, if the interpretation is correct
If it is it would entail the inference that once the mother family existed
amongst the Yakuts. This is confirmed by the tradition that many sibs with
father descent, and even whole Naslegs, got their names from women. The Yakuts
have no special word for the precise designation of a family group consisting of
a man, with his wife and his children. The current word is Kergen, but this is
an ambiguous word ; most probably it means dwellers. In answer to inquiries,
the most various statements were given. The author heard this word used in the
sense of all those whom the head of a household was bound to maintain, including
temporary inmates.
The son of the house was no longer considered a Ken/en when he married and
established a house of his own, but all inmates and labourers, no matter what
their status or relationship, are considered Kergen. [The author so uses the
word ; he does not say members of the Kergen.'} The marriage customs and
legends in which there is reference to the stealing of wives in no distant past, seem
to point to an origin of this house-group from slavery. There are even direct
evidences of this, for an ancient word, synonym of Kcrgen-Chakfn\ meant slave
or cowboy, and seems to have gone out of use on that account. In the A'/ /yen,
the younger are subjected to the elder, and all are subject to the head, whether
it be a father, older brother, grown up son, or, in rare cases, a mother, if she is
a clever and energetic widow. Custom does not seem to admit sisters or aunts.
The head can give away and squander everything, if he chooses. He can even
give away his children as labourers to outside persons.
K.'-ji/niffffioii <>j tin- Weak li/ the Strong. — Such is the declaration of all Yakuts;
nevertheless, at the present time, these statements describe only a fictitious
system. In fact, the Yakut family presents now a different picture. The
subjection of the young and of women comes under a more general law; the
subjection of the weak to the strong, and of those-who-have-not to those- who-havc.
The author knows of many cases in which the father, older brother, or the uncle
forced the younger members of the family into marriage, or put them out to work
for others under very hard conditions, taking to himself all the payment, and also
76 W. G. SUMNEK.— The Yakuts.
other eases in which the father disposed of the property of the son, took away
from him his axe and canoe, and sold hay, mown and saved by him, com-
pletely independently. The son complained of his hard fate, but could do nothing.
He also knows of a case in which parents sold their eight-year-old daughter to a
Russian official who was travelling through. He saw and heard of many eases in
which elders cruelly beat members of the household, especially women and
children, yet he knows of an equal number of cases of an opposite character, — cases
in which younger brothers played a more important role in the family than older
brothers, in which a wife, unrestrained by the presence of strangers, behaved rudely
to her sick husband, even beat him, and openly kept a lover in the house; in which
a daughter, knowing that she was the only one in the house able to labour,
did not obey her parents, did whatever she chose, refused an advantageous
marriage, and went about with the young men before the eyes of all ; in which old
people did not dare to sell a pound of butter or a load of hay, or to buy anything
for themselves, without asking the consent of a grown son. All these cases were
not considered by anybody unusual, and did not call forth from the community
any more condemnation than cruel or unjust treatment of children.
The Old. — There is no such thing as any strictly patriarchal relationships, or
any deep-rooted or cultivated feeling of respect for the old, amongst the Yakuts.
A young Yakut said, " They not only do not feed, nor honour, nor obey, but they
scold and often beat the old people. With my own eyes, I have more than
once seen Yakuts, poor and rich, bad and good, beat their fathers and their
mothers." They behave especially badly with decrepit and feeble-minded parents.
Their chief object in dealing with such is to wrest from them any bits of property
they may still retain. Thus, as the old people become more and more defenceless,
they are treated worse and worse. It was no better in ancient times. Force, the
coarse force of the fist, or the force of hunger, rules in the modern Yakut family,
and seems to indicate the servile origin of that family. Once the author saw how
a weak old man of seventy beat with a stick his forty-year old son, who was in
good health, rich, and a completely independent householder, who had just been
elected to an office in the sib. The son stood quietly and did not dare even to
evade the blows, but that old man still had an important amount of property at
his disposition, and he ruled the family by the fear that he could deprive any
recalcitrant one of a share in the inheritance.
T "
Antagonism between Parents and Children. — In well-to-do families, where there
is a great quantity of cattle, or where the right to large advantages from land, or
the possession of well-established trade, provides an opportunity to win from
hired labour, and so an important revenue is obtained, independently of personal
labour the rule of the father and mother as proprietors, especially the rule of the
father, is strengthened and maintained for a long time, namely, to the moment
when the old people become decrepit and lose the capacity to comprehend the
simplest things. Generally they die before that time. This state of things is
maintained by the spread of Russian ideas and laws. In the old-fashioned Yakut
W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakut*. 77
family, the economy of which is founded almost entirely on cattle-breeding, and in
which constant personal supervision is required, thus making personal strength and
initiative indispensable, the moment of the transfer of rule into the hands of the
son is reached much earlier. It occurs still earlier in poor families which live
exclusively by hand-labour and by the industry of the strongest and best endowed.
The old people strive against this tendency in vain. The young people naturally
strive to avail themselves as fully as possible of the results of their labour, and as
soon as they feel strong enough, they begin to struggle for their rights. The
parents are dependent on the sons, who could go away to earn wages. Hence they
say : " It is more advantageous for us Yakuts, in this frozen country of ours, to
have many children than to have much money and cattle. Children are our
capital, if they are good. It is hard to get good labourers, even for large wages,
but a son, when he grows up, is a labourer who costs nothing ; nevertheless, it is
hard to rear children." The author knew of cases in which wives put up with
the presence of mistresses in the house, considering that an inevitable consequence
of their own childlessness. The death of children is accepted coldly in populous
districts, but in the thinly settled ones is sincerely bewailed. Sometimes they
take to drink or to idleness when they have lost their children.
The greatest number of suicides are old people who fear a lonely old age.
The treatment they receive fully accounts for this.
If the parents, on account of their own deficiencies, or the exceptional hard-
heartedness of a son, have not been able to discipline him, then sooner or later a
strife arises in the family. The women are in such cases more yielding. They
are physically weaker and have scarcely any rights. As members of the sib, they
have no rights to land, property, or independent existence. They surrender
very soon. Most frequently they make no attempt to resist : there is no place for
them outside of the family. It is another matter for the boys. They accustom
themselves to form judgments on communal questions ; they quickly acquire a
knowledge of the rights of men, and become saturated with the communal spirit
which refuses to acknowledge any privileges except personal superiority and work.
In proportion as the quantity of labour accomplished by them increases, and in
that way their cleverness and skill in the arts of life are proved, they demand
more confidently and persistently that attention shall be given to their voices in
the family, and that their wishes shall be fulfilled. If not they are not willing to
perform the labour which is required of them, or do it so negligently, while
tormenting their elders with constant reproaches, that the latter gradually
yield. As soon as a father perceives this disposition in his son, he hastens to give
him a separate allotment, if his own circumstances will possibly admit of it ;
otherwise the power inevitably goes over to the son. Sometimes the elders con-
tinue to hold a nominal authority : sometimes the son allows this consolation, as
long as they live ; but nothing is really done without the sanction of the actual
sovereign of the family. The young man takes the place of the old one as the
object of attention and obedience, and he makes himself master, as well of the
78 W. G. SuMNEi!.— 77/0 Yakut*. .
parents as of tlie labourers who are without rights or voice in the family. A man
\vh<> was reproached for his behaviour to his mother, said: " Let her cry ; let her
go hungry. She made me cry more than once, and she begrudged me my food.
She used to beat me for trifles."
[p. 51*7.] Prerogatives of the Head of tlie Family. Women. — In a family in
which the rights and powers have been reduced to equilibrium, so that all the
relations of the members are established, the dominion of the head, whoever he is,
over the labour and the property of the members is unlimited. The organisation
is really servile. Especially pitiful is the position of the women, who play no role
in the sib, and therefore can expect no protection from anybody. The author
advised a woman to appeal to the sib, when she complained that her husband
exploited her labour and that of her half-grown son : that he was extravagant and
Avasteful, so that he was likely to reduce them to pauperism. " The head ! " said
she, <: how often I have complained to him ! he listens and says nothing, and after
that my husband is still more (quarrelsome and more perverse." Another woman
said : " The man is the master ; it is necessary to obey him ; he works abroad and
we at home." This work abroad consists foj: the most part in taking part in the
village assemblies and in constant loafing from house to house. It is true that the
man acquires information about wages and prices ; but lie also keeps to himself
the monopoly of all external relations, and even for the absence of any of the
housemates without his consent he demands a strict account. To acquire an
extra gain, win food or money, or earn something by outside work is considered
more desirable than to follow7 heavy daily labour which would maintain the life of
the family from day to day. If the head of a household has grown-up children,
the amount of work which he does is very insignificant. He works like the others
only at the hay-harvest ; the rest of the time he wanders about, looking out, it is
true, for the external interests of the family to which his care is now restricted,
although formerly it extended to the sib. Inside the house he is ' treated
with almost slavish respect and consideration. His presence puts an end to
cheerfulness, the excuse for which is that he must maintain respect.
It is a custom, the reason for which seems to be the desire of the father not
to lose power in the house, that he often gives allotments to his sons and takes
into the house in their place a grandson, or a nephew, or a hired man. These
persons, after they have lived some years in the house, and worked in the family
acquire the same right to a part of the inheritance as if they had been children.
The Yakuts say that a father may deprive a son of his inheritance, but the author
never knew an example of it. He knew of cases in which sons sued fathers,
alleging that the allotments which they received after many years' labour were
not as large as they should have been.
[p. 520.] The Descent of Property. — A Yakut declared that a father would
give equal shares of his property during his lifetime to his sons and his
daughters, or that he would give larger shares to his daughters because they need
more, since they go as wives to live among strangers, where, if they bring little
W. G. SUMNKK.— Tin- I"/-///*. 79
t-v meet with little respect. In fact, however, it is most Frequently the reverse ;
the sons get more. Houses ami land go to them. These cannot be alienated into
another .s///, and are therefore excluded from female inheritance. When the
parents die, all which was reserved for them during life goes to the sons. The
married daughters gel no part in it. Unmarried daughters rank as little children,
and pass, until they are married, under the tutelage of their Id-others, uncles,
or other relatives of the father in the male line. If there are none such, the sib
becomes the guardian, but even near relatives on the side of the mother are in no
case permitted to be guardians.
Wills were unknown amongst the ancient Yakuts. The wishes of a dying
person were sacredly executed, but they consisted chiefly of directions how and
where the grave should be made, and what horse should be killed in order that it
might be buried with the dying man, and what chattels should be buried with
him. Nowadays the rich make wills, but their validity is not recognised unless
they are written by a functionary, the scribe or the clergyman of the sib. This
costs not less than a horse or a cow.
From the point of view of the sib, uncles, nephews, and male cousins of all
degrees have a better right to the inheritance than a married daughter. A widow,
if she is married a second time into a second sib, loses rights even to her children.
The author knows of cases in which fellow-members of the sib, in no direct
relation to the deceased, inherited his property for lack of relatives of his in the
male line, while his own sister, who had married into another sib, received
nothing at all. He mentions another case in which a man, having paid the
marriage price for a bride, died. His sib comrades demanded back a part of the
bride-price and divided it amongst themselves, on the ground that the man had
never been her husband. Even if a father has given property to a married
daughter during his life, or by will, it has not been done without suits and
re] ttoaches, because the property went into another sib. If there is no collision
between family affairs and sib right, the sib unwillingly interferes with the former.
[p. 525.] Birth Kate. Infant Mortality. — According to the assertions of
the Yakuts, the fecundity of their women is, on the average, ten children for one
husband ; sometimes they bear twenty, or even more, and that is by no means so
rare as amongst the Russians. The author knew of one case of twenty-two births,
another of twenty, and another of nineteen. In most cases the number varies
between five and ten.
The author gives a case of a woman married at twenty, who lived with her
husband thirty years. She bore nine children, of whom seven died in childhood,
one was born dead, and one daughter grew up. Another woman had nine
children, all of whom died ; another woman had eight and lost them all. Another
woman, out of ten, brought up two; another brought up five out of twenty;
another brought up seven out of nineteen ; another, one out of six ; another, out
of five, brought up all. Another woman, eighty years old, who could not tell at
what age she was married, but thought that it was at fifteen, bore twenty-two
80 W. C4. SUMNETC. — TJie Yakuts.
children, the last one when she was sixty years old. Eleven of them died in
childhood.
The men, especially the rich, marry very young. The author knew a man of
fourteen, who had been married two years. The ceremony had not yet been
performed, but he lived with his wife in the home of her father, because the
bride-price had been paid for her. They think that early marriages are unfruit-
ful. Infant mortality amongst them is frightful, as the above statements show.
This is due to the misery in which they live, on account of which they cannot
give care to their children, even when they are rich.
[p. 527.] Childbirth. Infancy. — According to the ideas of the Yakuts, the
woman has the greater share in procreation. A man whose wife gave birth to a
monstrosity refused any responsibility for it, saying that he had had twenty-two
children by his seven wives ; this was the first by his eighth wife.
An old woman takes a new-born child and carries it immediately before the
blazing fire. She sprinkles it with water from her mouth, the water sometimes
being warm and sometimes cold, and then quickly washes it. Then she smears it
with fresh cream. Generally the child never receives any other bath. If it does,
it is at long intervals. They think that bathing exposes the child to take cold.
They are not in the habit of bathing themselves. They often smear a child with
cream, thinking this very advantageous to it. The Yakut mothers have not much
milk. Not a child grows up without using a sucking horn. The mothers suckle
the children long. The author saw five-year-old boys who demanded the breast
when they saw their little brothers enjoying it. Children are often suckled at
night to keep them quiet, but in the daytime they lie cold, damp, and neglected,
while their uproar fills the house, the mother being employed in her household
work. Some mothers employ a means of putting their children to sleep, especially
if they are fretful boys, which often causes spermatorrhea.
[p. 529.] When a child begins to sit up, which takes place at the end of
three months, it is no longer called a baby, but has another class-name. In ancient
times they gave it its first name at this point of time ; it got a second one when
it could draw a bow. Their babies creep at six months, and stand and walk
at a year. So after they are six months old, they crawl all over the floor of
the house. The Yakuts think that a child which does not yet understand human
language understands the talk of the fire, the singing of birds, the language of
beasts, lifeless objects and spirits ; but that he loses this gift when he acquires
human speech. This superstition may be due to the habit of children to stay
about the fire, the warmest and pleasantest place in the hoase, and also the most
interesting, where a child stands staring at the flames with his big black eyes and
listening to the hissing and snapping of the fire. Their children look the prettiest
to Europeans when they are from five to ten years old, because then they are most
like our children ; but then they are by no means sprightly or enterprising, and
they are excessively obedient. Even when playing, they do not make half the
noise and movement which our children make. When there are several in a
W. ft. SrMXKii.— Tin- F«/-"/x. 81
family, you may not notice their presence lor a long time. They hide themselves
a\\ay in the corners, or sit in a ring on the floor, busy with something or other,
talking, quarrelling, telling stories, singing, — but all of it only half aloud. They
are hardly ever so far carried away as to cry aloud or to sing aloud. At a
threatening shout of a grown person, they come to silence and scatter. Only when
they are alone do they become lively. This happens in summer, in the woods and
groves, and in the fields. They are very fond of assembling to play there.
[p. r>.°»6.] Wedding Ceremonies. — On the occasion of a wedding at which the
author was present, the bridegroom's procession arranged to reach the house of the
bride at dawn of day. At that hour the guests were assembled at the house. The
groom and the go-between each led a horse loaded with fresh meat. A lad on
horseback, without saddle, galloped out at full speed to meet the groom's
procession ; but when he was about forty fathoms from them, he suddenly stopped
his horse, turned, and rode back again. One of the groomsmen followed him, but
not being able to overtake him, turned and rejoined his own party. When the
groom's party rode into the court, the father of the bride held the stirrup for the
father of the groom ; the others of the bride's party, according to rank and order,
performed the same office for the members of the groom's party. The young people
carried into the house the meat and other things brought by the groom's party, but
the groom remained at the gate, turning his face to the east, and looking at the
spreading dawn. He crossed himself zealously and made obeisance. When all
had taken their places, the cousin of the groom, with a whip in his hand, which he
had not laid aside at all, went out and conducted the groom into the house. The
latter came in with his head bent down and his eyes covered. He was very young,
and deep emotion was visible on his face. The father and mother of the bride met
him with the sacred images in their hands. They blessed him. At the same time
the one who was conducting him, seized him by the neck from behind and bent
him down three times at the feet of the parents of the bride. After that, the
groom with his cousin brought in still more packages of meat and laid them there
before the fire. The groom uncovered one of the packages, in which was enclosed
the head of a horse cooked whole ; he picked out from benea'.h the eyes three bits
of fat and cast them one by one on the fire. After that they carried the horse's
head away and laid it in the chief corner on the ground ; but they led the groom
into the corner on the right, where they caused him to be seated with his face to
the wall, and his back to the people, on what they called the last bunk to the right.
On the corresponding one to the left, behind a curtain, sat the bride. They both
remained in these places the whole time, in their best garments, including cap and
gloves, and he even never laid his whip out of his hand. All the groom's party in
like manner kept on their best out-of-door garments, in spite of the heat of the
blazing fire. The parents of the bride were dressed in the same manner. The
rest of those present a little later laid aside their out-of-door garments.
The entertainment began. The feasters were all seated in an established order
which never varied to the end of the entertainment. A distant relative of the
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). G
82 W. G. SOMNEB:— 2%« Yakuts.
bride, in full out-of-door dress, acting as servant, gave to the father of the groom
a wooden cup full of kumiss ; then he gave one to each of the companions of the
groom. Having held the cups a little while, they gave them back to him, that he
might pour out a little on the fire. Then they received the cups again and drank
a little. The father of the groom then gave his cup to the father of the bride, who
drank a little and gave it to his wife, who passed it on to their other relatives.
Then the uncle of the groom gave his cup to the father of the groom. He gave it
to the father of the bride, and so it went the rounds. Then they served breakfast
of cold boiled meat and tea with milk and sugar, and a piece of rye bread for
selected ones amongst the guests. Soon after that they killed an ox and a horse.
While some of the young people dressed these, others prepared the kettles, and
brought wood and water, and melted ice in the neighbouring hut. They boiled
the meat in the presence of the guests, in big iron kettles ; then they laid it on
trestles before the tire. First of all, of course, they boiled the viscera, the entrails
infused with blood, the heart, the stomach, etc. In cutting up the animals, they
took care that the shin bones should remain unbroken. (See note G, p. 108.)
When the meal was ready, the young people of the sib of the bride, although
they were persons of entirely independent position, undertook the service of the
guests. They spread hay on the ground before the visitors, and spread on this
the skins of the mare and ox which had just been slaughtered. " Such was the
table of the ancient Yakuts," they said in explanation.
The author, wlnn he saw the immense pile of fresh meat, which was laid
before each one, asked, " Do they expect them to eat all that themselves ? " He
was answered with a merry laugh.
Women were not admitted to the table at all. They took their portions off
into the corners, where they ate them. At the beginning of the meal, the master
of the house gave to each one a glass of vodka. The young and the poor got less,
sometimes very little indeed, but the intention was to pass by nobody. Then at a
signal given by the master of the house, each one drew his knife and set to work
to eat, which they did with a uniformity of movement as if they had been drilled
to it. After a while, the father of the groom, rising with a choice bit of meat in his
hand, made an appropriate speech and gave the meat to the father of the bride.
This he repeated a little later with the mother of the bride, then with her other
relatives, and then with the most important members of her sib. Then the other
companions of the groom complimented the parents and relatives of the bride in
the same manner. The point of all the speeches was, " We are now related to
each other ; we will hereafter live in friendship and concord." This exchange of
compliments became noisy and irregular. The meat which they could not eat
was made into packages by the women, to be taken home as gifts for those who
had not come to the wedding. In the evening, the supper was conducted in the
same manner. Pieces of meat were exchanged with speeches and good wishes.
After supper, the ceremony with the kumiss was repeated. Before supper, they
drank vodka together. One would drink a little from his cup and then give the
W. G. SUMNER.— Tkr ]W,'///x. N.",
ic>t \o another whom he desired to compliment. On the second day, all was
repeated. They slaughtered a cow. All was the same except that at supper a
blind singer sang, whereupon one and another made gifts to him of pieces of meat
just like the treatment of a bard, of which we find a description in the Oily**';/.
Then the young people played games and practised feats of strength and skill.
On the third day the dinner was served early. The bridegroom's party had
thrown open their out-of-door garments, on account of the stifling heat prodm-.-d
in the hut by the number of persons, the blazing fire, and the steam from the
kettles. They had not been invited to do so, but the circumstances fully excused
them. They now re-fastened these garments and went away. The bundles of
meat were brought in, cut up, and divided amongst the relatives of the bride so
that everyone should have at least a small portion. This was the meat which the
groom's party had brought with them, and which had been stored in the store-
house. It was carefully examined and valued. Tn the evening the groom's
companions came back. During this absence they had been entertained in a
neighbouring hut to which the mistress of the bride's house had previously sent
the necessary supplies. They were met in the court upon their return with the
same ceremony as at first. After supper games were played again by the young
people, and at last a long legend was recited by the blind bard.
It was not until the fourth day, after dinner, that the relatives of the groom
prepared to depart for good. When they had mounted their horses, a big wooden
cup of kumiss was served to each one of them, and then the whole corttye, in the
same order in which it had arrived, the father of the groom at the head, and the
groom last, were escorted by the relatives of the bride around the three hitching
posts for horses, which were set in the middle of the court. They went about
these posts three times in the course of the sun. Each time, when they had
completed a circuit, they stopped, and each horseman poured out kumiss from his
cup on the mane of his horse. When they had drunk the remainder of the kumiss
and returned the cups to the escort, they departed at a gallop through the open
gateway. The solemn ceremony was then considered ended, yet this was only
half of the wedding. It is true that from that time the bride and groom
considered themselves man and wife, but not until the whole bride-price had been
paid, i.e., sometimes after two or three years, did the husband conduct his wife
to his own house. Then they again celebrated the same feasts three days long, in
the same manner, the groom sitting again for the whole time in one corner,
with his face to the wall, and the bride in another, behind a curtain of soft
leather.
A Yakut wedding nowadays strikes us as remarkable on account of the
silence, and the poverty of the ceremonies. There is no singing, no allegorical
representation, and no dancing. They say that formerly a shaman was present,
who invoked on the pair the blessing of the heavenly spirits. In the southern
districts the wedding has undergone Russian influence. The elements that were
connected with horse-breeding have disappeared. Among the poor, the mare's
G 2
84 W. G. SUMNER.— The Y
head, whicli in old times was worshipped by the young people, has disappeared
also the kumiss and all the ceremonies connected with it. Brandy and vodka
have taken its place ; tables have taken the place of the skins spread on the floor;
instead of the exchange of meat, they touch their drinking cups and kiss. In
some places they even try to bring out the bride and groom from their corners to
sit at the table. This last feature as yet makes way slowly, and one of the most
characteristic features still is the non-participation of the bride and groom, as if
the others wanted to forget them. A share of the food is served to them, but
the others do not talk with them, do not mention their names, and the bride
is carefully shut away, while the groom tries to escape attention as much as
possible.
Bride-price. — The greatest part of the expense of a wedding falls on the
groom. It is an essential part of the payment for the bride. The expense varies
from a few rubles to two thousand rubles ; the average is perhaps one hundred
rubles. This expenditure would be beyond the means of the majority, if it were
not that a large part of it comes back under the form of the bride's dower. If the
total payment made by the groom be divided into its parts, the part spent for
entertainment is spent by the groom without return ; but the payment to the
parents of the bride, and the gifts to her relatives, are restored in the gift with her.
She brings household furniture, garments, silver articles, the stipulated number of
mares and cows, corresponding to the number of animals contributed by the groom.
She also brings colts and calves voluntarily contributed by her parents and not
mentioned in the contract. She also brings gifts in the shape of meat and butter.
Each wooden cup which she brings ought to contain a little butter. She also
brings one fox skin and nine ermine skins, or at least one ermine skin. This is
hung up over the bed where the unmarried women sleep. Later it is carried
into the store-house, where it is carefully preserved until the first child is
born ; then they carry it into the wood or give it to the shaman. At any rate it
disappears.
Either under pretence of getting ready the bride's outfit, or on account of her
youth and inexperience, the parents do not give their daughter to her husband
immediately after the marriage, even if there has been a religious marriage, and
the bride-price has been paid, and they have agreed to do this soon. Formerly the
delay was often four or five years, and the custom of marrying children, even when
very young, existed still earlier. During all the delay, the husband visits his wife
at his leisure, but every time he ought to bring a gift to the wife's parents, a
quarter or two of meat, a fox skin, or some other present. These gifts are a very
unwelcome addition to the bride-price. When the time comes for the bride to go
to her husband's house, she is very coldly received by his relatives if she brings
less than was expected. If she brings less than was agreed upon; quarrels
arise. Often there is a complete rupture, if the marriage has not taken place
in church. In the latter case, they boycott her and she suffers all kinds of
petty household persecutions which poison her existence,
W. (I. Si \INKI;. Th, )W.v//.s. s:,
[p. .VJ'.i.] Tin- bride-price is shared by the parents, older brothers, uncles, and
guardians ul' tho bride, and, in the case of orphan working girls, by the master.
Kadi gets something, be it ever so little, as a recognition of surrender by him of
a claim on the woman. Not a single well-bred Yakut girl would consent to g<» to
her husband without a bride-price. She would be degraded in her own eyes and
according to the views of her people. It would mean that she was not worth any
price, was friendless, or an outcast. It can be understood, therefore, that the
Yakut women look down upon the Russian women, who, as they say, pay
somebody to take them. Even young widows who have returned to their families
are paid for, though at a lower rate than maidens. Older widows who have lived
for a time independently with a minor son, or as work-women, marry without a
bride-price ; but the Yakuts have an original comment on this. They say that
" she wanted to exploit herself," or they say that she has been paid for once, and
that if she marries again, nobody loses anything. The author asked one of them,
" Who lost anything when a maiden was married ? " " The parents," said he.
" They had the trouble and expense of rearing her. They ought to obtain an
equivalent for that. Besides that, they lose a worker out of the house. How is it
that you Russians do not understand that?" " But," said the author, "if a son
is married, they get nothing, and even give him something." " The son is another
thing," was the reply. " In the first place, his labour produces more for his parents
before his marriage, and then he doesn't go away ; he remains in the same nib ; he
is our man; he will bear his share of taxes and burdens." This presents the
current view of this matter amongst them. " We fed and reared," they say, " and
others are to get the benefit. We will take something for the expenditure."
III. — MARITAL USAGES. THE STATUS OF WOMEN.
[p. 552.] War Captives and Stolen Women r/,s Brides. — In ancient times, the
Yakuts had a name for a man whom a defeated hero gave to his conqueror as a
compensation for sparing his own life. Such persons later were in fact slaves
and were included in the gifts with a bride. If they were females, they became
concubines of the master. Such a slave person was called an cun-e, and this word
has now come to be used as an adjective for whatever is given with a bride. In
the legends, the ancient heroes are represented as coming home, after their
adventures, with a wife and a rich dower (mine)', but this dower took its origin
probably in very ancient times, when the present system of exogamic marriage
began first among the Yakuts. All the evidence goes to show that foreign-born
wives were originally captives in war, in connection with whom, of course, there
could be no dower. Their own tradition is that formerly, if a man who was
hunting in the forest with others saw a handsome woman, they watched to see
where her husband went to hunt. Then they fell upon him, killed him, and took
away his wife. If they could not take her by force they took her by stratagem,
enticing her out of her house by a call to help her husband bring home his game.
86 W. G. SUMMER.— The Yakuts.
Then they carried her oft' by force, in the same manner in which they brought
home war captives. In their epic poetry, the stealing of women appears as a
constant motive. The heroes help each other to find women outside the tribe,
and they obtain them as payment for their heroic deeds, or for help given to
others. In all the narratives about wars, maidens fall to the victors as prize or
ransom (time). A legend is mentioned in which three Yakuts, being offended by
'funguses, undertook war against them. The latter begged for mercy and offered
a choice of three maidens. The Yakuts came to terms with them and made a
wedding. The author thinks that in the wedding ceremonies of the Yakuts we
must recognise a survival of a line of conduct which was once a completely
consistent and well rounded ceremony for the conclusion of peace. Whether the
stealing of women was the cause of the preceding hostilities, or the relatives gave
the woman voluntarily in compensation for a man who had been killed, or for
stolen cattle, is immaterial. In any case she was regarded as booty, and the
wedding resembled a peace negotiation and conclusion. To this day, both the
parties who come into relations with each other at a wedding behave to each
other during the feast with respect, yet still with a certain concealed distrust and
jealousy. They are constantly on the look-out lest the others get the letter of
them in the gifts, or cheat them. The groom's party do not move at all ; their
horses are saddled, as are also those of the bride's relatives who have come to the
wedding. A Yakut who was asked why he did not unsaddle his horse at a
wedding answered, "Differences are apt to arise at a wedding."
The more unequal are the powers of the families, or more properly, the sibs,
which are. united by a wedding, the more the material interests of the weaker
party suffer. The payment to . overcome the opposition of the bride, that is to
say, her love to her blood relatives, is increased. It is noteworthy that during
the wedding, custom strictly forbids the bride and groom to see each other. The
bride is permitted, indeed, being hidden herself, to look at the groom when he
goes to water his horse ; but it is regarded as improper for the groom to even
make an attempt to see the bride. Neither ought his companions and blood
relatives to see her.
If the wedding has much in it that is parallel to the conclusion of a peace,
the demand in marriage, and the " investigation " which precedes it, remind us at
all points of a military recognisance. A man who goes about looking for a wife
keeps silence, and enters into no relations, even of conversation, with those he
visits. The girls laugh at him and the young men (her friends) treat him with
jealous satire.
In ancient times, the parents often paid a bride-price for a girl three or four
years old to be the wife of a son. They took her and brought her up that she
might become accustomed to the family of her husband. Sometimes they became
attached to her and the couple lived happily together. They slept together from
"hildhood, considering each other husband and wife ; but often they regarded each
W. G. SUMNKK.- TA* Yakuts. 87
other " like (lie devil." If cither one died before the marriage, an endless quarrel
began about die ivluni of the bride-price. The liussian clergy now refuse to
celebrate these marriages.
BetrollHil. — To accomplish a beirothiil, three male relatives of the groom go
on horseback to (lie house of the desired girl. Upon entering (his, they sit down
in the place, of honour, where they sit talking about indifferent) matters, and
watching what goes on in the house for one or two days. Then they pack up
their things and place them on their horses, and when quite ready to leave on
their journey, they return into the house. If the groom has come with them, he
now stays outside. The go-betweens sit down again and wait awhile. Then the
oldest of them, in silence, throws upon the table the skin of a fox. Then the
father of the bride puts on his cap and sits down behind the table in the place
where he sits at the wedding, and asks them what they want. They in turn,
calling the bride a young mare, or a valuable beast, conduct a negotiation, asking
whether she is for sale. When they get an affirmative reply, they agree upon the
amount of the bride-price, the dower, the time of the wedding, the time when
the groom shall have his wife, the mode of paying the bride-price, and all the
details. All is negotiated with great pains in order to avoid future disputes.
Then the guests speedily depart. Sometimes fox skins, vodka, and money are
left on the table when they go out for the first time ; and if, when they return,
they see that these things have been taken away, they proceed to negotiate the
terms. The bride has a very small share in this negotiation. Sometimes they
ask her whether she is willing, but this is a modern innovation. If a man meets
with a refusal of the girl he asks for, he usually insists that another shall be
given to him in the same house, if there is another there. The Yakuts consider
it an injury to meet with a refusal, and especially in the case of a proposal of
marriage. They think it improper to send the go-betweens, under any circum-
stances whatsoever, within a year to a girl who has given a refusal to a man.
[p. 558.] Exogamy. — A wife is always taken from another sib. Even in the
south, until the present time, this custom is strictly observed. In the north, the
author knows of but one case of a marriage within the sib; but all condemned
that marriage, and when the new-made wife, after the wedding, became blind, they
ascribed this calamity to the breach of the ancient custom. Well-to-do men will
not take a wife even within the Naslcy. Custom is even unfavourable to the
arrangement when the brother of the wife is near at hand, even though he belongs
to another sib. They say, "A girl, if she lives in her own birth-place (after her
marriage), is not happy ; " also, " A happy daughter marries far away from her birth-
place ; " also, " It is well to have water near by, but relatives far off." If we may
take it for established that the first wives from abroad were war captives, then the
custom to take wives from afar is easily understood. Wives could not well be
stolen within the circle of connected sibs within which the ancient nomadic
wanderings took place. The author thinks that the notion of any peaceful
evolution of exogamic marriage amongst the Yakuts, out of a more primitive
88 W. G. SUMNEK.— The Yakids.
form, must be absolutely rejected. Their sayings and traditions, and the survivals
of wedding ceremonies, agree in proving the closest relation of marriage with
war and the stealing of women. Yet whether the effort to find wives outside
arose as a contingent consequence of war, or was a cause of war, or a thing which
arose independently in its own good season, under the influence of physiological
or economic motives, is hard to decide. The Yakuts engaged in breeding animals
could observe in their animals the advantages of crossing with females of another
blood-group. Such unions were more fruitful and the progeny were stronger.
Besides that, the stallions, when they chased out of the herds the young rivals
born there, and very eagerly introduced into the herds mares from outside, must
have incited the Yakuts to imitation. The economic motives, such as the
gratuitous labour of slaves, and the introduction of horned cattle, which made
possible the existence of smaller societal groups with a denser population at
particular spots, encouraged the tendency to maintain exogamy.
Ancient Undoyamy. — The author is convinced by all his means of information
that there was formerly an altogether different organisation of the family and
system of marriage, from those which he at present finds in existence. It is
possible that both forms existed for a long time, and the more ancient one
disappeared so recently that the people have still a fresh recollection of it. A
Yakut said, " In ancient times the Yakuts had many wives, and long before that,
your younger sister was your wife ; your mother possibly ; the wife of your
brother possibly."
Some, when asked, knew nothing of this; others asserted that sisters
formerly were wives, but mothers never. Other testimony also was obtained that
formerly marriages took place, not only within the sib, but even between very near
relatives. They say that when God made Adam and his wife, the latter bore
seven girls and eight boys. Each man, except the youngest, had a wife. The
latter asked God what he should do for a wife. God answered, " If you cannot
get along without one, sleep secretly with the wives of your brothers." This is a
current legend amongst them, and agrees with other current sayings and notions.
We may suppose that, even if it is borrowed, it took root in the memory of the
people because it corresponded with dim reminiscences out of their owij antiquity.
They say, "When the migration took place from the south, the Yakuts took
their own sisters to wife, since there were no women of other tribes at hand."
" The ancient Yakuts took wives in this way : if one of two brothers had a daughter
and another a son, the children became man and wife." " In ancient times, when
a youth was able to draw the bow, he took one of his younger sisters to wife and
went afar off, where he built a house." " In ancient times, if a sister, whether
older or younger, was married to a man of another sib, her brothers never let her
depart as a virgin. If she went away as a virgin, they considered that they had
lost their ' luck.' " The expression which they use here for the treatment accorded
to the sister is the one now in use in the sense of sex-intercourse, but it means
exactly " to make One a mistress of the house."
W. Cl. SUMXKI!.— '/'//<• IV.Ws. NO
Incest, which according to the notions of Russians, is such an abominable
~
tiling, rather causes laughter than horror amongst tlie Yakuts. Cases of such
unions are met with more freijuently amongst them tlian amongst Russians. The
author knows of two cases in which hrother and sister lived together in wedlock,
about which everybody knew. The authorities of the xib, frightened by the
outcry about another case, made it known to the local llussian clergyman. In one
case, children were born. He also knows of a case of wedlock between mother
and son, and of another in which two brothers lived with the same wife. In their
legends and folk tales, we see that in ancient times the feeling of attachment in
the brother and sister tie was far more strongly developed than in the marriage tie,
or even in the parent and child tie. The first of these prevailed over all others.
They often call the wives of the legendary heroes "sisters," using a distinct name
for older sister, and another for younger sister. Almost every hero, whether good
or bad, has by his side sisters, who act as his protectors and comrades. The folk
tales contain many cases of the devoted service of sisters to brothers. Tt is a
custom of long standing, which still exists, that two brothers of one sib marry two
sisters of another. It is noteworthy that now at a wedding the sister of the
bride keeps her head carefully covered all the time. It is considered a great
impropriety that the groom or one of his comrades should see her hair.
[p. 562.] Terminology for Family Relationships. — Among the many difficulties
of describing the ancient marriage system, one arises from the fact that the
ancient words for family relationships had different senses from what the same
words have now.1 For instance, the Yakuts have no word for the general sense
of brother or sister. If they must have such a word, they use the Russian word.
They have special names for older brothers, younger brothers, older sisters, and
younger sisters. These words, with some attributives which are generally omitted
in vituperative speech, are used to address uncles, nephews, aunts, grandchildren
of different grades, and even step-fathers and step-mothers, although the two latter
are commonly called father and mother. It follows from this that the family falls
into two groups — those who were born earlier and those who were born later.
These groups form the background of the terminology for family relationships.
The majority of other words for relationship are constructed out of these. As far
as the author has observed, the names derived from the denominatives for the
younger group are given only to blood relatives and sib comrades. For the
relatives by marriage, there are special denominatives, amongst which the division
into those born earlier and those born later is not so strictly carried out. He
thinks that in the beginning, the Yakuts had no words at all for brother or for
sister, and that the words now used for younger brother, younger sister, etc.,
were terms, not so much for family relationships, as for sib relationships, and
meant simply older or younger s-ib comrades. It is impossible now to
determine whether a certain word ought to be translated "older brother,"
"older uncle " or ''older nephew," and so of the others. If now a ceit;iiu
1 See the note on p. 109.
90 W. G. SUMNER.— The
denominative may be interpreted in the sense of a sib comrade of earlier birth,
then the tradition that brothers married sisters, with especial emphasis on the
fact that they were younger sisters, loses the apparent preciseness of its meaning.
The tradition would then refer, not so much to incest as, in a general way, to
endogamy. It would then indicate that at a certain moment in the development
of endogamy, the custom existed that men should marry women born later than
themselves. We have no hope of finding out in view of the uncertainty in the
sense of the terms of relationship, whether there was any limitation in respect to
sisters or daughters of the full blood. In many denominatives, we seem to find
indirect evidence that such further limitations existed.
Boys ten or twelve years of age do not eat with their sisters ; they do not
lie down to sleep with them on the same bed. The boy is given a separate bed,
which involves a special expense. They do it apparently not from modesty, but
in obedience to an ancient prohibition in the nature of a taboo. These very
sisters, however, may go completely naked, entirely untroubled by the presence of
their grown brothers, and they carry on with the latter sometimes conversations
and jests which would cover with embarrassment the most cynical European
man. It is possible that these restrictions arose later, for the sake of protecting
virginity, the loss of which, when exogamy came to be established, began to have
influence on the amount of the bride-price. However that may be, they prove
that a necessity was felt, at a more or less remote time, of adopting this with
other measures to establish a physical separation between brothers and sisters,
so that we must regard any union of the two, which may at one time have
existed, as a passing phenomenon. It is needless to speak about youth of the
same sib but another family. Irregular unions between these are even now an
ordinary phenomenon.
An analysis of the terms of relationship amongst the Yakuts does not show
who might, or who might not, under endogamy, be husband and wife. It would
be interesting, with a view to this question, to examine the mistakes in the
application by the Yakuts to sib comrades of the denominative which means those
persons whom one might marry. Some of them said that this denominative could
not be employed within the sib; others would not allow it any place in the
genealogical schedule, although they admitted that such a term of relationship
began to be applicable, as some said, in the ninth generation, and others, in the
fourth. Others of them constantly confused this term with another, by which
they indicate the third degree of blood relationship, corresponding to our grand-
child. The Yakuts employ the term " child " or " my child " not only to their own
proper children, but also to the children of brothers, or of sisters, or even to
brothers and sisters themselves, if they are very much younger. They have not,
therefore, in their genealogical terminology any words for son and daughter which
testify directly to a blood relationship between specific persons. The word which
we translate " son " strictly means " boy," " youth," " young person." It was
formerly used as a collective for the body of warriors, or the young men of the
W. G. SUMKBK.— The Yakut*. 01
tribe or « ib. With the addition of the possessive "my," this term is addressed
vituperative!)' by old men not only to their own sons by blood, but also to any
young males who stand in any relationship to them. In a narrow sense, it may
be addressed to one's own son, or, with a prefix, to one's grandson, and then with
other proper prefixes, to grandnephews of the second and third degree. The
terms for females are entirely parallel in sense and use.
The lack of words to distinguish between "son" and "boy," "daughter" and
"girl," is not due to the poverty of the language; on the contrary, their
genealogical terms astonish us by their abundance and variety. Not only do they
distinguish those of earlier and later birth, but they have a special denominative
for younger brothers, which is used only by women. They have a special name
for the wife of a husband's older brother, and another for the wife of the husband's
younger brother, and other similar peculiarities which seem incomprehensible, not
only to us, but also to the Yakuts of to-day.
In view of the great abundance of the denominatives for relationships which
we should regard as relatively remote, of the lack of special terms for " son " and
' daughter," and of the confusion of these with more remote degrees of relationship
and likewise with the expressions " boy " and "girl," which they use to indicate
especially sex and point of growth, we infer beyond a doubt that, at the time when
the present system of genealogical relationships took its origin amongst the
Yakuts, the precise genetic connection of any given boy with hi* parents had no especial
<l<> nomination. All the old people in the sib called all the young people in the sib,
up to a certain point of growth, by the same denominatives. The notion of the
immediate relationship of the children of a given pair to that pair was not sharply
defined until a later point of time ; then first was there a denominative for it. It
is impossible that this was a consequence of the education in the same place and
in the same manner, by the whole horde or sib, of all its children ; and also that it
proceeded from, or accompanied, the extremely unsettled and unclear marriage
relationships. In favour of the former conjecture is the fact that the sib still
considers itself in some sense the proprietor of its children. For instance, it does
not allow the immediate parents to alienate a child, especially a boy, into another
sib, without its express consent ; also, when a widow marries a second time into a
second sib, the grandfathers, uncles, and even more remote relatives take away her
boy, if not at once, then at least when he grows up and becomes able to labour, and
still again, the strange custom of a fictitious stealing of children in these families
in which seveial successively die, and of giving them to others to bring up, seems
to manifest a notion as if the appropriation to one's self of one's children was an
unlawful act, worthy of punishment.1
1 The stealing of children is accomplished with certain ceremonies. The mother, although
she herself asks her friends to do the stealing, ought not to know the moment when it ie
executed. In the place of the stolen child they put a puppy or a doll. It is required that the
child should be taken out through a window, and that the story should then be set afloat that
he was stolen by passing travellers. (See table of relationships in the Polish edition.)
Oi> W. G. SUMMER.— The Yakuts.
[p. 567.] In favour of the explanation of the vague relationship between a
child and its parents by the vagueness of the marriage relationship is the analysis
of the terms " father," " mother," "husband" and "wife," and also some ancient
customs and existing more*. There is no name for " father " amongst the Yakuts,
which admits of a natural and simple explanation, like the word for " mother."
The word for " mother " means " the procreatress," but the word for " father "
s-hould be translated " older man." When the author asked questions to clear up
this point, the persons inquired of asked him to indicate more precisely whether
the person he meant was born earlier or later than the one named ; and this they
did with respect to women as well as men. They explained that the word in
question meant " father," but that in some phrases it was necessary to understand
it as " elder." They have a corresponding word for " older sister " or " older aunt " ;
yet when the phrase refers to the point of growth, this word means only "a
woman who was born earlier." The lack of a special name for " father " is the
more strange because the Yakuts have special terms for more remote relatives up
as far as the great grandfather, although even then the female origin is more
clearly expressed than the male origin. This vagueness in regard to the male
blood tie, side by side with the definiteness of the female connection with the
offspring, is very significant. If, in connection with this, we also remember that
the familia, in the Latin sense of the word, bears a name which means " mother-^6 "
(i/c-ussa), and that many " father-st& " (aya-ussa) of the present time, and even Nashya,
according to tradition, take their origin from women, and that one of the favourite
motives of the Yakut folk tales, on a line with the search for a wife, is the search
for a "father," then we have reason to devote particular attention to this class of
facts. It is a current fact in the legends that the heroes do not know who their
fathers were.
The author does not venture to draw more positive conclusions with respect
to the ancient marriage institution, but he thinks it safe to assume that it was, in
its origin, entirely different from the present one, not only by virtue of the fact
that endogamy then prevailed, but also on account of the peculiar relations
between the sexes. Unions between them, inside of the sib, were exceedingly free
and non-permanent. The children could know only their mothers, and they could
know them only up to a certain point of their own age ; after that they forgot this
relationship. It was supplanted by a feeling of belonging to a certain group.
Within that group there were only " men " and " women," older or younger than
the person in question. There are out-of-the-way places amongst them now where
the current word of the language for "wife" is unknown; they meet it with
laughter. The words they use mean " woman " or " old woman " or "mistress of
the house." A word for "husband" exists nowhere amongst the Yakuts. The
current word means properly " man." They have no words for " divorce," " widow,"
or " widower." The first is entirely unknown to them. They have adopted the
liussian word for " widow," but they apply it to every bereaved person. One of
their proverbs is : — " A woman without a man is the same as a herd of cattle
W. G. SUMNER.— Tlie Yakut*. 93
without a muster." A widow with lier property and her little children passes over
In the brothers, uncles, or nephews of the husband, and in all probability, in
ancient times, she not infrequently became the concubine of one of them. There
is proof in Hit' customs that there was a time when, even during the life of the
husband, it was demanded that measures should be taken against eventual claims
of the nearest relatives of the men upon wives who had come from abroad.
l!<'l<iti>'i'x-in-law. — There was a well known custom according to which a bride
should avoid showing herself or her uncovered body to her father-in-law. In
ancient times, they say, a bride concealed herself for seven years from her father-
in-law, and from the brothers and other masculine relatives of her husband. The
young people lived in the left, or women's half of the house, and behind the screen,
which was always found in the ancient houses. Looking through a crack in this,
she watched until her husband's male relatives were busy, and then, concealing
herself carefully behind the chimney [which stood free in the middle of the house],
she went out into the yard, rarely through the door of the house, more frequently
through the stable. The men also tried not to meet her, saying, " The poor
child will be ashamed." If a meeting could not be avoided, the young woman put
a mask on her face. Sometimes she died before her father-in-law had seen her
face. Not until then was it proper for him to look at her so as to know whether
she was pretty or what she was like. Nowadays the young wives only aAroid
showing to their male relatives-in-law the uncovered body. Amongst the rich,
they avoid going about in the presence of these in the chemise alone. They put
on a short gown. In some places, they lay especial emphasis on the fact that it is a
shame for young wives to show their uncovered hair and feet to the male relatives
of their husbands. On the other side, the male relatives of the husband ought to
avoid showing to the young wife the body uncovered above the elbow or the sole
of the foot, and they ought to avoid indecent expressions and vulgar vituperatives
in her presence. Nevertheless, the author heard nothing amongst them about the
status of the daughter-in-law. That the whole custom which has just been
described is not a manifestation of respect for the husband's relatives, but a
prudential device, is to be seen from the fact that nothing of the kind is observed
in presence of the mother-in-law and old women. Also that those observances are
not the result of a specially delicate modesty is proved by the fact that even
young girls constantly twist thread upon the naked thigh, unembarrassed by the
presence of men who do not belong to the household ; nor do they show any
embarrassment if a strange man comes upon them when uncovered to the waist
The one thing which they do not like, and at which they show anger, is that such
persons look carefully at their uncovered feet. The former custom of peculiar
behaviour towards male relatives-in-law is gradually being abandoned. Also the
former simplicity of their mores, with lack of shame in uncovering the body, is
disappearing.
In all probability, endogamy did not at once give way to exogamy. Both
forms long existed and competed with each other for exclusive validity. It may
94 W. G. SUMNEH.— 7%e Yakut*.
be that tb.3 first captive or slave wives were a violation of some customs of the sib,
and that they concealed themselves in the beginning from all the sib relatives of
the husband, since these only endured them and did not recognise them.
Unfriendly behaviour toward the wives within the bounds of the sib undoubtedly
occurred.
Reasons for Polygamy. — The Yakuts gave up polygamy at the beginning of
the last century on their conversion to Christianity. They petitioned the govern-
ment against the abolition of polygamy in the following terms : " Eich Yakuts had
many wives for oversight of the numerous houses and cattle which ordinarily were
in different places ; for wives took more zealous care of property than indifferent
hired persons. Hence the housekeeping was improved and the property was
increased under polygamy." The Christianised Chukches gave a similar justification
for polygamy. They said that they could not get on without a plurality of wives,
because, for fear of contagious diseases, they were compelled to break up and scatter
their herds of reindeer. [A wife was required for the care of each sub-division.]
According to the official figures of 1889, there were amongst the Yakuts
110,982 men and 110,221 women. Hence polygamy was impossible for the great
mass of the people.
The price of a bride was formerly not less than ten head of cattle. Midden-
dorf says that in his time the price was ten head of cattle of each kind, ten mares,
ten cows, ten stallions, and ten bulls, from 500 to 5,000 rubles in value. Hence to
have more than one wife was a privilege of the richest.
Status of Women.— A. wife, according to the notion of the Yakuts, is above all
things a household labourer; she guards and increases the property; she has no
rights in the family ; she can punish a disobedient child, and that is all. She has
no property ; her husband has the right to squander even her dower to the last
head of cattle and the last chemise. They more often beat women than
children. Outside of the family, the rights of the wife are still less than in
it. Civil right she has absolutely none. In ancient times the husband has
the right of life and death over her. Once a war captive, she is now a purchased
slave. Exogamy and permanent marriage have completely put an end to the
independence of the Yakut woman. Those customs have excluded her from
membership in the sib. Outside of the family, there remains no place for
her, and at the head of the new form of the family stands her husband. If a
Yakut woman is not married, her position after the death of her parents becomes
still harder ; she is delivered over to a permanent inferiority ; to the reproaches
and the exploitation of all her relatives, brother, uncles, nephews, and, worst of all,
their wives and children. This is why the Yakut women are very anxious to be
married, and sincerely mourn in case of the death of even ill-natured and cruel
husbands. An orphan girl, or a young childless widow, is compelled to run about
from one guardian to another, or to live with some one of them in the capacity
of a permanent and unconditional labourer. Her possessions such a guardian
considers as his own property, and if she should marry, it is rarely the case that
W. G. SUMNER.— 77* Ynki'f*. 95
she can recover them at his hands. No one lias any desire to take her part, or to
enter into ;i i|iiarrd with her guardian, who is sure to be a man of importance in
the sih. The nn-n x.ealously guard their own privilege of exclusive participation in
the meetings of the sib. Women who cannot endure the cruel usage of their
husbands rarely complain to the sib of the husband, but prefer to take refuge
under the protection of their own ; the latter generally sends them back.
Nevertheless, the flight of a wife brings so much unpleasant experience upon
the husband, and gives occasion for so much ridicule, that husbands avoid
provoking their wives to this point. Cases in which wives ran away from their
husbands were especially numerous just at the time when Christianity was
preached amongst the Yakuts. Conversion to Christianity and marriage with
Christians freed the women from prosecution by the authorities of the *?'/>. Great
numbers of women took advantage of this. After Christianity had been estab-
lished, the device ceased to be available.
A wife can expect no protection in the sib of her husband, and in his
immediate household all unite heartily against her, since she is an outsider from
another .s't7>. The maiden sisters of the husband enjoy an especially bad repute
amongst Yakut women. Evidently there is here a traditional enmity, but often it
is founded in the nature of things. The author gives a case known to him, in
which a woman of exceptional merit and ability was persecuted by the maiden
sisters of her husband, who spoke ill of her to him and stimulated him to harsh-
ness against her. He also knows cases of suicide by young wives under the
persecution of the husband and his relatives. Neither law nor customary right
offers any protection against these persecutions. If anything restrains them, it is
the trouble and expense of buying another wife. In this way the protection of
the sib of the woman, translated now into a large ransom, has done the women a
good service. It has softened the family mores, and taught their masters to give
them some protection. Their position has been little changed up to the present
time. Of course there are exceptions. There are women who rule their husbands
as European women do ; there are disobedient daughters, and there are energetic
widows, who keep large households in terror; but this can be the case amongst
the Yakuts only when the circumstances are favourable to a far greater degree
than amongst Russians. Everything is against the women ; the conditions of
labour, which require a family organisation, and the land tenure which recognises
the men only as having a share ; and traditions and education.
A boy almost from the cradle hears that he is the master, the worker, the
future support and hope of the family. They feed and clothe him better than
they do the girls ; they compel his sisters to give way to him in a quarrel ; and
they inspire him with contempt for his sisters and in general for feminine
occupations. Amongst their proverbs are : " A woman's mind is shorter than her
hair " ; " Women, though they have long hair, are narrow-minded." Amongst their
sayings are : " We consider our daughters as outsiders ; they will be obliged to go
away to other people." "Whatever work a woman may do, there is no profit from
96 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakut*.
her." " If a woman passes between me and my fire, she can spoil for me both my
handicraft and my luck." " We Yakuts in old times despised women. We
thought them unclean." Various epithets for " womanish," in a contemptuous
sense, are met with at every step. In the folk tales women are objects of ridicule,
and in the traditions the heroes call each other " women " in vituperation.
Women, especially when they are pregnant, are forbidden by custom to eat
some dishes and to touch some things. They are considered in some sense
unclean. They spoil the gun of a hunter, and lessen the good fortune of a handi-
craftsman. All this has brought the women to recognise from childhood their
own worthlessness and rightlessness, and has made them servile and cringing.
Yakut women are in general far more obedient and humble than Russian women.
You will hear any well-bred Yakut woman say with conviction : " The husband is
our lord ; he feeds us ; he gets us what we need, and protects us." This is the
current opinion. The author has more than once heard hard-working women
express it, although they did not only their own work, but that of their husbands ;
and also clever women, who far surpassed in cultivation their stupid husbands.
When such a husband beat such a wife, she was asked why she did not give
him a good thrashing, and then he would let her alone. " It's impossible," she
answered with a smile, " he is the husband. If I should beat him, people would
cease to respect him, and that would be bad for both of us, and for our children."
[p. 578.] Sex Mores. — The Yakuts see nothing immoral in illicit love,
provided only that nobody suffers material loss by it. It is true that parents will
scold a daughter, if her conduct threatens to deprive them of their gain from
the bride-price ; but if once they have lost hope of marrying her off, or if the
bride-price has been spent, then they manifest complete indifference to her
conduct. The time which young wives spend with their parents after the wedding
is the merriest and freest time they ever know. The young men hover about
them like flies, but the parents pretend to take no notice, and even in most cases
take advantage in their household work of the serviceability of these aspirants.
They only strive that these connections may not be long continued, and may not
become notorious ; for this might bring upon them unpleasant consequences from
the family of the husband, and might lessen the quantity of gifts which they might
expect later. Maidens who no longer expect marriage are not restrained at all,
and if they observe decorum, it is only from habit and out of respect to custom.
The young women of the community in which the author lived, in autumn, with
the knowledge of the old people, went out to live in a separate house, on the bank
of a lake, where every evening young men of the neighbourhood went to join
them. They spent the evening in singing, story-telling and witty conversation.
The author having chanced upon them one evening, they entertained him with
food and tea, and when he started to leave, the twenty-two year old sister of the
man with whom he lived, who at home was ordinarily very modest and reserved,
openly proposed herself to him for the night. At the time of weddings, and at the
festivity of the sib (esseah) the oversight over the maidens is exceedingly weakened,
W. G. RUMXER.— The. Yal-t't*. 97
The current opinion does not approve of mothers who take their young daughters
with them to those places. In games the young men are free with their hands
and the girls do not especially defend themselves. The author was a witness of
proceedings which fully confirmed the statement above made that sisters are never
allowed to depart in marriage as virgins. [This shows that exogamy cannot be
due to horror of incest.] The birth of an illegitimate child, and illegitimacy, are
not regarded as a disgrace. If such children are vigorous and active they are
treated in the family with the same affection as lawful children, or even with more.
[p. 581.] Love in Marriage. — The author devoted attention to the question,
what place is occupied in marriage, and in the life of the people, by love ?
Evidently in marriage they consider it superfluous. They esteem more highly a
peaceful status, founded on friendship, esteem, and recognition of the solidarity of
interests, than any passionate attraction. Previous acquaintance between bride
and groom is regarded as superfluous. Most marriages are brought about without
the participation or consent of the young people. Only an extreme repugnance
to each other on the part of the two, as a consequence of which a passionate and
stubborn protest is manifested, may sometimes win attention. If such a protest is
made by the man, it more frequently is respected, but they compel daughters,
even grown women and widows, by force, and without discussion, to enter into
marriage against their will. For this purpose they beat them, or threaten to drive
them out destitute from the house. The author mentions a case in which a
man compelled the widow of his brother to take as her husband a man whom she
did not like, by the threat to take away her children and property from her.
She was living at the time in open union with the brother of the husband who
was forced upon her. It must not be understood that the feeling of love is
unknown to the Yakuts, or that they do not know how to value it. In their
popular songs, which the boys and girls sing under their voices when sitting at
work, there is manifested a well-defined ideal of beauty. In these songs, just
as in European love songs, black eyebrows, an erect figure, rounded hips, flashing
eyes, silvery tones of the voice, etc., are praised. Sometimes they also speak
in honour of mental and moral qualities, such as a pure heart, cleverness,
accessibility, industry on the part of men, and on the part of women, tenderness,
self-sacrifice, and modesty.
[p. 614.] Notion of the other World.--T\\e, Yakuts feel the joy of life, but
trouble themselves little about the morrow, especially about the morrow of death.
The notion of the purpose of existence, and of the futurity of all living things, of
the end of the world, and of all that which happens to men after the end of life is
very weakly developed amongst them ; and even that little about these subjects
which they borrowed with Christianity from the Russians has faded into the
backgro und of their minds. With the exception of some shadowy conceptions of
the Biblical paradise and hell, they have scarcely any beliefs about the connection
between this life and the other life, in the way of rewards and punishments. The
author quotes a description of Hades and of the souls living there as follows :
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). II
98 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
" Beyond the eight grades of heaven, on the west side, where there is no day, but
constant, gloomy night, where there is no summer, but only the winter wind'
whistles, with a reversed, wretched, and irregular course of the gloomy, nocturnal
sun turned upside down, with a reversed circuit of the crooked moon, with
maidens who never get husbands, with youths who never take wives, with
stallions whom the mares never accept, with bulls whom the cows never accept,
consisting of a house of stone and iron, so built that the top part of it is narrow,
the bottom part flattened out, and the middle bulging."
Mortuary and Funerary Usages. — The Yakuts have a custom of making
presents to their acquaintances before death. They give away cattle, chattels, and
more rarely, clothing and money. They think that washing the corpse is
obligatory ; but they put it off till the last thing in order to avoid superfluous
trouble and busying themselves unpleasantly with the corpse. The dying person
is often dressed in his grave-clothes while still alive. These clothes, even amongst
the poorest people, are kept in store for this purpose ; so that they are new or
scarcely worn at all. One thing about which the dying Yakut really cares is that
some domestic animal may be slaughtered immediately after his death, in order
that, riding on it, or with it, he may accomplish his journey into the lower world.
With this purpose for men, they slaughter oxen and horses, and for women, cows,
young ones if the wealth of the deceased admits of a choice, and of course they
select by preference beasts of burden on which one can ride, and above all, fat
ones. The spirits of the dead will have to drive before them cows and calves with
a switch ; or to lead them by ropes tied around the horns, which is attended with
some inconvenience. Poor people kill the most worthless of the animals which
they have. In the north, they often kill reindeer, but whether they kill sledge-
dogs, the author does not know : he thinks not. The labourers who make the
coffins and dig the graves, the literary persons who read the Psalter over the
deceased, and the neighbours who visit the house at this time, are fed with the
meat of the slaughtered animals. In the north, where in general all their customs
have been better preserved, and where now they are observed with greater
accuracy, even the very poorest families try to provide for the funeral feast of a
member some animal, even if it is only a sucking calf. Sometimes they sacrifice
for this purpose the last miserable cow. A Eussian soldier at a military station
wanted a monument set up on the grave of his brother who had died at that
place while on a journey. " If you want to hire us for that purpose," said the
Yakuts to him, " then you must kill an animal, a calf or a reindeer. No blood
has been poured out on the grave of your brother, and we are afraid." If a well-
to-do householder dies, and his relatives offer only a miserable funeral feast, then
in the other world, the demons will pursue and torment his spirit, saying to him :
'•' Is that your cattle ? It is miserable. Is that your funeral feast ? "
When the soul, in spite of the feast before death, and the expected funeral
feast, and the other consolations, does not want to depart, and the dying man is
tormented in a prolonged agony, then they place by the bed a cup of water, in
W. 0. SUMNER.— The Yakuts. 99
order that the soul before its departure may have the possibility of bathing itself.
The corpse, when dressed, is placed in the chief corner of the house, on the bench,
where it lies three days. The rites of the Russian church are performed over it,
reading the Psalter, burning candles, incense, etc. The grave should be dug down
a fathom or more to the ground which never thaws, in order that the body and
the clothing may remain intact as long as possible. If there is not upon the
grave elevation a cross and monument, then the angel of the resurrection will not
know that a human being is buried there. The angel does not like a bad odour,
and would avoid the place. It would be a mistake also to make the grave too
deep, for the voice of the angel cannot be heard more than three fathoms down.
All metallic ornaments are carefully removed from the grave clothes. Strings of
leather or fibre are used in place of buttons and clasps. They leave only the cross
hung from the neck and the betrothal ring, and in the case of women, the
ear-rings ; but these must in no case be of silver, but of brass. Poor people even
make them of wood.
When the coffin is ready, they put the body in it and cover it over with white
cotton cloth. In the left hand they place a passport [they use this word], in order
that the ghost may be received into paradise, where it will live as it did on earth.
If it had no passport, those of the other world would say to it, " Friend, you have
gone astray," and it would have to go on beyond the forty-four lands where the
demons live. On the third day, in the morning, they either carry the coffin, or
place it on an ox, never on a horse, in order to bring it to the grave. Nobody
accompanies it but the bearers and the grave-digger, and these make haste to
finish their task as quickly as possible and hurry away home. When returning
they would not for anything look backwards, but when they come into the gateway
of the enclosure, or the door of the house, they themselves go, and they lead the
beasts by which the corpse was carried, across a bonfire, lighted by them, built of
the chips and shavings left over from the coffin, and also of the straw on which the
corpse had lain. The spades, sleigh, and in general all that which was used in any
way whatever for the interment, they break up and leave on the grave elevation. If
they bury a child, then they hang up there on a tree his cradle, and they leave
there his playthings. Formerly they left on the grave food, furniture, tools, dishes,
and other objects indispensable in life. Now that custom has died out. In the
north, on ancient graves, the author often found rusted and broken kettles, knives,
spear-points, arrow- points, stirrups, and rings from harnesses and saddles, — all
broken, punctured, and spoiled, with the purpose, as the natives explain, that the
dead might not be able with them to harm the living.
Shamans and shamanesses are buried in just the same manner as ordinary
people, but without the ceremonies of the church, somewhere in a remote nook in
a grove or in a forest opening, which latter place is especially beloved by spirits
and shamans. On a tree near the grave, they hang up the drum and magical dress
of the deceased. They bury those persons with great haste by night, or at
evening, and always afterwards carefully avoid the places where they are buried.
H 2
100 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
Superstitions about the Dead. — In general, the remains of a deceased person,
wherever buried, inspire a Yakut with great fear. Such remains cause great
interferences with nature, arousing winds, blizzards, and bad weather. The
remains of a shaman produce all these phenomena in a very extraordinary degree.
Tf, after a burial, the wind blows, that is a good thing, because the wind blows
away all traces left by the deceased ; otherwise upon these traces it is possible that
many more living souls might go away into the lower world. In ancient times
the Yakuts disposed of their dead on the branches of trees, or on narrow wooden
platforms raised upon two posts. Even now such structures may be found in
places in the woods. This was a foreign custom borrowed by the Yakuts from the
Tunguses and the Yukagirs. In some districts the people who are a little well-to-
do, in the case of a death, at once abandon the house, if not forever, at least for
a time. They say there (in the Kolymsk district) that in ancient times, when
anyone died, the inhabitants fled from the house, leaving in it the corpse with all
the goods which belonged to the person when he was alive.
[p. 621.] The Old and the Helpless. — A local tradition is met with that in
ancient times, if an old person became extremely decrepit, or if anyone became
ill beyond hope of recovery, such person generally begged his beloved children or
relatives to bury him. Then the neighbours were called together, the best and
fattest cattle were slaughtered, and they feasted for three days, during which
time the one who was to die, dressed in his best travelling clothes, sat in the
foremost place and received from all who were present marks of respect and the
best pieces of food. On the third day the relative chosen by him led him into
the wood and unexpectedly thrust him into a hole previously prepared. They
then left him together with vessels, tools, and food, to die of hunger. Sometimes
an old man and wife were buried together ; sometimes an ox or horse was buried
alive with them; and sometimes a saddled horse was tied up to a post set in
the ground near by, and left there to die of hunger. This tradition is met with
on the Aldan Eiver.
A fine tree attracts the attention of the Yakut. A Yakut will charge his
friends to bury him under such a tree. Gmeliri (II, 447) says that formerly they
burned their dead, or placed them in trees, or left them in the huts where they
died, and which all others left. There was also a custom to burn, on a separate
fire, a beloved slave of the deceased, in order that he might serve his master in the
other world. This custom was brought to an end by the Russian conquest.
Goblinism and Demonism. — During the time that the corpse is unburied, now
not more than three days, the spirit does not leave the earth ; the demons drive it
about in all the places where it was accustomed to be during life, which makes it
hard for anyone who had travelled much while alive. During that time, the ghost
makes its presence known to the living by different knocks and sounds.
Sometimes it can be heard to weep and complain ; sometimes it is possible to see
how it is trying to carry on its former household tasks. It gives hay to the cattle,
or washes dishes, or handles straps, or rummages in the boxes in the store-room.
W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts. 101
Once in a house in which the author was, all with the exception of himself heard
the rustling and knocking of the ghosts of two old people recently deceased, in the
walls. When the head of the animal which had constituted the funeral feast was
eaten, the old people went away and became quiet. Some ghosts never come to
rest ; such a ghost is called a yor. Any ghost may become a yor if, when he is
asked in the other world what he left on earth, he answers, "House, cattle,
husband or wife, children, father, mother, relatives," and, when asked if he wants
to go back to them, answers " Yes." That is why a yor most frequently
torments his own nearest relatives. He hinders them from living their own
lives, and from taking any pleasure, by constantly reminding them of himself.
The relationships which surrounded the deceased during life also have influence on
the question whether he will turn into a yor, but the most frequent case is that
some ceremony has not been accurately performed ; that some piece of meat or fat
has not been completely eaten up. In a certain case they said that on the day
after a wedding, the deceased brother and sister of the bride began to torment her
by the pranks of a yor, because the wedding party had forgotten to make a libation
of vodka, and to cast a bit of the fat or butter or meat on the fire. It was
necessary then to call a shaman, or the bride would suffer from the yors all
her life.
An aged Yakut woman told the author that when she was a child, she
once became very ill. Her father called in a shaman, who went through his
performances for seven days, calling on all the demons ; but they all answered,
" We are not the ones," — and her life was despaired of. Then by chance there
came to the hut a person who saw predictive dreams ; he lay down and dreamed.
When he awoke, he told that he saw in his dream how the deceased grandfather
of the child, on the mother's side, sat by the chimney, and having put his feet on
the hearth, wanned them while he stirred up with his stick the ashes and talked
to himself, saying, " They do not see me with their eyes ; they do not hear me
with their ears; from the beloved child I will never depart. I will sit here to get
something ; to eat something." As soon as they knew this, the shaman began his
arts again, and finally compelled the old man to acknowledge his presence. He
was stubborn for a long time, saying, " I will not go. I will not go. I will not
eat the child. I love her very much. That is why I caress her, but she does not
endure that." Finally the mother and father begged the old man to go away, and
he went. The child recovered.
All who die in childhood, all who do not live out their appointed term, all
who are murdered or die suddenly, suicides and drowned persons, all who are
buried and go to eternity without the rites of the church, become yors. In ancient
times everyone who died became a yor, but with the introduction of Christianity,
their number has been greatly diminished. The souls of sJiamans and shamanesses,
of witches and sorcerers, of evil and envious persons, and of those who are hot-
tempered, or are out of the ordinary kind, by virtue of something or other, become
yors. They serve the higher powers as labourers. Having entered into living
102 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
persons, they cripple their bodies, spoil their eyes and their entrails, break their
bones, make them hysterical, throw them out of their senses ; but sometimes endow
them with magical powers and so make shamans of them,
Shamajis and Shamanesses. — A shaman whose name meant " The-man-who-
fell-from-heaven," told the author about his career as a shaman. He was sixty
years old, of middle stature, a dried up, muscular old man, although it was evident
that he had once been vigorous and active. Even when seen, he could still
perform shamanistic rites, jump and dance the whole night through without
becoming weary. He had travelled from the northern to the southern extremities
of the Yakut territory. His countenance was dark and full of active expression.
His features resembled the Tungus type. The pupil of his eye was surrounded by
a double ring of a dull green colour. When he was practising his magic, his eyes
took on a peculiar, unpleasant dull glare, and an expression of idiocy, and their
persistent stare, as the author observed, excited and disturbed those upon whom
he fixed it. Another shaman who was observed had the same peculiarities ot the
eyes. In general, there is in the appearance of a shaman something peculiar,
which enabled the author, after some practice, to distinguish them with great
certainty in the midst of a number of persons who were present. They are
distinguished by a certain energy and mobility of the muscles of the face, which
generally amongst the Yakuts are immobile. There is also in their movements a
noticeable spryness. Besides this, in the north, they all without exception wear
their hair long enough to fall on their shoulders. Generally they braid it behind
the head into a queue, or tie it into a tuft. In the south, near the city of Yakutsk,
where the clergy and government persecute them, and where they are compelled
to hide, long hair is rare. " The-man-who-fell-from-heaven " declared that he did
not like long hair because the little yors frisk about in it and torment him. He-
could not get rid of them without cutting it off. Some shamans are as passionately
devoted to their calling as drunkards to drink. This man had several times been
condemned to punishment ; his professional dress and drum had been burned ; his
hair had been cut off, and he had been compelled to make a number of obeisances
and to fast. He told the author, " We do not carry on this calling without paying
for it. Our masters (the spirits) keep a zealous watch over us, and woe betide us
afterwards if we do not satisfy them ! But we cannot quit it ; we cannot cease
to practice shaman rites. Yet we do no evil."
The amount of payment given to a shaman differs. He is paid only in case
his sorcery produces the desired result. Then he sometimes gets twenty-five
rubles, or even more. Generally he is paid one ruble and his entertainment.
Besides that he eats, and in some places takes home with him, a part of the meat of
the animal sacrificed at the ceremony. The shamanistic gift is not hereditary,
although there are some popular sayings which indicate a notion of some blood
relationship between shamans. His guardian spirit is believed, at the death of a
shaman, to seek a new residence in one of his blood relatives. This guardian spirit
is essential to every shaman. Even the greater shamans must have a tutelary spirit
W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts. 103
(rtmngat}. This animal form is the one which the sJiammi assumes in the spirit-
world. It may be compared with the Manito of the lied Indian, and is known in
Yakut as ye-keela (= mother-animal). All shamans hide their yc-Tceela carefully.
(See the Polish edition, p. 396.) Only once in the year, when the last snow melts
and the whole ground becomes black, do these animal forms of the shamans
show themselves on earth. Then the spirits of the shamans embodied in them
rush hither arid thither. Ordinary people do not perceive them, but only the eyes
of the sorcerers. The strong and bold yc-keda fly about with noise and with
zealous activity, but the weak ones creep about timidty. The yc-keda of the
skamanesses are remarkable for excessive jealousy and quarrelsomeness, and if a
real sorceress is found amongst them, she will give way to no one. Inexperienced
or jealous shamans often get into fights. The consequence is disease or death
for the one whose familiar spirit has been slain.
It does not depend on the will of the shaman whether he will obtain a
guardian and protecting spirit (amagat) and ye-kecla, that is to say, the qualities
which belong to such. It either comes to pass accidentally, or is predestinated
from above. " The-man-who-fell-from-heaven " told how he got a guardian amagat
as follows: "Once when I was travelling in the north, I had gathered on the mountain
a pile of wood. It was necessary for me to cook my dinner at once, so 1 set fire to
the pile of wood. It happened, however, that a distinguished Tungus shaman had
been buried beneath the place where the wood pile was. His spirit took possession
of me." When this man performs his rites, the Tungus origin of his amagat is
shown by the fact that he mutters Tungus words and makes Tungus gestures.
Different spirits come to him when performing ; for instance, a Russian devil, the
daughter of a demon, with a demon youth, as well as the Tungus spirit. The first
shows llussian characteristics. He asks for vodka, and a maiden. The second and
third behave themselves in an extremely free and easy manner, and, without
ceremony, they ask those who are present whether they have pudenda. It will
not do at all to answer these questions affirmatively. He who does so will become
impotent. The demon youth mutilates the females, and the girl demon the
males.
The mightiest sorcerers are those whpse guardian spirits are sent by Ulutoyon,
the great deity himself. Of such there could be, they said, in the whole land of
the Yakuts, only four at a time, corresponding to the four Uhiscs of the Yakuts
which were first formed. In each of these Uluscs there are special sibs which are
distinguished for strength in sorcery, in the midst of which, from time to time, a
great shaman appears.
[p. 631.] The further north we go, the greater ability do the shamans
manifest. The sliamancsses have greater might than the men. In general the
feminine element has a very prominent rdle in sorcery amongst the Yakuts. In
the Kolmyck district the shamans, for want of any special dress, put on women's
dress. They wear their hair long and comb and braid it as women do. According
to the popular belief, any shaman of moie than ordinary power can bear children
104 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
like a woman. It is narrated of one of them that he gave birth several times ;
amongst the rest, to a fox. Another gave birth to a raven, and the birth was so
difficult that he nearly died. They give birth also to galls, ducks and puppies.
The whole proceeding, in sorcery, has a fantastic character. The songs are richly
embellished with suggestions and parallels chiefly borrowed from the domain of
sex functions. The dances constantly pass over into indecent gestures and
movements.
Smiths. — Smiths stand in a close and peculiar relation to shamans. Popular
sayings are; "Smiths and shamans come out of one nest." "Smiths and shamans
stand on the same plane." " The wife of a shaman is to be respected ; the wife of
a smith is worthy of honour." Smiths also are able to cure diseases, to give counsel
and to make predictions ; yet their dexterities lack any magical character ; they
are only clever men who know a great deal, and whose fingers are expert. Smiths,
especially in the north, generally transmit the craft from father to son. In the
ninth generation a smith obtains almost supernatural qualities, and the more of a
man's ancestors were smiths, the more real these qualities are. In the legends,
mention is often made of smiths ; they are called an honoured band. Spirits are,
above all, afraid of the clink of iron and of the roar of the bellows in activity. In
the Kolymsk Ulus, a shaman was not willing to perform until the author should
take out from the hut his box of instruments, and after the shaman had failed, he
explained to the bystanders that the spirits are afraid of the smith (the author),
and therefore will not come at the call. Only in the ninth generation can a smith
without danger for himself forge the iron ornaments of the shaman's professional
dress and drum, or the brazen breastplate with the figure of a man, which
represents the tutelary spirit of the shaman and is put on when he is about to per-
form. The saying is : " If a smith who has forged the decorations of a shaman has
not enough of the qualities of his own s??i^/i-ancestors, if the sound of their hammers
and the flash of their fires do not surround him on every side, then birds with
crooked claws and beaks will tear his heart." Amongst such venerated hereditary
smiths, the tools have acquired souls, so that they can give out sounds of them-
selves. On a fine professional dress of a shaman, there will be from thirty to
forty pounds of iron. The dress costs from three to fifteen rubles, [p. 635.]
According to the common belief, the metallic attachments of the shamans dress
have the peculiarity that they do not rust ; they have a soul.
Leeclicraft. — The shamans cure all diseases, but especially such as are
mysterious, being nervous affections, such as hysterics, mental derangement,
convulsions, and St. Vitus' dance ; also impotence, sterility, puerperal fever, etc. ;
then diseases of the internal organs, especially such as cause the patient to groan,
scream, and toss about ; then also wounds, broken and decayed bones, headache,
inflammation of the eyes, rheumatic fever ; besides these also all epidemic diseases
and consumption ; but this last they treat only with a view to alleviation,
considering it incurable. They refuse to treat diarrhoea, scarlet fever, measles,
small-pox, syphilis, scrofula, and leprosy, which they call " the great disease."
W. G. SUMNEII.— The Yakuts. 105
They are especially afraid of small-pox, and take care not to perform their rites
in a house where a case of it has recently occurred. They call small-pox and
measles "old women," and say that they are two Russian sisters dressed in
Russian fashion, who go to visit in person those houses where they have marked
their victims. All diseases come from evil spirits who have taken possession of
men. Methods of cure are always of the same kind, and consist in propitiating
or driving away the uninvited guest. The simplest method of cure is by fire.
A boy whose wounded finger became inflamed, came to the conclusion, which the
bystanders shared, that a yor had established itself in the finger. Desiring to
drive it out, he took a burning coal and began to apply it around the place while
blowing upon it. When the burned flesh began to blister, and then burst with a
little crackle, then the curious group which had crowded around him flew back
with a cry of terror, and the wounded boy, with a smile of self-satisfaction,
said : — " You saw how he jumped out." A man who had the rheumatism had his
body marked all over with deep burnings. As soon as he had any pain, he applied
fire to the seat of it.
[p. 637.] Exorcism. — In order to drive out demons which torment people in
sleep, it is a good plan to put any iron cutting instruments under the bed ; or to
put near by any iron rod, axe, or other tool. The most trustworthy thing of all,
although not always applicable, is fire, placed between the victim and his
tormentor. An expiring fire-brand cast down by the threshold of the house door
is often used by the Yakuts to prevent evil spirits from getting into the house.
Often when they first bring into the stable beasts which they have newly
obtained, they lead them through fire. Not only sounds and objects, but people
possess the power, some of them temporarily, others permanently, without
exertion, to infuse terror into the invisible powers. For instance, a man who lias
killed a bear can cure some diseases.
Observation justifies the division of shamans into great, middling, and petty.
Some of them dispose of light and darkness in such a masterly manner, also of
silence and incantation ; the modulation of the voice is so flexible ; the gestures so
peculiar and expressive ; the blows of the drum and the tone of them correspond
so well to the moment : and all is intertwined with such an original series of
unexpected words, witty observations, artistic and often elegant metaphors, that
involuntarily you give yourself up to the charm of watching, this wild and free
evocation of a wild and free spirit.
In the northern part of the Yakut territory, when the shaman is about to
perform under the auspices of some householder, the latter having selected the
best straps he possesses, ties a kind of double noose, which is then put around the
shoulders of the shaman in order to hold him by the free end of this strap while
he is dancing, so that the spirits may not steal him away.
[p. 645.] The dance of the shaman figures the journey to heaven in company
with the spirits and the sacrificed cattle. In ancient times there were shamans
who actually went to heaven and saw those who were there. There were some
106 W. G-. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
even who were so clever that instead of real cattle they took to heaven a fictitious
" shadowy " mare ; but such shamans are not received in heaven. A cow offered
in sacrifice is tied to the first of a series of posts ; a rope is tied to this post, and
then to each of the others in the series, rising higher and higher from the ground
as it goes on. A rag is tied to this line between each pair of posts.
[p. 654.] Deities. — Ai-toyon is the personification of existence in general.
That part of existence which is manifested in each living thing is personified in a
special deity called Ulu-toyon. The latter manifests himself sometimes as a
powerful, and angry chastiser. Then he gives commands to his subordinates, or
himself, incarnated in an animal or something else appears on the earth. All
calamities, torments, and unhappiness, all diseases and sufferings, are gods of his
household, and related, subordinates of his mighty hand. However he by no
means wishes the annihilation of the living; on the contrary, by his mighty
power he restrains all these calamities, which if he did not do so, would submerge
the earth and in a moment wash away everything living from its face.
Superstitions about Fire. — The spirit of fire is a grey-haired, garrulous, restless
eternally fussy old man. What he is whispering and shuffling about so
perpetually few understand. The shaman understands it, and also the little child
whose ear has not yet learned to distinguish human speech. The fire understands
well what they are saying and doing round about it ; therefore it is dangerous to
hurt the feelings of the fire, to scold it, to spit upon it, to urinate on it. It will
not do to cast into the fire rubbish which adheres to the shoes, for that would
cause headache. It is sinful to poke the fire with an iron instrument, and the
wooden poker with which they do stir it up must be burned every week, or there
will be bad luck in the house. A good house-mistress always takes care that the
fire may be satisfied with her, and she casts into it a bit of everything which is
prepared by its aid. No one ever knows what kind of a fire is burning on the
hearth in his house ; therefore it is well to conciliate it from time to time, by
little gifts. The fire loves, above all, fat, butter, and cream. They sprinkle these
often upon it. They told the author, in the northern region, about a people who
were said to live on the islands of the Arctic Ocean and who had 110 knowledge of
fire.
[p. 665.] Fire is often presented as a protector and as a symbol of the family
and the sib. A youth who comes to find a wife dare not pass beyond the strip of
light, which falls from the household fire, to go over on the women's side of the
house. This would be improper. The same is true for any other person who does
not belong to the family. A betrothed man, until he has paid the whole of the
bride-price, has no right even to light his pipe at the fire of his affianced ; but a
wife brought home to the house of her husband, and taking her place in his family
ought first of all to go around behind the fire and cast into it a little butter or fat,
to put three splinters into it, and to blow them to a blaze. In general women
ought not, as far as they can avoid it, to pass over the strip of light in front of the
fire-p lace ; their domain is behind it. In the southern districts the cultus of the
W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts. 107
fire is dying away year by year ; but in the north it is in full force. Besides the
domestic fires, there are also wild and wandering fires. If these are lighted by
the spirit of the place, when enjoying itself, then they are good fires; but if they
are the work of the devil, then it is a bad sign to meet with them. There are also
heavenly fires, such as the lightning, which was formerly considered a symbol of
Ai-toyon, but this notion is undergoing change and cannot now be defined.
S/uxdows. — The shadow thrown by objects is considered a peculiar, real, and
inseparable part of the object. It has some connection with the soul of the object,
and also Some connection with fire as a spirit. (See note H, p. 108.) In the
incantations, phrases are often met with of this kind : " The shadow of the fire."
" The fire shadow." "The shadow of the spirit," etc. The shaman in, one of his
rites says : " Cast all thy diseases into the shadow of the fire." It is possible to
lose one's shadow. Then misfortune threatens the man. They say: "A man
has three shadows ; it is possible to lose the first two, although then a man
becomes inactive, diseased, and flaccid. When he loses all three, he perishes."
Every object may have at its disposition a soul (ichchi), as well as a shadow.
All objects which bear traces of human handiwork have souls (ichchi). Cliffs,
mountains, rivers, and woods have souls (ichchi). The wind is also a spirit. It
sleeps in the mountains ; it is not hard to call it from thence by a whistle. (See
note H, p. 108.)
Some of them think that the milky way is a seam in the heavens. The
heavenly bodies in general influence the fate of men and the changes of the
weather. They foretell the future.
When a man dies it is not permitted to his household to execute any work
until after the next new moon. The moon itself has a soul and human attributes.
It stole an orphan girl who was tormented by her step-mother, who sent her for
water in winter bare- footed. This girl is now in the moon, with a shoulder yoke
and pails on her shoulders, and around her grow sand-willows which were stolen
at the same time with her. As she grows the moon grows.
Divination. — They have a system of divination as follows. They draw two
concentric rings on the table, and mark the north, north-east, east, south-east,
south, south-west, and west points on the exterior circle. The northern point is
called the chief road; the north-eastern point, being the point of the summer
solstice, is the road for getting horned cattle ; the east is the road of good luck ;
the south-east, the winter solstice, is the road for obtaining horses ; the south is
the chief road ; the south-west is the road into the woods, and means death ; the
west is the dark road of the devils. The diviner sits down at the table, rests his
elbows on it, and his forehead on his hands. A string with a weight on the end
hangs from his little finger. Having recited an incantation, he waits until the
pendulum comes to rest. After a time it begins to quiver and wave, and falls into
a line of movement corresponding to one of those in the figure. They are very
eager to discern the future, and have a number of methods for it. They divine by
the falling of a spoon. A shaman does it by the falling of his drumstick. The
108 W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakuts.
girls do it by the falling of a coal. They split a stick and insert in the split a splinter
lengthwise, so that it holds the split open. They set fire to the splinter in the
middle. When the coal flies oft', on account of the pressure of the split stick, then
the person finds out whether his wish is to be fulfilled or not.
NOTES BY THE AUTHOR, M. SiEROSHEVsKi, embodied in the Polish edition : Twelve years in the
land of the Yakuts, Warsaw, 1900, F. Karpinski ; (Dwanas'cw lat w kraju Yakutan,
Warszawa, 1900, nakladem F. Karpinskiego.)
A. Selon toute probabilite, les Yacouts menaient autrefois une vie nomade dans la
Mongolie et faisaient part des tribus qut dans les premiers temps de notre ere formaient les
grands 6tats turaniens nomades, connus aux historiens chinois sous des noms differents :
Hun-nu, Goa-giu, Tu-qiu, Uj-gur, etc. (Voir 1'edition polonaise, page 90.)
B. Dans les Ulus du centre, ou 1'agriculture ne s'est pas encore developpee, les conditions
sont aussi d6favorables a le peche et les animaux pouvant faire 1'objet de chasses fructueuses
sont presque totalement extermine's.
C. C'etaient des coutumes trtls anciennes provenant sans doute du temps, ou le sib com-
men9ait a s'organiser. Pendant les migrations des Yacouts du midi au nord la perte du petit
betail (moutons, che"vres) ainsi que 1'amoindrissement des troupeaux de b6tes a cornes furent la
cause d'une r6trogradation 6conomique, du retour aux troupeaux de chevaux. Les Yacouts
jusqu'a 1'arrivee des Russes, ne savaient pas secher le foin et le tasser en meules. Les chevaux
du pays n'en out pas besoin mdme en hiver. Tls savent trouver leur nourriture en ecartant
la neige avec leurs sabots. Mais, par contre, ces troupeaux exigent un changement continuel
de place et donnent une nourriture de qualite inferieure, facilement gatee et impropre a
conserver.
D. Les groupes qui se d£veloppaient le mieux 6taient ceux, qui pouvaient manger a la fois
toute une be"te tu6e. Leur facilite de mouvement etait plus grande, car ils n'avaient pas
besoin de trainer avec eux des fardeaux et la nourriture n'e"tait pas exposer a se gater.
E. Le code moral des Yakouts n'avait pas prevu le meurtre au dedans du sib. On doit
supposer, que le meurtrier 6tait oblig6 de quitter le sib, la vengeance cessait en cas de paix
conclue entre les srts avec paiement du wergeld.
F. Chez les Yakouts nous trouvons un groupe familial encore bieu mal connu par les
savants : on le nomine ye-ussa (ye = me're, ussa = sib). Maintenant c'est la d6nomination du
groupe d6duit de la ligne male et qui a quelque ressemblance avec l&familia romaine. Autre-
fois il semble, que ye-ussa etait le nom ge"u6ral donn6 a tous les descendants d'une m6me
femme. (Voir l'6dition polonaise, pag. 293.)
G. Les Yakouts emploient Fos du perone" comme symbole de la concorde, de la v6neration et
de la paii pendant la celebration des manages, pendant les meetings du sib et les pratiques des
shamanes. " Partageons entre nous les os des animaux comme la vodka (= l'eau-de-vie) "
disent-ils. Des os semblables ne doivent pas 6tre casse's. Celui qui 1'a recu, le casse lui-me'me
et en mange la graisse. (Voir 1'edition polonaise, pag. 242.)
H. Mais 1'ame e"16mentaire de Tobjet en ge"n6ral (ichchi), qui, a ce qu'il semble, exprirne
tout simplement son action d'exister, diffdre de 1'ame des objets vivants (sur). La vie
commence ou commence la respiration (ty). Les objets vivants auraient done comme une
double ame ; (1) 1'existence (ichchi) et " le mouvement " (sur) ; les animaux morts ou souvent
malades perdent leur sur et conservent seulement leur ichchi qui disparait aussi en cas de
mort. L'homme et parmi les animaux le cheval seul ont une ame triple : le ichchi, le sur et le
" kut.n La kut humaine est petite, pas plus grande qu'un petit morceau de charbon. Quelquefois
le chamane 6voque de par-dessous la terre dans la partie gauche (feminine) de la maison la kut
des malades. Elle s'agite pos6e sur la main et est tee's lourde. La kut abandonne quelquefois
1'homme pendant son sommeil et erre au loin. Si par hasard il lui arrive malheur pendant son
voyage, son propri6taire tombe malade. La kut est comme 1'image indecise, comme 1'ombre.
Comme 1'ombre a 3 parties : une grande et pale, une petite et plus fonc6e et le centre tout
sombre, ainsi 1'homme possede 3 ames. Quand il en perd une il souffre de malaise, deux il est
malade, trois il meurt. (Voir 1'edition polonaise, pag. 382.
W. G. SUMNER.— The Yakut*. 109
ADDITIONAL NOTE BY W. G. SUMNER.
The passage on terms of relationship and address having been entirely
re-written in the Polish edition, a literal translation is here appended.
The most primitive and strictly denned term of relationship is ic, " mother/'
the exact sense of which is, " case," " matrix," " place of birth." The term for
" father," aga, is not so distinct. It means " an elderly man," i.e., an adult.
When a Yakut wants to know whether a certain person, without regard to sex,
was born before or after himself, he asks whether that person is aga or balys
(French, 01116 or puint). The term for " child," ago, is entirely indefinite. Its
sense is " young one." It is employed for the young of beasts, birds, and even
trees (sprigs, sprouts, offshoots). Ogom, " my child," which is formed by adding
the possessive pronoun m, does not imply at all that the person addressed was
procreated by the speaker. It is addressed equally to grandson, son, or even
younger brother. In the current vernacular, older persons use ogom in addressing
younger persons without regard to blood relationship. " The ancient Yakuts, even
when very angry, did not address young persons otherwise than ' my child.' " Uol,
" lad," and kys, " maid," express primarily " mate " and " female," but they are
used nowadays, with the possessive m, for " son " and " daughter." The Yakuts
have no special terms for son and daughter. Nor have they any term to express
" husband," since erim (cr man, and im the possessive) means properly " my man."
For " wife " they always say, in the current speech, " my woman," or " my old
woman," although they have a special term, ojoch, for " wife." From all this we
may infer that when, amongst the ancient Yakuts, a number of related persons
were living together, the relations of " mother " and " wife " were the first ones
which called for expression, " mother " meaning a woman who had children. This
inference would support the belief that the matriarchate once existed among the
Yakuts. The children belonged to the whole horde. Any one of the adult men
might be the father of a certain child since the sex relations were undefined and
perhaps unregulated. It is a curious circumstance that the heroes in the ancient
folk tales often set out to find their fathers. We see, further, that the terms of
relationship amongst the Yakuts express, first of all, the distinction between
younger and older than the speaker. There is one word for older brother and
another for younger brother ; one word for older sister and another for younger
sister, but there is no general term for brother or sister, since all were brothers
and sisters within the compass of a sib. Hence nowadays ubaj means not only
" older brother " but also " older male cousin," " older nephew," — in short " older
member of the sib " than the speaker, fni expresses not only " younger brother,"
but also " younger male cousin," " younger nephew," and in general " younger
member of the sib." The case was the same as to female relations. In current
speech, especially in personal address, the Yakuts use no other terms than these.
Yet the proper terms exist, for the Yakuts have a nomenclature of relationship
110 W. G. SUMNER.— 7%e Yakuts.
which is even very rich and complicated. For some degrees they have two names,
one used by males, the other by females — a feature of what Morgan calls the
Turanian system. Thus : the younger brother whom males call ini, females call
sums or surdzja ; the wife of a younger brother is called by his brothers Jcinit, but
by their wives badzja ; similarly younger brothers and their wives have different
names for the wife of the former's elder brother. This shows that the jural
relations between these classes of persons were once different from what they
are now, since we find that terms of relationship are indications of jural
relations. The last mentioned terms of relationship have now lost their special
signification. It would be too bold to build inferences on these terms only, since
there is no tradition of any conjugal relation between brothers and sisters, and
since special terms for father and husband are not lacking. It is a noteworthy
detail that the older sisters and female cousins of one's father bear the same name,
sanyas, as the wives of one's older brothers ; and that the older brothers of one's
father bear the same name as the father of one's mother and his older brothers,
olaga. Consequently the (older) sisters of one's father together with the wives of
one's (older) brothers form one group, but one's paternal uncles (older than one's
father), and one's mother's paternal uncles form another. The division into such
groups is characteristic of the narrower man family, and the confusion of sisters
and wives, maternal great uncles and paternal uncles in one concept is a proof of
the relation of affinity between those groups. Therefore before the Yakuts went
over to the man family based on pair marriage or polygamy, they practised, for a
time, group marriage of sisters and brothers allotted according to age strata.
[In an Appendix to the Polish version the author gives a list of Yakut terms
of relationship with definitions.]
( 111 -)
CEPHALOMETRIC INSTRUMENTS AND CEPHALOGRAMS.
BY J. GRAY B.Sc.
[PRESENTED MARCH 12TH, 1901. WITH PLATES VI, VII, VIII.]
IN most countries on the continent of Europe, the collection of statistics of the
physical characteristics of the population is greatly facilitated by the conscription ;
and this, to a great extent, accounts for the fact that our neighbours are so far
ahead of us in the ethnographical survey of the people. In this country we have
to make use of less efficient means ; since we cannot bring the people to us, we
must go to the people.
I have found it a very good plan to attend some assembly composed of natives
of the district, such as a meeting for sports, or a fair. In order to get a satisfactory
sample of the people of a district, it is necessary to measure at least from 100 to
200. The time available for doing this at such meetings is usually not more than
three or four hours, and measurements have therefore to be very rapidly performed.
The head measurements should preferably all be performed by one person, and the
only measurements possible, if one is to measure large numbers, are measurements
of the length and breadth of the head. The callipers used must be such as to
require the minimum time for adjustment.
CALLIPERS.
A callipers (Plate VI) which I have designed for this purpose is constructed
on the sliding principle. Callipers on this principle have the advantage over the
compass callipers, that the readings from the scale are more accurate, because
the scale is larger, and also lies parallel to the line to be measured. In the
compass callipers, the scale lies nearer the pivot of the callipers than the
measuring points, and divisions of the scale must necessarily be smaller than the
standard size. Another objection to this kind of callipers is that the scale is
an arc of a circle, while the line to be measured is a chord, and equal divisions
on an arc cannot possibly be used to measure a chord.
There is, however, a great objection to the sliding callipers as usually
constructed. It will not, like the compass callipers, open automatically when
pressed on the head, and this property is most essential for the rapid measurement
necessary in tield anthropology.
112 J. GRAY. — Ccphalometric Instruments and Cepkalograms.
My object was to design a sliding callipers that would open automatically,
and thus combine the advantages of both types. A little mathematical calculation
will show that this can be done if the slide to which the movable leg of the
callipers is attached is made greater than a certain minimum length.1 This
minimum possible length is still further reduced when friction rollers are used, as
in the instrument shown (Plate VI).
Instead of using a slide fitting every where closely to the bsam of the callipers,
only two pins with friction rollers are used. Since the strain coming on the leg of
the callipers always tends to produce rotation in one direction, two pins at the
extreme ends of the slide are all that is necessary to take the thrust. This reduces
the cost of construction and prevents any jamming due to bad fitting.
The friction of the bearings of the slide having been reduced to a minimum,
it is necessary to introduce an artificial resistance to the movement of the slide
which can be regulated in amount. A callipers which is suited for measuring a
skull or other rigid body is not necessarily the best suited for measuring the living
head, which, owing to the presence of the skin, is elastic ; resembling, say, an
india-rubber ball. To get uniform measurements of the diameter of an india-rubber
ball with the same or different instruments, it is necessary that the points of the
callipers should always press on the ball with some pressure. This I have
endeavoured to secure by fitting on the slide a brake whose friction can be adjusted
by a screw.
To standardise the callipers it is placed on a standard bar ; the index line on
the slide is then set on the scale to the length of the standard bar, by slackening
the screws by which it is clamped to the slide. Then the pressure on the brake
is adjusted till the force required to separate the points of the callipers is equal
to the required amount,2 a spring balance being used to measure the force.
Friction rollers are mounted at the points of the callipers to make the operation
of measuring more pleasant for the person operated upon.
To measure the length of the head, the fixed point of the callipers is placed
on the glabella, and the other end of the beam is pressed down. The movable
limb of the callipers will then be opened automatically by the pressure of the back
of the head till the maximum length is reached, when the callipers is removed
from the head and the reading taken.
I have had a callipers made in which the limbs are pressed together by a
spring, but this is not so satisfactory as the brake, because the reading must be
taken when the callipers is on the head, and the slightest movement causes a
variation of the reading.
1 If x is the distance between the contact points of the slide along the centre line, a is the
perpendicular distance from the centre line of the slide to the point of the leg, and / is the
coefficient of friction of the contact points ; x must be greater than 2/a to ensure automatic
opening.
2 I have found that a convenient pressure is 14 oz. or 400 grammes.
J. GRAY. — Ccplialometric Instruments and Cephalofframs, 113
CEPHALOGRAPHS.
It has been proposed by several anthropologists to take diagrams of the whole
contour of the head instead of merely measuring the length and breadth. Sergi
has strongly advocated this method ; he points out that the maximum breadth
which is measured by the callipers may be at very different distances from the
terminals of the maximum length in two heads of different contour, so that the
same measurements by the callipers might be obtained on two heads of very
different type.
Many instruments have been designed with the view of obtaining these
diagrams. They do not appear, however, to be in general use. 1 have here two
instruments which I have designed for this purpose. There are several details in
which I can see they require improvement, but I have found that they work fairly
well.
The first instrument (Plate VII) is constructed on the principle of the pitch
chain. The pins or pivots of a pitch chain such as the driving chain of a bicycle
always remain parallel to each other, however the shape of the chain may vary.
These pivots are prolonged on one side of the chain in the instrument, so that when
placed on a head they lie in contact with it ; at the other ends they are pointed.
The pins are pressed in contact with the head by spiral springs wound on the pins
between the links of the chain. The diagram is obtained by pressing a sheet of
paper on the pointed upper ends of the pins. The objections to this instrument
are that it is inconvenient to handle, and the operation of taking a diagram is
somewhat unpleasant for the person being operated upon.
To get over some of these objections, I have devised another instrument
(Plate VIII), in which contact plates are pressed against the head by radial
pistons actuated by compressed air. Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 2
is a half plan.
The framework of the apparatus is a ring, A, of aluminium alloy (such as
Bowenite) which can be cast. In this ring are bored 48 radial holes, JB, all of which
on each half of the ring communicate with a channel, C, in the periphery of the
ring. This channel is closed so as to form a tube, by shrinking on a ring, D, of
the aluminium alloy on the turned periphery of the main ring. If the aluminium
alloy is not strong enough to stand the shrinkage, brass may be used. In each of
the radial holes is fitted a piston, E, with double cupped leather packing, which
must work with very little friction, and yet be quite air-tight. I have made
packing out of old kid gloves which is perfectly satisfactory. The leather is
soaked in water for a day and 'then pressed into a cup mould.
The piston rods, F, are thin plates of brass lying in the vertical diameter of
the cylinder, and kept vertical by a notched ring, G, covering half the mouth of
the cylinders. The section of this ring is L shaped, and it is recessed and fastened
by screws on to the main ring. Eivetted to the ends of the piston rods are
vertical plates, some shaped like the legs of callipers, H, and some like combs, /,
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). I
114 J. (TRAY. — Cephalometrie Instruments and Cephalograms.
which press against the head when the pistons are forced forward simultaneously
by air pressure.1 At the upper end of each plate is a sharp point, J, lying in
the same vertical line as the point of contact with the head. This is to enable
a sheet of paper to be pressed on the points, to receive a projection of the outline
of the head. The sheet of paper is placed on a cork board, K, which is hinged
at one end to the main ring. The hinge is fitted with a spring, L, which causes
the board with the paper to turn down on the points when a spring latch, M, has
been released.
A self-centring device is fitted to bring the centre of the main ring always
over the centre of the head. For centring sideways two bell crank levers, N,
are used geared together by toothed segments, 0, and pressed against the sides of
the head by springs (omitted in the drawing). For centring lengthways two
inclined planes, P, fixed to a ring, Q, running round the periphery of the main ring,
are used. These inclined planes act on studs, R, on the two extreme pistons which
pass through slots underneath the cylinder. These two end cylinders are cut
off from the air pressure applied to the other cylinders.
The two end pistons are pulled outwards by spiral springs, S, and are pushed
inwards by the inclined planes. The ring of the inclined planes will have a few
plain studs, T, for turning it, these being forced up to the fixed studs, U. After
each operation the inclined planes are retracted by two springs, V.
CEPHALOGRAMS.
Instruments such as have been described for obtaining the contour of the
head, have been called cephalographs ; the diagrams may be called cephalograms
by those who have no objection to an addition to our already extensive scientific
terminology.
I have shown in the illustration (fig. 1) a few of the diagrams I have, obtained
with these instruments, all being from living heads. The persons have been taken
at random, and I have no means of ascertaining whether they are typical
specimens of their people or district.
The results, however, show a considerable resemblance between persons of the
same people and habitat. The three Parsees are about exactly alike and are very
different from the Brahmin. Persons from the same districts of England and
Scotland appear to resemble each other more than they do persons from different
districts.
I think these cephalograms promise to furnish us with a powerful means of
analysing people into their racial elements. The callipers, however, is likely to
remain the principal instrument for the preliminary work of an ethnographical
survey.
1 The calliper legs are used on the forehead and at the back of the head, and the combs are
used at the sides of the head, the object being to get a diagram whose length and breadth shall
be equal to those measured by the ordinary callipers.
J. GRAY. — Cephalometric Inxlrniin'nts and CcpJuilof/rams. 115
front
Rarsce I /EAnglia I /E.Anglia
Derby) iShropshrl I Hertford! I S.Wales
Lancashl I Dumfries 1 lEdinbord /Aberdeenl lAberdee
Brahmirt I Nejrro |/V\.Qe
Aberdeen I Dublin
FIG. 1.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol, XXXI, Plate VI.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate VII.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate VIII.
NOTES ON THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BAGANDA.
BY THE REV. JOHN ROSCOE.
[COMMUNICATED BY J. G. FKAZEK, 23RD APKIL, 1901.]
THE Reverend John Roscoe is an energetic member of the Church Missionary
Society who for many years has laboured in Uganda. Despite ill-health and
overwork he has made time to write out the following answers to the list of
questions issued by Dr. J. G. Frazer (cf. Journal Anthropological Institute,
xviii, 431).
We trust that we are not committing any breach of faith in printing the
following interesting extracts from his letters to Dr. Frazer.
On the 10th December, 1899, Mr. Roscoe wrote : — " Had the work been done
twelve years earlier it would have been much easier ; we should have been able to
get old people who would have given reasons for some of the customs ; now I may
question twenty people without gaining the point I require."
" Just before leaving Toro, I heard there are some men who say they have
the labour pains for their wives. I was asking about the midwifery customs, and
this was told me. The men are said to have all the pains, whilst the women go on
with their regular duties, perfectly happy until the time of delivery. The
relatives too go to the men and ask for the child."
" All I have just written [January 8th, 1900] on the matter of the spirits is
quite new to me. I was told they had no such customs, and it was quite
accidentally I found a little bit of information which has thrown a flood of light
on some of them. All burial customs are closely connected with their ideas of
the spirits, and if a corpse is not decently interred the spirit will haunt the
relatives and bring sickness or calamity upon the house. Even the people I
think I can trust often mislead me through carelessness, or allow some important
thing to pass over and thus give wrong impressions. It is strange how the
women were ignored in all the old customs ; they did not take part in any of
the ceremonies, and only in the case of an aunt does the spirit seem to be
feared."
"For a month past [April 27th, 1900] I have been unable to get any
assistance with the verifying of my notes, owing to all the chiefs being so busy
framing new laws. The British Government has just introduced quite a new
system of governing the country and abolished the Baganda system and laws.
IIS REV. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda.
This has taken up all of the time of my helpers and also their thoughts for a time.
It was well you put me up to making notes of the old customs before all this came
in and thus gave me a little time to get the main facts down. Now all of what
was so very interesting is being swept away at one stroke by the Government,
in the name of civilisation. It is creating a good deal of ill-feeling amongst the
people, especially the peasants, who do not understand what to expect next. If
only our Government had been able to go just a little more quietly, they would
have gained their end without creating all the ill-feeling there now is."
" Some of the questions I do not answer as they do not apply to the Baganda,
and some I can only partially answer because the men I ask either do not know
or are not agreed. It is most remarkable how soon they forget their old customs,
and how little they know of the reasons for the things they do."
1. Tribes and Clans.
Kibe, or fox.
Nkima, monkey.
Mamba, a large fish.
Nsinene, a small green locust.
Lugavwe, kind of lizard.
Ngeye, squirrel.
Musu, a large rat.
Mpindi, beans like dwarf beans.
Endiga, sheep.
Nkole, a monkey.
Mbogo, buffalo.
Njovu, elephant.
Mpeo, gazelle.
Ngabi, antelope.
Nyonyi, birds.
JButiko, a small mushroom.
Mvubu, hippopotamus.
Erikeje, small fish ; sprats.
Fumbe.
Ngonge.
Namungona, crows.
Nyama, meat.
Kasimba, small wild cat.
Nkebuka.
Ntonyeza, rain drops from the roof.
Ntalagangya, zebra.
Ngo, leopard.
Ndegea, kind of tailor bird.
Mpisi, hyena.
Nkenda.
Mvuma.
Embwa, dogs.
Nyange, kind of white water bird.
2. There is no distinctive dress, but the children are named by names peculiar
to the clan to which they belong.
3. The names may be of animals as Mbizi, the pig, or of natural objects as
Msoke, a rainbow, or after one of the deities as Mukasa, god of the lake, or for
some peculiarity, Lubutokyoto, literally hot stomach or Musenzalanda, the slave who
sits by the door and gradually works his way into the family.
4. The totem, or muziro as it is called by the Baganda, is not regarded by
them as sacred, but may not be killed or eaten by any of the clan, though other
clans may do so with impunity. They do not freely speak of their muziro, nor
will they tell you what it is, but refer you to someone else to do so.
EEV. J. EOSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the JJaganda. 119
5. They believe anyone eating or killing their totem will either die or fall ill
or have sores break out all over his body.
The only origin they have of the totems is that one of their forefathers
partook of that animal or bird, etc., and fell ill, and from that time it was looked
upon as injurious to them, and they took it as their totem.
Birth, Descent, Adoption.
7. During pregnancy a woman is not allowed to eat salt or hot food, but
periodically she is given a special kind of salt which acts as a mild aperient. A
few days before she is confined she is secluded and daily rubbed with oil to make
all the parts soft and supple. If she is delivered during the day she is taken out
into an enclosure at the back of the house and stripped. She then holds on to a
post in the ground which is firmly planted for the purpose and is delivered
stooping, from behind. If she is confined during the night it takes place in the
house.
In the case of a chief who has many wives he does not cohabit with one
who is nursing a baby.
9. The husband is free from any ceremony.
Baptism.
10. When a child or children are to be baptised, two or more families may
join in the ceremony. The children may be baptised at any time between the
ages of two and eight years old. The ceremony takes place in one of the houses
of one of the parties whose child is to be baptised, and in the presence of a goodly
gathering of the relatives. A feast is given according to the position and wealth
of those concerned ; if poor only a fowl will be cooked, but if wealthy an ox or
goats will be cooked. The mothers of those to be baptised would have a girdle of
plantain fibre to distinguish them from the other women present. The children
are brought out of the house and sit on mats in front of the people. The food is
then served and the guests and relatives partake, the latter eating theirs in the
house. The mothers, however, are not allowed to partake until after the children
have been proved to be legitimate. This is done as follows : — each mother at birth
preserves the umbilical cord until after baptism ; this is now produced well greased,
a bowl containing a mixture of milk, beer, and water is brought, and the cord is
dropped into it ; if it floats the child is legitimate, but if it sinks the child is said
to be illegitimate. This process is watched with great interest, and when it is seen
to float a cry of " Eh ! Eh ! " is uttered by all in a shrill tone, and the grandfather
then goes through the genealogy of the child, mentioning the male relatives for
some generations back. If, however, the child is proved to be illegitimate, the
mother is dragged out and severely flogged. A strong girl, a relative of one of
those to be baptised, is now brought out and one child is placed on her back ; it
clings there by its legs round her and its arms passed under her arms and on to
her shoulders ; a second child IB placed on the back of the first, and if there is a
120 KEV. J. EOSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda.
third, that is placed on the back of the second. When thus arranged the bowl
with the mixture is brought out and poured over their heads by the grandfather.
The baptism over, they can resume their seats. The mothers now sit on a mat
with their legs straight before them, and the grandfather takes a piece of the food
in a banana leaf in his right hand and a piece of fish in the left hand, and rests
his hands on the woman's feet, then goes through the child's genealogy, beginning
with his own name, not the father's, and moves the food up nearer and nearer the
woman's mouth as he mentions each name until he ends by putting it to her lips.
The woman then takes a little of each and is allowed to eat her meal. All the
food that is left is divided among the children. Next morning the children are
named by their grandfathers. The custom of royalty is to choose for the first-born
the name of the great-grandfather, but the peasants may choose any name of a
relative. The spirit of the person after whom the child is named is supposed to
enter into the child, and according to the prowess of the ancestor so will be the
bravery of the child. The children then have their heads shaved and the ceremony
is ended.
12. Should the first child born to a chief or a king be a boy it is killed at
the birth because it is said to be the heir, and the father will surely die if it is left
alive. The father is not told of the sex of the child but simply that it was a still-
born one ; this saves the wife from any ill-feeling from her husband, who might
accuse her of wanting a child to succeed him.
Children born feet first are also killed, as they are said to be the cause of
death and the parents will die if they are allowed to live. The bodies of those
thus killed are buried in one of the thoroughfares, as are the bodies of witches and
outcasts.
13. A child always takes the muziro of the father and is reckoned as one of
his clan.
14. Adoption is practised, but there is no ceremony. The child is usually
sent secretly to the people who adopt it. The reason for this practice was to
save the children in case the father did anything wrong and displeased the king,
who would at once send and capture the man with his wives and all his children
and put them to death. The girls were as a rule taken to be slaves or wives of
the king or to whom he chose to give them. The above rule, therefore, applied
only to boys. The friend who adopted the child brought it up as his own, but in
case he fell into disgrace the child was claimed by the parents and thus saved.
Skin markings.
18. The only marks or tatuing the Baganda have are what they call njola.
There is among them no filing or cutting of the teeth, but on the shores of the lake
near the Buvumu Islands there are a few women who pierce the lower lip. These
are said to be more Bavumu than Baganda.
19. Many of the women have on their stomachs a large W-shaped figure ; it
extends from each breast to the pit of the stomach, and the point comes to the
KEY. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manners'o.nd Customs of the Baganda. 121
centre of the chest. None of the king's wives were allowed to have njola, because
the women who could bear the pain were said to be capable of killing him. The
tatuing was performed by one of the native doctors, ^ «,
who received a small fee which the husband paid. When ' oj
*
the woman was well she brought her husband a fowl. ^v x/
The njola is said to have been done to please the husband. V\ //^
v»Jv'
who could feel it on his body when he had connection Vy 0 ^
with his wife. TATU-MARKS OF BAGANDA
21. Only women are tatued among the Bagauda.
a. a. represent the breasts.
22. It is only performed for beauty and that only
by the married women. No princess nor wife of the king or of the Nsenene
clan may be tatued.
Women.
23. Girls not yet married have a feast, and are not allowed to walk until
they are well. Married girls have a present of a bark-cloth and a feast. There is
no other ceremony such as that among the Wamegi near the coast, where the girls
are deflowered by certain old women.
24. They are not secluded but may not come near a man or touch anything of
his or sit on his bed or mat.
25. No woman is secluded during the time of menstruation, but is not
allowed to touch anything belonging to her husband or even cook for him until
perfectly recovered. If she touches anything of his he will surely fall ill, or if it
is his weapons he will surely be killed in the next battle.
26. Menstruation is supposed to be caused by the moon either when new or
waning. A woman who does not menstruate is said to be one who kills her
husband, and if he goes to war he first spears her sufficiently to draw blood to
ensure a safe return.
27. A man is forbidden to marry a woman belonging to the same clan as
himself except in the case of the Mamba clan and one or two other very large
clans.
28. No man was allowed to have sexual intercourse with any woman of the
same clan ; the infringement of the custom was punishable by death. All women
of the same clan as a man are regarded as his sisters.
29. In a case of the breach of the custom, the man would be sure to fall ill or
if married his children would fall ill and the guilt become known and then
punishment would follow.
30. A man may not marry into the clans of either of his parents, with the
exception of the Manaba clan, and in that no nearer relatives than second cousins
may intermarry.
31. Polygamy has for many years been universal ; in the early days of the
Baganda it is stated a man was only allowed one wife, then two were allowed, and
later a third. For years no more were allowed until the people became lax with
regard to the old customs, and introduced reasons for the increase of wives until it
122 KEY. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda.
was regarded as a sign of great wealth to have many women or wives. But even
then three women were always chosen out to be the true wives of the chief or king,
and all. the others were regarded as their assistants.
32. Princesses, who were never allowed to marry, but were regarded as the
king's wives, constantly committed adultery, but if found out were put to death.
However one princess, who was given the title of Lubuga (" king sister ") and was
looked upon as a king, or as we should say queen, took as many men as she liked,
and though she was not officially allowed to marry it was commonly said that all
Baganda was her husband. The dowager queen also did the same thing, but these
were the only two whom the king and people allowed to have more than one
husband.
33. Polygamy was the outcome of wealth ; a man might not be able to conceal
cattle but he could get women and hide them away and not excite the envy of the
king or chief. A chief feared the king and therefore instead of collecting numbers
of cattle he bought women.
34. In the case of a chief a messenger is sent and sounds the parents to see if
they are agreeable to the match ; if they consent then the girl is asked. In some
cases the girl is first consulted, but this is not the usual form. If both parties
agree a quantity of beer is sent to the parents as a token of the betrothal, and
later the marriage dowry is discussed, and the amount settled by the parents and
the relatives. The beer is a most important part in the betrothal and legalises it ;
in after years if any dispute arises and the legality of the marriage is questioned it
is always sufficient to say beer was given and accepted.
Peasants often obtained wives from their masters as tokens of favour, or as a
gift for service. Not infrequently they got them by capture during war.
35. The usual custom, is for each man to have his own house and take his
wife there at once. Few women care to marry a man who has no house and
garden, the latter being looked upon as the woman's right, and in fact being the
chief cause for a man marrying that he should get food well cooked.
36. The bride is the only one to make any preparations for marriage ; she is
for six days well oiled all over. The oil is rubbed in to make the skin soft
and smooth. On the day of the marriage and the following day the bride does not
eat much food but does not fast.
37. When the dowry has been paid and the relatives are satisfied the friends
of the bride gather at the parents' house and those of the bridegroom at his house,
and after dark, about eight o'clock at night, the bride is carried off to her husband.
She is bedecked with beads, bracelets, anklets, etc., many of them being borrowed
from her friends for the occasion. When half-way the party is met by a deputa-
tion from the husband, his sister being his representative, the other party stop
and the bride's brother comes forward and takes the bride by the right hand, and
gives her over to the bridegroom's sister. Presents are then given to the bride's
party according to their rank, and they return home, leaving her to be taken
on by the bridegroom's party. One girl accompanies the bride who is called
REV. J. EOSCOE. — Notes on the, Manners and Customs of the Bayanda. 123
the Mperekezi ; she remains three days and then returns home. When the bride
reaches the door of the house in which her husband is, she refuses to enter it
until she receives a few cowrie shells ; she then enters the room but will not sit
until she receives another five or six cowries. Food is next served, but the bride
will not eat until five more cowries are given her by her husband. The cowrie
shells are a token of his love to her, and if he refuse to give them she is free to
return home. There is no promise made by the husband that day, though the
sister has made a promise to the bride's brother that his sister will be well treated
and proper care taken of her.
08. The bride is veiled when she goes to her husband and continues to wear
the veil for a month after marriage. There appears to be no ceremony either
when she is veiled or unveiled.
40. The little girl who accompanies the bride may be regarded as a brides-
maid. She remains with the bride for four days and seldom goes out of her
presence, and during the time she remains the husband and wife sleep in separate
parts of the house, as the Mperekezi sleeps with the bride. The object of the girl's
presence is said to be to prove the bride is not a slave who has no one to care for
her or defend her rights. At the end of four days the Mperekezi returns home
taking with her all the armlets, anklets, necklets, etc., and is given a present of
100 shells. When she leaves the place she goes out as the bride, returning to her
old home, and is welcomed by the relatives as the bride who left them. At the end
of a month or sometimes two months the bridegroom chooses four men, who come
to his house, and he promises in their presence, and before his wife, to care for her
and treat her with all due consideration. These men are then regarded by both
parties as the guardians of the marriage rights, and if there is in the future
any unpleasantness, or if either wrongs the other, or if the wife commits adultery,
they are called in to settle the matter, and if possible to reconcile them. After
the promises are made there is a second marriage feast and the wife takes her
place as the mistress of the house.
In the case of peasants the bride only remains in seclusion from two to four
days. Her relatives then bring her presents of food and fowls, etc. She cooks
these and they have a feast in honour of her coming out of her seclusion. She
afterwards goes about her regular duties.
42. The man may not cohabit with his wife during the time the Mperekezi is
present, that is for four days.
44. No one but the husband was ever allowed to deflower a girl ; and girls
were carefully guarded lest any one should do so. There was an old custom of
sending to the parents a present of meat wrapped up in the bark-cloth with the
blood from the girl which had flowed during her first connection with her husband.
The meat and bark-cloth were a token she had remained pure to the time her
husband took her. The girl was given the remainder of the meat from the animal
killed in honour of the event, and was also given a bark-cloth.
45. The only time they abstain from their wives is during the menstruation,
124 EEV. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda.
and if a man has a good number of wives he will also do so during pregnancy and
whilst she is nursing ; during the time of mourning it is customary to abstain from
sexual intercourse.
46. For a time during the reign of Mutesa, wives were exchanged among the
greater chiefs, and they also sent them to the king, but this appears to have been
introduced by Arabs.
46A. The widows of a chief were divided up into four lots : —
1 . Those to guard the tomb.
2. Those the heir took.
3. Those who were given to the king.
4. Those who were given to the clan.
Those for guarding the tomb were the ones who had borne children to the
deceased. Those for the king were the pick of the virgins who had never known
a man. The heir then took his pick of those who were left. In his case those
chosen were at liberty to refuse him if they liked ; in such a case the relatives had
to refund the dowry which had been given.
There was a custom for all the widows after the funeral to gather together in
the house, and the centre post was taken out and put into the fire and all round it
sat there warming themselves. Those who had relatives were then taken from
the fire by those who claimed to be relatives, and those who were left were slaves
because there was no one who claimed them. If a relative on those occasions was
left at the fire she could not afterwards be reclaimed ; she was for ever a slave.
The taking down and burning the main post was to show the owner was dead and
the house broken up, and the widows sat there in sorrow, being left desolate until
reclaimed by their relatives.
47. No man may see his mother-in-law, or speak to her face to face. If he
wants to have any communication with her it must be done by a third person or
through a wall or closed door. If he breaks this rule he will be sure to be seized
with shaking of the hands and general debility.
They may not see or speak to one another, because of the relations in which
they stand to the wife ; it is said to be like looking upon the mother's nakedness.
The woman may speak to her father-in-law, but may not take his hand or
touch him or even hand him anything.
48. Brothers and sisters may speak to one another ; there is no restriction
whatever on their intercourse.
Disease and death.
Death is attributed to Walumbe, a spirit which came from Katonda (God)
when Kintu the father of the Baganda and their great ancestor came from heaven.
They say when Kintu first came to the earth Katonda gave him a parting feast
and then commanded him to go to the earth and inhabit it. He gave him one of
each thing he was likely to require, a cow, a goat, sheep, fowl, a plantain, grain of
maize, etc. His parting word was to start in the morning early and by no means
REV. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manner* and Customs of the Baganda. 125
to let his brother Walumbe know he was going, and if he forgot anything he was
not to return for it. Next morning Kintu and his wife Nambi Natutululu set off
to the earth, and as they were descending Nambi remembered she had forgotten the
bulo (a small grain, the food for the fowl). She told her husband, but he refused
to give her permission to return and reminded her of the parting word of their
father. She however would not listen to Kintu, but ran back and snatched up the
grain which was at the door of the house, but as she was hurrying back to rejoin
her husband Walumbe met her and asked, " Where are you going, my sister, so early,
and leaving me behind ? " Her efforts to shake him off were in vain, and she had
to go on to her husband Kintu with Walumbe. Kintu was very angry and rated
her soundly, but the mischief was done and Walumbe went with them. In the
process of time when they had children Walumbe killed them, and Kintu then
tried to catch him and put him to death, but he fled to a deep ravine in which is a
cave and remained there to the present time. The place is called Ntanda ; it is in
the province of Singo. To the present day if a person dies from any complaint
not understood they say he died of Lumbe.
50. As disease is caused by witchcraft or from the direct influence of some
spirit the Mandwa (priest) is called in to divine the cause and tell the people.
If he says the disease is caused by some evil- disposed person then that person is
caught and fined or in some cases killed. If it is the influence of an evil spirit
then they have to try to propitiate the spirit, a goat if it is a chief, or a fowl if
it is a poor person, or if too poor for this then a goat skin or a fowl's feather
may be employed. The person if possessed may thus be freed ; but if the spirit
is not thus expelled then they get some kind of herbs which smell very strongly
and burn these in the house, and the spirit (which cannot bear the smoke) is
driven away. Women seem to be the ones who are mostly spirit-possessed.
Men may be made ill by some spirit or the children killed either at birth or soon
after ; in such a case it may be the man has not interred some relative in a
becoming manner, and the spirit is haunting him for this cause ; or if it is his
children who are being killed then it is his aunt who has some grudge against
him.
51. These spirits do not possess the people, but take up their abode in the huts
at the top of the centre-pole, and from there they do all the mischief. The Mandwa
is in this case called in to tell the cause, and he first finds the abode of the spirit
and commands an offering to be made to it ; either a goat or a fowl according to the
rank of the individuals ; these are kept alive and are neve,r allowed to be killed or
sold, and if they die they must be replaced at once. In case the spirit is not then
satisfied a second Mandwa, of greater skill than the first, is called in, and he says
the spirit must be caught. To do this he brings a horn either of a cow or of a
buffalo, and in it he places a cowrie shell and either a snail shell or a seed of the
wild plantain in the small end, and puts the horn on a long stick and raises it up
the post. During the whole process the house has to be in darkness and only a
few people in the room. When the Mandwa has reached the top of the pole with
126 'REV, J. EOSCOE. — Notes on the Manners find Customs of the Bayandn.
the horn he shakes it about until the friction of the shells inside make a squeaking
noise. This he declares to be the spirit in the horn, and it is quickly lowered and
a piece of bark-cloth thrown over it, and the horn put in a water pot or gourd and
carried off to the river, wherein it is thrown, and the troublesome spirit drowned,
or it is taken to the forest and thrown there and left bottled up, to be burned
next time the grass fires take place.
52. There are other methods of curing sickness, however ; in case of a chief
who has some evil attached to him he may be advised to bring a cow which is
killed near the house, and the blood is caught and some of it is sprinkled on the
door posts, and a stout stick on to which some grass is fastened is also besprinkled
and placed across the doorway ; the sick man who has been brought out to witness
this is then besprinkled on the forehead and on either shoulder and on his legs below
the knees. When he is besprinkled he has to jump over the stick in the doorway,
and as he does so he lets his bark-cloth fall off; he must not look behind him at all
but go straight on. The Mandwa then takes up the meat and the bark-cloth
and goes the opposite way, never looking behind. The meat he eats with his
friends in the open space before the chief's house. The evil is then atoned for and
clings to the bark-cloth. In other cases he is taken into the garden after the door-
posts have been sprinkled, and the Mandwa takes a plantain stem some six feet
long and makes a long cut down it, and opens it wide enough for the man to pass
through it. As he passes he leaves behind his bark-cloth and walks straight on into
the house. The Mandwa then takes the plantain stem and carries it into the road
and throws it there. The meat of the animal, cow, or goat, he takes and eats in
the open space before the house. In the case of peasants who cannot afford a goat
for the blood, they make a mixture of wood ashes and water with which the
door-posts and the man are sprinkled. When the person recovers it is customary
to give a goat or fowl to be kept alive as the property of the spirit.
54. The ghost is greatly feared ; it is thought it takes up its abode in the hut
on the longest pole, but only the spirit of the aunt or of some relative not
properly interred, that is not with sufficient pomp or honour, is feared. These
latter are greatly feared; they are said to wander about for a few days,
perhaps a couple of weeks, then they come and take up their abode in the house
and begin to make the inmates suffer. Usually the head of the house is stricken
with some disease and the Mandwa has to divine what is the cause ; if it is not
some person who has bewitched him then it is supposed to be a spirit, and the
offended spirit has to be found. This is done by gathering all the information
he can from every source. When they are satisfied as to the cause of illness they
first try to propitiate the spirit by offerings, and if the person recovers then they
say the spirit has gone and is satisfied, and the grave is carefully repaired and
kept for the future. Should however the spirit continue to trouble the man then
they have to apply to some other Mandwa to corne.
The spirit of a relative resents very strongly the corpse being thrown into the
grass and not being buried, and even a slave will haunt a house for this offence.
RF.V. J. ROSCOE. — Note* on the Manners find Custom* of the Bayanda. 127
There are stories told of two chiefs who threw out the corpses of their slaves and
left them to the wild beasts in the grass ; the spirits came to them and would not
be propitiated until in the case of the Katambala he consented to have his own
body buried only in a cow hide and near the forest and not in the family grave.
For years the Katambala has been thus buried, each successive chief has from
fear agreed to this mode of dishonourable burial. The Kaira, a chief in Singo,
has also for some years not been allowed to be buried owing to one of the
former chiefs throwing out a slave's corpse ; these chiefs are taken to a hill
called Mugulu and the body, which is tied up in a cow hide, thrown over a
precipice and left there.
55. The late King Mutesa also had a spirit which haunted him for some years ;
this was said to be the spirit of one of his wives ; she was the favourite and he
had some words with her and ordered her to be cut up. This was done and her
spirit then refused to permit the remains to be buried ; it appeared to the king by
night and made him have them removed from one place to another, and when
he built a large house in honour of the spirit it demanded first one slave, then
another, or cattle until it became very wealthy. The remains were never buried
but placed in the tomb built for their reception. Then the spirit would not
allow the king to take any other woman to wife, and also told him he would
suffer from certain diseases, all of which is said to have come about, and the
spirit at last told him when he was going to die.
56. When a person dies the corpse is laid in state in his principal house.
The widows and mourners all stand around and the eldest son is brought in. One
of the relatives places in the right hand of the corpse the seeds of the Nsuju (a kind
of vegetable marrow), arid the son takes them out with his lips and chews them; he
then spits out part of them over the corpse and the rest over one of the widows
who has either borne no children or only girls. This woman then becomes his
wife. 'This ceremony is to show to all the mourners the deceased has a son, for no
one but his son may perform the above ceremony. This ceremony is called
Kulumira Mpambo. When the corpse is being interred if the deceased has a
grandson he comes and cuts off a corner of one of the bark-clothes which has
been left unfolded purposely, and takes it away with him; he then throws
the knife with which he cut the cloth at one of the widows, who becomes his
wife. This woman must also be one who has borne no male children to the
deceased.
During the time of mourning there is no sexual connection allowed among
the mourners; the period of mourning may be from ten days to a month according
to the rank of the dead person. When it is over the relatives bring large pots of
beer and place them at the door of the house in which the mourning is held, then
some plantains are cooked and with them are mixed some of the kind only used
for making beer to show it is the food of sorrow. Each of the mourners take a
little of this food and the remainder is thrown down and trodden under foot in the
dance which then takes place. The dance goes on all night, and early next morning,
128 EEV. J. BOSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Bayanda.
when it begins to get light, the mourners cut down the main post which is in the
centre of the house and put it on the fire. This shows the mainstay is gone.
Eound the fire sitting on the post gather all the widows who have no relatives or
who are of another tribe. All the widows who have relatives stand round the
room; should one of the widows who has a relative present go there and sit on
the post he would at once remove her or otherwise she would be regarded as the
sole property of the heir. A fowl is cooked and divided up and each man eats a
little and the widows eat a small kind of fish like a sprat ; some only smell it and
throw it down. When this ceremony is over the heir is brought and stands at the
door of the house, and his uncle (a brother of the deceased) comes and throws over
him a bark-cloth, and announces to all those present: "This is the heir of the
deceased." Each person then comes and ties on. his right wrist a few cowrie shells,
and all those who have unpaid debts come to him and announce the amount the
deceased owed to them. The heir is next presented with a shield, a spear, and a
large knife, and a girl is also given to him as a wife ; she carries a smaller knife.
They next go to the garden and cut a bunch of plantains of the kind from which
beer is made, and this is sent to be made into beer for the people to drink, who
rejoice that the mourning is ended. When they return a bark-cloth is placed
inside the house in the place of the master of the house, and the heir goes and
sits on it. All who come to call and condole with him in the loss of his parent
give him a few shells which they place on the bark-cloth.
In the evening a goat is killed and cooked. The liver is cooked separately
and given to the orphans and the widows ; all the mourners who are clean,
that is, have not had sexual relations, are allowed to partake of the feast. If any
one, however, who has had sexual relations, eats of the meat, he will be sure to die.
During the mourning the hair is unkempt and the finger nails left to grow long and
ashes mixed with water are rubbed on the chest. A girdle of dry plantain leaves
is worn and plantain fibre placed on the floor and the plantains peeled at the door
of the house and the skins left there. All the partitions of the house are also
removed and the whole house thrown open. When the mourning is over the heads
of all are shaved and the nails trimmed and the house cleaned and renovated.
The mourning is then at an end.
The Death and Burial of the King.
When the king becomes seriously ill few people are allowed to visit him, nor
are the ordinary people told the nature of the illness ; it is always called influenza.
Formerly all the wives were allowed to wait on the sick king but on one occasion
the wives in their sorrow fell upon the sick man and killed him outright, and after
that only a few to act as nurses and the Katikiro were present during the last days
of the king. Directly after death the body is washed and the limbs straightened
out and the body wrapped in bark-clothes and placed in one of the large houses in
the king's enclosure. The king's sister, who holds the office of Nalinya (king's
sister), is the guardian with some of the executioners. The large drums kept for
REV. J. EOSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of tin' JJoyanda. 129
the purpose then beat out the news of the death and the fire at the entrance to
the palace, which is lighted every night when the king is in the capital and in
health, is extinguished ; these are the signs for the people to put on mourning.
They at once rush to the bananas for the dried leaves and put on old bark -clothes
with a girdle of the dried leaves as the national sign of sorrow and mourning for
llir king. Then all rush to the king's enclosure, where they remain all night.
In the meantime the Katikiro has called up Kasuju, who is the guardian of the
princes and together they choose a new king. Should they differ about the
prince to be chosen they fight it out, and the stronger party places their prince
upon the throne. When the new king is chosen he chooses a new Kago and with
the Mugema (keeper of the king's tombs) and the Sebaganzi (brother of the king's
mother) the king's uncle, go to the house where the body is lying in state and
the king takes a piece of bark-cloth and covers the late king's face. He then
with all the people except the Mugema and Kago who remain to guard and look
after the dead, goes to Busiro to a place called Budo where there is a large stone
on which the new king sits to be crowned.
The body of the late king is taken to Busiro the Mugema's province to be
embalmed and is kept there for two months for this purpose. When this period
has elapsed it is taken to a hill which has been chosen for the tomb and a house
built there for its reception. In this hut a kind of bedstead is built on which a
number of bark-clothes are spread and on these the corpse is placed, more bark-
clothes are put on the top to cover it and then the door is closed. Around the
house a strong fence is made and a number of men and women who held office
under the late king are put to death, the men on the right side and the women on
the left. They are the Kauta the king's cook, the Seruti the brewer, Sebalija
the chief of the herdsmen, and Kalinda the head of the men who tended at
the entrance of the enclosure. The women are, Omufumbiro cook, Omusibika
keeper of the king's bed, Omusenero drawer of the king's wine, Omulidamazi the
keeper of the water. These are brought to the door of the tomb with their hands
tied behind them and are clubbed to death ; their bodies are not removed but left
where they fell, and the strong fence is to keep off the wild beasts. A second fence
is then made to enclose all the houses of the keepers of the tomb ; these may be
fift}r or more, all of them women who have been the late king's wives. Wrhen the
fence is completed a number of prisoners who have been imprisoned for various
crimes by the late king, are brought and killed within the second fence and their
bodies left as the former were.
After a period of five months the tomb is visited by the new king's uncle and
three chiefs Kago, Mugema, and Sebata with a few soldiers, and Gunju, one of the
party, enters the tomb and severs the head from the late king's body and brings
it out and puts it into an ant heap for the insects to eat off all the flesh. The
skull is then taken and washed in a special river Ndyabuwom. The door-posts
of the hut are taken out directly the skull has been removed, and the roof allowed
to come down so as to prevent anyone else from going into the tomb. The skull
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). K
130 KEY. J. ROSCOE. — Notes on the Manners and Customs of the Baganda.
after being cleaned is filled, first, with wine which Kalogo, one of the late king's
priests, drinks, and then with milk. This man is especially marked out for the
spirit of the late king to possess. Up to this time the spirit has not entered any
dwelling but now is to have a place of its own. The skull is then taken to the
new king and after he has been told they have brought the king he sends away
the skull to the tomb, but the lower jaw is placed in a jar made for the purpose,
and this is covered with bark-clothes, and these are made up into the shape of a
man and decorated with beads, etc. The skull is taken and put back in the tomb,
but the jaw-bone represents the king as still alive and a house is built for its
reception.
In this house, which is also bee-hive shaped, there are two rooms, the outer one
in which the ordinary people may come and an inner one where the spirit of the
departed king is said to dwell. In front of the partition is a throne set and
covered with lion and leopard skins, and again in front of this is a rail of spears
and shields and knives, most of them of copper and brass and beautifully worked.
These keep the entrance to the throne sacred. When the Mandwa who is to be
possessed of the king's spirit wants to hold converse with the people in the king's
name, he first comes to this throne and speaks to the spirit inside the inner room
and tells the business of the people ; he then smokes one or two pipes, and after
a few moments he begins to rave and is then possessed with the spirit, and speaks
in the tone of the late king and speaks in the manner as he would have done.
The spirit after making known its wishes returns to the inner room and the
man can go away as before. The possession is only periodical.
In this house all the king's wives who bore him children live, and in houses
all around it in a large enclosure are other women who were his wives. Their
duties are to keep the place in order and look after the large reception room in
which there is a carpet of grass which is of a scented kind and so laid that not
one blade of grass is out of order. Near the enclosure is the old Nalinya or queen
sister who has control of all the place, and with her are several of the late king's
chiefs, who now have been pensioned off and hold a piece of land and bear the
same title as of old. This place is kept in repair by the new king and all the
fences kept in good order. If any of the women die they are replaced by the
relatives of the deceased from their clan.
( 131 )
THE JAPANESE GOHEI AND THE AINU INAO.
BY W. G. ASTON, C.M.G.
[READ AT THE MEETING, JUNE 19TH. WITH PLATE IX.]
SHINTO, the old native religion of Japan, though it contains other elements,
is substantially a nature-worship, the chief deities of which are the Sun-goddess,
the Moon-god, the Thunder-god, the Wind-gods, and various gods associated with
growth and the production of food. These natural powers are conceived of as
having human sentiments, and their worship comprises the offering of such objects
as would be acceptable to human beings, in order to testify the gratitude of the
donor or with the object of bringing down future blessings. Probably the more
enlightened worshipper is well aware that the gods make no use of the things
presented to them. But this does not affect the real object which he has in view,
namely, to make his hopes or gratitude visible to gods and men.
Shinto offerings are of the most varied character. They include weapons,
mirrors, tools, agricultural implements, lands, temples, slaves, riding-horses,
jewellery, food and liquor, and wearing apparel, whether in the form of pieces of
cloth or of the raw material for their manufacture. It was out of this last
description of offerings (called nusa by the Japanese) that the gohei were
developed. The clothing of the ancient Japanese consisted of silk, hempen fabrics,
and yufu, a stuff woven from the inner bark of the paper-mulberry. At first the
offerings consisted of so many ounces of hemp or bark-fibre or so many pieces of
cloth. But later they assumed a more specialised and conventional form, of which
the accompanying drawing (Fig. 2) will give an idea.1 These were called Oho-nusa
or " great offerings," and are still in use on important occasions, though for ordinary
purposes they have been superseded by the simplified form (Fig. 3), known to us
as gohei. The Olw-nusa consist of two wands, placed side by side, from the ends of
which depend a quantity of hempen fibre2 and a number of strips of paper. One
of the wands is of the cleyera japonica, or evergreen sacred tree. The other is of
bamboo. Their use is connected with an old Japanese rule of etiquette that
presents to a superior should be delivered attached to a branch of a tree, the
1 A slightly different form of Oho-nusa is figured on p. 35 of a valuable paper on " Ancient
Japanese Rituals," contributed by Dr. Karl Florenz to the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of
Japan, December, 1899.
* Reminding us of Homer's OT//X/IU 0eolo, which was of tufted wool attached to a wand
(<TKT)TTTpov), Iliad, I, 28.
K 2
132 W. G. ASTON. — The Japanese Gfohei and the Ainu Inao.
object of which was no doubt to mark a respectful aloofness of the giver from the
receiver. The paper-strips represent the yufu, or mulberry-bark fabric. The use
of yufu for clothing having become obsolete, owing to the introduction of cotton,
paper, which in Japan is made of the same material, was substituted for it. In the
Gohei, the hemp and one of the wands are omitted. Another form of nusa, called
Ko-nusa (little nusa\ or Kiri-nusa (cut nusa), consists of paper, with leaves of the
sacred tree, chopped up and mixed with rice. Travellers in ancient times carried
this mixture with them in a bag, and made offerings of it to the local deities along
their way. It was also used when in danger from shipwreck.
The reason for the prominence given to the gohei almost to the exclusion of
other kinds of offerings is to be looked for in the fact that the materials for
clothing which they represent were the currency of ancient Japan, in which all
values were estimated. They have therefore a representative character. We are
told, for example, that in A.D. 1151 a wild boar for offering at a certain Shinto
festival being unprocurable, eight pieces of cloth (its estimated value) were
substituted. The representative quality of the gohei is further illustrated by the
circumstance that gohei made of copper cash (Fig. 5) were known in later times.
Along with the alteration in the form of the nusa to the present gohei, there
came a change in the mental attitude of the worshipper. Originally mere offerings,
they were at length by virtue of long association looked upon as representatives of
the deity. Scholars like Motoori and Hirata denounce this view as a corruption of
later times, but it is no doubt at present the prevailing conception. Hepburn's
Japanese dictionary knows no other. It is illustrated by the fact that instead of
the worshipper bringing gohei to the shrine, these objects are now given out by the
priest to the worshipper, who takes them home and sets them up in his private
Kami-dana (god-shelf) or domestic altar.
A further step is taken when it is believed that on festival occasions- the god,
on a certain formula, called the Kami-oroshi or " bringing down the god," being
pronounced, descends into the gohei and remains there during the ceremony,
taking his departure at its close. In the vulgar Shinto of the present day this
belief in a real presence of the god is associated with hypnotism. The subject or
practitioner holds a gohei in his hands, and the violent, unintentional wobbling of
the gohei, as well as the hypnotic, inspired condition of the subject which ensue,
are attributed to the presence of the god, which enters his body by this channel.
Mr. Percival Lowell has given an interesting account of this and associated
practices in his Occult Japan.
Associated with the belief in an actual presence of a deity in the gohei is
their use in the Harai or purification ceremony, when they were flourished over
or rubbed against the person to be absolved of ritual uncleanness. It is stated by
Mr. Fukuzawa, in his recently published autobiography, that when the late Duke
of Edinburgh visited Japan in 1870 he was subjected to this ceremony before
being admitted to the Imperial presence. No such ceremony could possibly have
been permitted in their presence by the British officials concerned ; but at a
W. G. ASTON. — The Japanese Gohei and the Ainu Inan. 133
convenient distance, rites with gohei and other Shinto appliances were performed
in order to exorcise any evil spirits or influences which might have accompanied
the Prince from abroad.
There is a still further stage of belief, not, in so far as I am aware, illustrated
by the gohei, in which the object which has begun by being an offering ends by
being a distinct god. The gohei, however, are not the only material receptacles
for the Shinto divinities. Almost every shrine contains a Shintai or "god-body,"
also called a Tama-shiro or "spirit-representative." The Shintai has points
of resemblance to the Greek ayaXfja, which was originally, as its derivation
shows, a votive offering. It is usually packed away in a box, the contents of
which are sometimes unknown even to the priest, and may consist of a mirror,
a sword, a string of beads, a curious stone, a pot, a bow and arrows, etc. Some of
these objects, which it is clear were originally merely offerings, have attained to
the rank of independent deities. Thus the mirror, which is the Skintai of
the Sun-goddess, figures in the ancient mythical records not only as an offering
suspended to a branch of the sacred tree but as an emblem or representative of the
goddess and even as " the great deity worshipped at Ise." It is also the object
of a separate cult under the name Ame Kakasu no Kami. The sword Futsunushi,
presented by the Sun-goddess to the first Mikado, Jimmu Tenno, has numerous
shrines dedicated to it. Another sword, called Kusanagi or "the herb- mower,"
has been worshipped for centuries at Atsuta, near Nagoya. It was this sword
which Susa no wo found in the tail of the great serpent slain by him
to rescue a Japanese Andromeda, and sent as an offering to his sister, the
Sun-goddess.
The history of the gohei and Sliintai lends strong confirmation to Mr. Herbert
Spencer's view that fetishism is a later religious development.
May we not trace some sort of analogy between these Japanese ideas and the
Christian conceptions of the eucharistic bread or wafer as a sacrificial offering, an
emblem, the seat of a divine presence, or as le bon Dieu Himself ? The history of
the Indian god Soma also presents points of analogy.
The incto are to the Ainus of Yezo what the goliei are to the Japanese. They
are made of willow wands whittled at the top into a mass of shavings in the
manner shown in the illustration (Fig. 4). If they are compared with the
Oho-nusa (Fig. 2), it will be seen that there is a general resemblance of form, the
differences beirjg attributable to the different material used. The inao no doubt
had their origin among a ruder and poorer people, with whom paper was difficult
to procure. That they are directly traceable to Japan is further shown by the
fact that the alternative Ainu name for inao is the Japanese word nusa-. This is
by no means the only evidence of a close relation between the Ainu religion and
Shinto. The important Ainu words Kamui (god) and ongami (prayer) are also of
Japanese origin. Another point of agreement is the pre-eminent position given
in both religions to the Sun-goddess and the recognition by both of a dual
principle in the pairs of spirits — the aratama (rough spirit) and nigitama (gentle
134 W. G. ASTON. — The Japanese Gohei and the Ainu Inao.
spirit) of the Japanese, the shi acha (rough uncle) and mo aclw (uncle of peace) of
the Ainus.
There is, moreover, another curious link between the Ainu inao and the
Japanese gohei or mesa which has a special interest of • its own. We learn from
the Makura no Soshi, a work written about A.D. 1000, that it was then the custom,
during the spring festival, for the boys in the Imperial Palace to go about striking
the young women on the loins with the potsticks used for making gruel1 on that
occasion. This was supposed to ensure fertility. It reminds us of the Koman
practice at the spring festival of Lupercalia, alluded to by Shakespeare in his
Julius Ccesar —
" Forget not in your speed, Antonius,
To touch Calphurnia ; for our elders say
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their steril curse."
Now the Japanese antiquary and novelist Kioden, in his work entitled
Kottoshiu, written about a century ago, informs us that this custom was at that
time still in vogue in the northern province of Echigo. He gives a drawing
(Fig. 5) of the sticks used for the purpose, which, it will be observed, are in every
way similar to the Ainu inao. For the explanation of this coincidence we are
left to conjecture. It seems possible that the persons who first used these objects
instead of the older potsticks were familiar with them as cheaper substitutes for
the hemp or paper gohei or nusa, and that the practice dates from a time when
they were no longer considered as offerings but as embodiments of a divine
presence, and therefore naturally possessed of greater potency than common
potsticks. One name for them is iwai-gi. Iwai means taboo, religious abstinence,
worship, sacred, holy, congratulation, blessing ; and gi is for Jci, wood or stick.
Another name is Kedzuri-kake, which means " part-shaven." A Japanese book of
the early eighteenth century informs us that sticks resembling the wands used for
offerings at the purification ceremony were part-shaven, and set up in bundles at
the four corners of the Gion shrine in Kioto on the last day of the year. The
priests, after prayers were recited, broke up the bundles and set fire to the sticks,
which the people then carried home to light their household fires with for the new
year. The object of this ceremony was to avert pestilence. These sticks were
also called Kedzuri-kake.
Authorities are not agreed as to the precise character of the inao. Most
travellers, including Miss Bird, usually an accurate observer, describe them as
household gods. On the other hand, the Eev. John Batchelor, who resided for
eight years among the Ainus and was well acquainted with their language, says
in his Ainu of Japan : " It is no matter for surprise that travellers have taken
1 The gruel was of small red beans. Red is a masculine colour and is calculated to correct
the feminine (or gloomy) influences remaining over from the winter season. But this is perhaps
a later hypothesis only.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXIt I' late IX.
1. IWAl-Gl.
2. OHO-NUSA.
4. INAO.
3. GOHE1.
5. OOHEI OF COPPER CASH.
GOHEI AND INAO.
W. G. ASTON. — The Japanese Gohei and the Ainu Inao. 135
the inao to be gods ; in fact, it would have been a great wonder had they not done
so. But enough has been said to show that in no sense can the willow-wands be
called gods. They are merely offerings to the various deities."1 Mr. Batchelor's
view is doubtless in the main correct. At the same time, when we remember the
craving of some humanity for a tangible, visible, concrete object of worship, and
the fact that in Japan and elsewhere the offering has been known to pass into
the god, we may suspect that the contrary opinion held by Miss Bird is
something more than mere surmise. It would not be surprising to find that there
are some Ainus to whom the inao are actually gods.
1 In a paper contributed by Mr. Batch elor to the Transactions of the Japan Asiatic Society in
1895, he modifies the statement quoted above, and admits that in some cases the inao are direct
objects of worship, or, to use his own words, " genuine fetiches."
( 137 )
NOTE UPON THE NATIVES OF SAVAGE ISLAND, OR NIUE.
BY BASIL THOMSON.
WHEN Cook discovered Savage Island, he found it impossible to establish
communication with the natives : " the endeavours we used to bring them to a
parley were to no purpose ; for they came with the ferocity of wild boars, and
threw their darts." The Rev. John Williams, during his memorable voyage in the
Messenger of Peace, in 1 830, recruited two Niud boys, and subsequently sent them
back to the island as teachers, but, after a time, influenza having broken out
among the natives, and the two youths being accused of bringing it from Tahiti,
one was killed together with his father. The other escaped in company with the
boy who returned as a Christian teacher in 1848. Dr. Turner, who visited the
island in 1848 and in 1859, writes, "Natives of other islands who drifted there in
distress, whether from Tonga, Samoa, or elsewhere, were invariably killed. Any
of their own people who went away in a ship, and came back, were killed, arid all
this was occasioned by a dread of disease. For years after they began to venture
out to ships they would not immediately use anything obtained, but hung it in the
bush in quarantine for weeks."
Dr. Turner had great difficulty in landing the Niud teacher trained in Samoa ;
armed crowds rushed down to kill him ; they wanted to send his canoe and his
chest back to the mission ship as soon as they were landed, saying that the foreign
wood would cause disease among them. It is possible that an epidemic following
the Tongan invasion, or the arrival of castaways from other islands, had engendered
this dread of disease that led to so murderous a system of quarantine. The only
tradition of a visit from foreigners that seems to have an historical basis, is that
recording the invasion of the Tongans. According to the Niue tradition, the
natives awaited the Tongan attack behind a chasm, a rent in the limestone roof of
a cave near Aloft, whicli they had cunningly concealed with boughs. The Tongans,
ignorant of the pitfall, attacked desperately, and were precipitated into the cave
and killed. The cave was shown to me, and some human bones were unearthed in
proof of the story, but seeing that until recently caves were the usual places of
burial, they were not convincing evidence. A Tongan tradition evidently refers to
the same event.
At a date that may be computed by generations as about 1535, Takalaua,
the King of Tonga, was assassinated, and his son, Kau-ulu-fonua, pursued the
murderers from island to island until he caught and slew them at Futuna. Among
138 BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Nine.
the islands in which the murderers took refuge was Savage Island, and here the
pursuers landed upon a rock separated from the mainland by a narrow chasm,
across which the enemy had laid boughs. But in this version, as might be
expected from a Tongan narrator, they overleapt the chasm, and put the native
army to flight — a more probable result of the battle when the relative prowess of
the two peoples is compared. There is another Tongan tradition of a canoe
belonging to the King of Tonga drifting to Savage Island, but the tradition is too
fragmentary to warrant any attempt to fix the date. But the facts that the
Savage Islanders use the word " Tonga " to denote all foreign countries, and that
" Tui Tonga " was the title of the best known of their kings, point to an
intercourse with Tonga in comparatively remote times.
On the other hand, it is quite clear that the Savage Islanders are not a mere
offshoot from the Tongan stock, nor even pure Polynesians. The institutions of
Tonga are a dominant aristocracy ; those of Mue are republican. In Tonga every
public ceremony was accompanied by a highly elaborate ritual ; in Niue dignity
and gentle manners were unknown. The Tongan mode of warfare was frontal
attack by desperate charges ; the Niudan, a series of feints intended to frighten
the enemy, and entice him into ambush. The physiognomy of the people is not
pure Polynesian ; there seem to be two types, the one Polynesian, and the other
Micronesian, with all the gradations of hybrids between the two races, and I
question whether the island was not originally peopled from the Line Islands,
and the population modified by successive immigrations from Tonga, Earatonga,
Aitutaki and Samoa. The language, it is true, appears to be very much like the
Tongan, for I was able to understand the gist of everything that was said, but
the immigration of a superior race has often had the effect of impressing its
language and laws upon the inferior long before any change takes place in the
physical type. In Ongtong Java, for instance, there is a Melanesian race speaking
a Polynesian tongue, the result of intercourse with the crew of a single canoe
which drifted thither from Tonga, in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
The institutions of Niue seem always to have been republican. In ancient
times the ruling power was held by the " toa," or fighting men, and the party that
happened for the moment to be in the ascendant elected a king to be their mouth-
piece. It was a dignity that cost its holder dearly, for the object of the opposition
party was invariably to kill the king, and a violent death had come to be so often
the appanage of royalty that for eighty years before the introduction of Christianity,
and the consequent cessation of warfare, no one could be found willing to
undertake the office. Since the missionaries have controlled the island there have
been three kings; they were elected by the chiefs of villages, who had been
themselves elected by the people. They governed with the consent of a council
of these chiefs which met in the open air once a month, and they carried out their
decrees by the force of public opinion. There were no taxes beyond the obligation
to provide feasts for these councils, and occasionally to carry food to the king, or
to the chiefs of villages.
BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niu4. 130
The following is a list of the kings as far back as their names are recorded : —
Punimata, of Halafualangi, reigned at Fatuaua. (Died.)
Ngalianga, of Pulaki. (Killed.)
I'utuavalu, of Puato. (Died.)
Fokimata, of Pulaki. (Died.)
Pakieto, of Utavavau. (Starved to death.)
Interregnum of eighty years.
Tuitonga. (Succeeded 1876.)
Fataaiki. (Succeeded 1888.)
Tongia. (Succeeded 1898 after interregnum of two years.)
Religion. — There were no idols in Niue'. The two great deities were, as in
New Zealand and in Tonga, Tangaloa and Mau'i. There is no tradition of them as
living men. Mau'i pushed up the island by successive efforts, first as high as a
reef, awash at low tide, and then as high as Tonga, and then, by a final heave, to its
present height. The Niue story of the peopling of the earth is almost identical
with the Maori tradition. The earth lay locked in the embraces of her spouse,
the heaven, and man, their progeny, lying between them, panted for air. Uniting
their strength, men tore their parents apart, and the rain-drops are the tears shed
by Heaven at being sundered from his bride.
Every tribe had its tutelary deity, who was probably a deified ancestor. The
belief in an after-existence was shadowy. The virtuous passed into Ahonoa
(Everlasting Light) ; evildoers into Po (Darkness). The virtues were kindness,
chastity, theft from another tribe, and the slaughter of an enemy ; the vices, theft
from a member of one's own tribe, breaking an agreement or a tabu, cowardice,
and homicide in time of peace.
That the dead reappear is believed even now after many years of mission
teaching. When a man is dying his friends take food to him, and say " Be good ;
if you leave us, go altogether." When they buried the body they threw heavy
stones upon the grave to keep the " Aitu " down, and wailed forty nights. Only
three years ago a woman burned her daughter's grave, because she said that the
spirit was aillicting her with sickness. They spread a piece of white Seapo
(bark-cloth) beside the body, and the insect that first crawls upon it is carefully
wrapped up, and buried with the body ; it is the Mo'ui, the Soul.
The dead cannot be summoned to answer questions, but even now widows go
to the graves of their dead husbands, and call upon them to help them when they
are oppressed.
The office of priest, Taula'atua, was hereditary. Priests were inspired by
a draught of kava (piper methysticum) which was not drunk at other times. The
offerings made to the gods were the priests' perquisites. There were no temples ;
the gods visited their priests in sacred mounds or clearings. In late heathen times
the gods did not take animal forms, but there is a trace of totemism in the
tabu of certain animals to particular tribes. The moko lizard peculiar to the
140 BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niu6.
island was sacred throughout Niud ; the Lulu owl was tabu to the people of
Alofi.
The priests, both male and female, had much political influence, and the
" toa " found it to their advantage to be on good terms with them, although
they themselves had the power of invoking the gods without the intermediary
of a priest.
There was no festival for initiation, though a feast was always held when a
boy assumed the ma.ro, the girdle of males. Ceremonial purification was necessary
for those who had touched a dead body, or infringed a tabu. These were forbidden
for a period to lift food to their mouths ; they were fed by others, and drank as
animals do. Human sacrifice was unknown.
There is a very curious survival of circumcision, a rite which, the natives say,
has never been actually practised since they can remember, though it is almost
universal in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. The child is laid on the ground under an
awning of native cloth, and an old man makes the sign of circumcision round the
foreskin with his forefinger. A child not so initiated is never regarded as a full-
born member of the tribe. Tattooing was not practised in ancient times, but it is
now being introduced by men who have been to Samoa or Tonga as labourers.
Witchcraft. — There is a prevailing belief that people can be hag-ridden. Not
long ago a woman of Alofi was so affected. She rushed madly about the country,
and seemed to be incapable of sleeping. When asked whose spirit had entered
into her, she readily gave his name, and though her friends knew no way of
exorcising the evil spirit, she eventually recovered. Exorcism by secret invocation
is practised to neutralise curses. The ordinary form of witchcraft was to take the
soil on which an enemy had set his footprint to a sacred place, and curse it in
order that he might be afflicted with lameness. In preparing for war a piece of
green kava was bound on either side of the spear to strike the enemy with blind-
ness. Nowadays the commonest form of witchcraft is to put a live lizard in a
bottle and bury it under a cocoanut tree ; any person who drinks the water of the
cocoanuts is destroyed. I asked King Tongia whether the priests had the power
of making warriors invulnerable. He replied that they all claimed to have this
power, but that, so far as his observation went, it wa's unwise to trust only
to their skill : he had observed that the foolhardy got killed all the same.
Diseases. — Mr. W. H. Head, who has been more than 30 years on the
island, stated that yaws (Tona) and phthisis were quite unknown before the
arrival of the Samoan teachers. The natives, when he first arrived, generally
seemed to die of old age. Coughs and colds were then unknown. The diseases
of that time were Makulokuli (a difficulty in passing water), lupus and
scrofula. Since the intercourse with ships, the policy which earned for the Niue
people from Cook the name of " Savage Islanders," has been amply justified. In
these days every child has yaws as a matter of course, though the disease might
easily be stamped out by isolation. Whooping-cough has never left the island
since its introduction. Measles, introduced in 1898 by a returning labourer,
BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Native* of Savage Island, or Niut. 141
occasioned about 100 deaths, but, though it lasted twelve months, so efficient was
the natives' quarantine of infected villages, that the village of Tuapa escaped it
altogether. Syphilis, unknown 34 years ago, is said to be very prevalent in the
tertiary form, especially among infants: as its native name, "Tona Tahiti," indicates
it was brought from Tahiti. There is not much ophthalmia, which is strange, in
view of the enormous number of flies that used to infest the island. It is a
remarkable fact that the flies completely disappeared early in the present year
1900. Not one was seen during my visit. Deformities are rare. There are a few
cases of insanity, and the people are disposed to treat them unkindly. Even in
these days serious illness is always regarded as possession by an evil spirit.
Medical Treatment. — Nearly all the old women are medical practitioners, and
the number of herbal decoctions that they administer to a sick person is incredible.
The best known of these native doctors take heavy fees in kind, but their faith
in their own nostrums must be slender, for they themselves have recourse to
the dispensaries of the Mission and Mr. Head whenever they are ill. Mr. Head
told me that he finds that the natives require smaller doses of drugs than
Europeans.
Infanticide used to be common in the cases of illegitimate children, and
children born in time of war. In the latter case the child was disposed of by
Fakafolau, that is to say, it was put into an ornamented cradle, and, with many
tears, set adrift upon the sea. Mothers are very affectionate to their children.
Midwifery. — A professional midwife attends at delivery, and the husband
may, or may not, be present. The woman is delivered in a sitting posture. The
midwife assists the labour by squeezing the abdomen : if the afterbirth is slow in
coming away she becomes frightened, and tries to hasten it by treading on the
abdomen. The umbilical cord was formerly severed with the teeth rather near
the child : it is now cut long with scissors, and coiled down without tying. Feasts
were held at various stages in the infant's growth.
Mai-presentations are very rare, and the women suffer but little in childbirth.
Mr. Head has seen women walk four or five miles the day following their delivery.
The child was usually suckled about twelve months, during which period there was
strict sexual abstention between the parents. It was weaned upon taro, chewed
by the mother, who now, unfortunately, is addicted to smoking the rankest tobacco
in a pipe.
Abortion was formerly common, because if a couple did not come together
with the consent of the girl's relations, they were punished. Drugs and trampling
on the abdomen were the usual methods employed. Abortion seems to be less
common now since the law against seduction is administered with caprice, and
influence can generally be brought to screen those who offend against it. An
illegitimate child has no disabilities, and its parents do not suffer in public
estimation. The absence of so many of the men, and the consequent predominance
of women, are sufficient to account for a large increase in illegitimacy.
The marriage of first cousins is not popular as in Fiji. The offspring ot two
140 BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niu6.
island was sacred throughout Niud ; the Lulu owl was tabu to the people of
Alofi.
The priests, both male and female, had much political influence, and the
" toa " found it to their advantage to be on good terms with them, although
they themselves had the power of invoking the gods without the intermediary
of a priest.
There was no festival for initiation, though a feast was always held when a
boy assumed the maro, the girdle of males. Ceremonial purification was necessary
for those who had touched a dead body, or infringed a tabu. These were forbidden
for a period to lift food to their mouths ; they were fed by others, and drank as
animals do. Human sacrifice was unknown.
There is a very curious survival of circumcision, a rite which, the natives say,
has never been actually practised since they can remember, though it is almost
universal in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. The child is laid on the ground under an
awning of native cloth, and an old man makes the sign of circumcision round the
foreskin with his forefinger. A child not so initiated is never regarded as a full-
born member of the tribe. Tattooing was not practised in ancient times, but it is
now being introduced by men who have been to Samoa or Tonga as labourers.
Witchcraft. — There is a prevailing belief that people can be hag-ridden. Not
long ago a woman of Alofi was so affected. She rushed madly about the country,
and seemed to be incapable of sleeping. When asked whose spirit had entered
into her, she readily gave his name, and though her friends knew no way of
exorcising the evil spirit, she eventually recovered. Exorcism by secret invocation
is practised to neutralise curses. The ordinary form of witchcraft was to take the
soil on which an enemy had set his footprint to a sacred place, and curse it in
order that he might be afflicted with lameness. In preparing for war a piece of
green kava was bound on either side of the spear to strike the enemy with blind-
ness. Nowadays the commonest form of witchcraft is to put a live lizard in a
bottle and bury it under a cocoanut tree ; any person who drinks the water of the
coeoarmts is destroyed. I asked King Tongia whether the priests had the power
of making warriors invulnerable. He replied that they all claimed to have this
power, but that, so far as his observation went, it wa's unwise to trust only
to their skill : he had observed that the foolhardy got killed all the same.
Diseases. — Mr. W. H. Head, who has been more than 30 years on the
island, stated that yaws (Tond) and phthisis were quite unknown before the
arrival of the Samoan teachers. The natives, when he first arrived, generally
seemed to die of old age. Coughs and colds were then unknown. The diseases
of that time were Makulokuli (a difficulty in passing water), lupus and
scrofula. Since the intercourse with ships, the policy which earned for the Niue
people from Cook the name of " Savage Islanders," has been amply justified. In
these days every child has yaws as a matter of course, though the disease might
easily be stamped out by isolation. Whooping-cough has never left the island
since its introduction. Measles, introduced in 1898 by a returning labourer,
BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Nine". 141
occasioned about 100 deaths, but, though it lasted twelve months, so efficient was
the natives' quarantine of infected villages, that the village of Tuapa escaped it
altogether. Syphilis, unknown 34 years ago, is said to be very prevalent in the
tertiary form, especially among infants: as its native name, "Tona Tahiti," indicates
it was brought from Tahiti. There is not much ophthalmia, which is strange, in
view of the enormous number of flies that used to infest the island. It is a
ivmarkable fact that the flies completely disappeared early in the present year
1900. Not one was seen during my visit. Deformities are rare. There are a few
cases of insanity, and the people are disposed to treat them unkindly. Even in
these days serious illness is always regarded as possession by an evil spirit.
Medical Treatment. — Nearly all the old women are medical practitioners, and
the number of herbal decoctions that they administer to a sick person is incredible.
The best known of these native doctors take heavy fees in kind, but their faith
in their own nostrums must be slender, for they themselves have recourse to
the dispensaries of the Mission arid Mr. Head whenever they are ill. Mr. Head
told me that he finds that the natives require smaller doses of drugs than
Europeans.
Infanticide used to be common in the cases of illegitimate children, and
children born in time of war. In the latter case the child was disposed of by
Fakafolau, that is to say, it was put into an ornamented cradle, and, with many
tears, set adrift upon the sea. Mothers are very affectionate to their children.
Midwifery. — A professional midwife attends at delivery, and the husband
may, or may not, be present. The woman is delivered in a sitting posture. The
midwife assists the labour by squeezing the abdomen : if the afterbirth is slow in
coming away she becomes frightened, and tries to hasten it by treading on the
abdomen. The umbilical cord was formerly severed with the teeth rather near
the child : it is now cut long with scissors, and coiled down without tying. Feasts
were held at various stages in the infant's growth.
Mai-presentations are very rare, and the women suffer but little in childbirth.
Mr. Head has seen women walk four or five miles the day following their delivery.
The child was usually suckled about twelve months, during which period there was
strict sexual abstention between the parents. It was weaned upon taro, chewed
by the mother, who now, unfortunately, is addicted to smoking the rankest tobacco
in a pipe.
Abortion was formerly common, because if a couple did not come together
with the consent of the girl's relations, they were punished. Drugs and trampling
on the abdomen were the usual methods employed. Abortion seems to be less
common now since the law against seduction is administered with caprice, and
influence can generally be brought to screen those who offend against it. An
illegitimate child has no disabilities, and its parents do not suffer in public
estimation. The absence of so many of the men, and the consequent predominance
of women, are sufficient to account for a large increase in illegitimacy.
The marriage of first cousins is not popular as in Fiji. The offspring ot t\v.>
142 BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niu£.
sisters are absolutely forbidden to marry, but the children of two brothers, or of a
brother and sister, may do so without being held guilty of incest. In the old days
a young man took a present to the parents of the girl, and, if it was accepted, a
feast fulfilled all the formalities. If he took the girl without the leave of her
parents, and could not command the influence of the " toas," he was clubbed. The
abduction of married women into the bush has lately become common.
Native families are large. Families of five and six are frequently met with,
and there is more than one woman on the island who has given birth to sixteen
children. There used to be no barren women, but now, owing perhaps to sexual
excesses at an early age, childless women are not uncommon. These generally
adopt children, to whom they behave in all respects as if they had borne them.
Funeral customs. — Before a man is dead his shroud is unfolded, and the funeral
feast prepared, all these preparations being made before his eyes. Food is presented
to him as an inducement not to leave his wraith behind him, and his relations
trouble his last moments with questions regarding the disposition of his property.
His wishes on this subject are held to be as binding as a will. That curious power
of self-abandonment, which enables a sick man to foretell the hour of his death, is
as common here as it is in other parts of the Pacific. As soon as life is extinct,
the body is oiled and wrapped in its shroud, and the mourners agree upon a time
for wailing, which they do with every semblance of frantic grief. The feast is
eaten, and on the following day the body is carried to a shallow grave, dug in the
coral rock somewhere between the public road and the edge of the cliff. Before
Christian times it was simply laid upon the floor of one of the burying caves.
Stones are laid upon it to keep the " Aitu " down, and a neat grave of coloured
pebbles, or a rounded vault of white concrete, lettered in relief, is built over it.
The side of the road which skirts the western coast is full of such graves. The
acquisitive character of the people is sometimes shown disagreeably . in their
determination that the most precious of their possessions should be buried with
them, lest their relations should benefit by them. Quite lately, an old woman
tried to extort a promise from Mr. Head that he would throw her favourite axe
into her grave. On the other hand the relations tend the grave for a long time
after death, laying garlands and valuables, such as sewing machines, upon it. The
old custom of Fakalilifi, or cutting down the fruit trees of the deceased with the
idea of doing him honour in preventing lesser men from using what has been his,
is dying out, but most of the personal chattels are still destroyed.
Warfare. — The Savage Islanders were not so impetuous as the Tongans and
Samoans. They avoided frontal attacks, and trusted rather to terrifying the
enemy by a series of feints. Some of these manoeuvres were shown to us at an
entertainment given in our honour. The warriors, brandishing either a spear, or
a two-handed paddle-club, drew their tangled hair over their eyes, and chewed
their beards with the most horrible grimaces. They advanced upon one another
with a remarkable pantomime of battle-fury, always on the ace of striking, but
always retiring before the fatal blow was struck. The king, Tongia, in relating
BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Nine. 143
the prowess of his forefather, "the greatest warrior in the world," showed Mr.
Lawes the spot where he had met his match in the " second greatest warrior."
Mr. Lawes, seeing that the space was confined, asked which of them was killed.
" Oh, neither of them," the king replied. This historic duel was probably a fair
example of Savage Island warfare. Cannibalism was never practised.
Land, — The land belongs to clans represented by their heads. In fighting
times the braves (toa) ignored all rights and seized upon any land that they were
strong enough to hold. At present there is land enough for all, and the junior
members of the clan come to the headman whenever they want land to plant upon.
Titles can be acquired by cultivation. The plantiug of yams or plantains by
permission confers no title, but the planting of cocoanuts does so. Thus, there
being no boundary marks, encroachment by planting these trees is a continual
cause of friction. It presses particularly hard upon widows and orphans, who are
frequently robbed of the land inherited from their dead husbands and fathers.
The excuse given for this injustice is that the child belongs to its mother's clan,
and that the mother and child should seek land from its mother's kin, but the
majority of natives condemn the practice. The Pacific Islands Company have
recently applied for a lease of 200 acres, and though the land for which they have
applied is not in occupation, they have failed because there is no one whose
individual interest is sufficient to warrant him in granting a lease. The headman
receives a sort of rent in the form of service and produce, and the first-fruits,
formerly offered to the gods, are sometimes presented to him.
Relationships are traced back four or five generations. The people seem to
be in a transition state between patriarchy and matriarchy. A grown son succeeds
to his father's house and land, but daughters appear to have greater claims upon
their maternal uncle. Though these claims are universally recognised, there is
nothing approaching the rights of the Fijian Vasu. The testamentary power of a
dying man related to his house, his land, and such of his personal effects as ought
not rightfully to be destroyed out of respect to his memory.
Justice. — In ancient times the only tribunal was the Pulangi tau, or Council
of War. There was no principle of procedure, and the accused was never present.
The code was the Lex talionis, except when the personal influence of the accused
screened him from the consequences of his crime. Murder — that is, the killing of
a member of the tribe, for the slaying of an enemy was a virtue rather than a
crime — was punished by death. The sentence was carried out by the Kopenga : a
man was told off to afo (betray) the doomed person by making friends with him, and
then enticing him into the bush on the pretence of taking him to an assignation :
there warriors lay in wait and fell upon him unawares. Adultery was punished by
fine or by the club according to the importance of the offender, and there were
instances of persons being condemned to be the slaves of their accusers. The
gratification of private revenge was recognised, and justice was administered
capriciously as must always be the case in a society that tolerates might as right.
From the whalers that visited the island the natives first heard of the stocks as a
144 BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island, or Niue.
punishment, and in a deep cave near Tuapa, from which all light is excluded,
some of these instruments may still be seen.
At present there is a judge in each village. A message is sent to the accused
ordering him to appear, and if he refuses the court adjourns until such time as the
importunities of his neighbours worry him into surrendering to the charge, for
there are no paid police. The main object of the trial is to induce the accused to
confess. Sometimes he is allowed to swear his innocence on the Bible, for perjury,
so committed, weighs heavily on the conscience, and produces illness and
consequent confession. When there is no clue to the perpetrator of a crime it
is not unusual to curse him on the Bible, and confessions due to fear of the
consequences of such a curse are common. The ordinary punishments are
labour on the roads, making limekilns (calculated at two weeks' labour each), and
fines ; but the difficulty of enforcing the two first have led to a preference for fines
for all offences, and, as the fines are usually paid by the relations, crime may be
said to go unpunished. The commonest offences at the present time are adultery
and encroachment on land, the adultery being generally abduction into the bush.
For theft and housebreaking restitution is ordered in addition to any other punish-
ment, and it is owing to this wise rule that there are so few complaints against the
native government on the part of Europeans. Justice is powerless to deal with
great crimes. In 1887 a man named Koteka murdered his brother. He was
condemned to perpetual labour on the roads, but, shortly after, a ship coming in,
he boarded her without opposition and escaped to Manahiki to the great relief of
the native authorities. There is a primitive but very efficacious way of dealing
with sedition : the monthly council sends a message to the suspected village that
they intend to meet there, and that they expect a lavish entertainment, knowing
that, in order to escape this tax, the majority of the villagers will be in favour
of law and order, and will enforce it.
The emigration of the young men as labourers is a purely modern development,
and it is difficult to explain. Their early experience of recruiters could not have
been favourable. In 1867 the notorious pirate, Bully Hayes, called at the island,
and, choosing a moment when his vessel was crowded with natives, he made sail.
Having landed his 80 unwilling passengers on an uninhabited island, he returned
to Nine" with the excuse that they had refused to leave his vessel, and, his native
crew having enticed some 70 girls on board during the night, he set his course for
Tahiti, picking up the 80 men on the way. At Tahiti he sold his passengers as
labourers on the plantations, and very few of them ever returned to their homes.
In their industry and energy the Savage Islands are a great contrast to the
other Polynesian races. Whether at home or abroad, they do a full day's labour.
In Niue men carry loads of copra of 150 Ibs. weight nine miles to sell to a store-
keeper. They are now attempting to cut through a limestone bluff to grade the
road for wheel-traffic. This work, which could easily have been accomplished by
blasting, they were laboriously doing by lighting fires on the rock to convert it
into lime, and chipping it off with hammers. They earn 4s. a day from the traders
BASIL THOMSON. — Note upon the Natives of Savage Island., or Niiit. 145
for shipping copra, and lately they have shown a disposition to strike for 8.<?., which
is the smallest advance they seem capable of understanding. The ordinary w;igcs
on plantations abroad are £2 a month, but on the steamers they make as much as
£3 10s. Within a few days of his return a labourer has parted with all his acquired
property to his friends, and is as poor as when he left home, and in a few weeks he
is ready to re-engage with the first recruiting vessel that calls at the island.
While their industry shows no symptom of abatement, there is a marked
deterioration in their morality. Mr. Lawes thinks that the absence of so many
of the young men leads to the corruption of young boys by the women whose
husbands are away, or who can find no husbands. Seduction, which was severely
punished in heathen times, is no longer resented, but, strangely enough, married
men are very jealous of their wives, and never leave them out of their sight, except
when they are absent on night-fishing, and then they confide them to the guardian-
ship of their sisters, who are pledged to sleep by their sides. The outward
demeanour of the women, however, is modest.
Dress. — The former dress was, for males the Maro, or perineal bandage
assumed at puberty, and for females a petticoat of fibre. The men now wear
European clothes, and the women the flowing saque worn by the women of Samoa
and Tahiti. Both sexes wear hats plaited on the island. Whatever has been
gained in decency has been lost in picturesqueness.
The villages are the cleanest and neatest in the Pacific. Every native house-
holder has a hut on his plantation, and a neatly built concrete house in the village.
The roof is thatched, the walls whitewashed, the windows closed with a sort of
rough Venetian of wood smoothed with the adze, and pivoted on the centre of each
slat so as to exclude the sun while admitting the air. These houses are sometimes
floored with rough planks cut from the log with the adze. But the older natives
seem to keep these houses for show, using in preference little native-built hovels
behind, which they burn down when too ruinous for occupation.
There is a marked decline in the influence of the mission, which formerly held
absolute sway, and a consequent recrudescence of heathen superstition. Mr. Bell,
who was seven years on the island, says that incantations are now constantly sung
over the sick by professional wizards. The mission still wields some authority,
through its power of expelling offenders from the church membership, which
entails some social ostracism, but Mr. Lawes thinks that his personal influence is
declining, especially with those who have been abroad, and have associated with the
lower sort of European. With all their faults, however, it is impossible not to like
a people who, if they do not respect their own chiefs, pay heed to the opinion of
white men ; who, with the keenest trading instinct, are honest in their dealings, and
exact honesty from others ; who, while so excitable that a mere domestic quarrel
will drive them to suicide, are energetic, friendly and good-tempered ; and who
promise, under English control, to be the most contented and prosperous little
community in the Pacific.
VOL. XXXI (N.S. IV). L
( 147 )
STOEIES FROM THE SOUTHERN NEW HEBRIDES, WITH
INTRODUCTION AND NOTES.
BY SIDNEY H. RA.Y.
•
THESE stories, with the exception of the last, were sent to me some years
ago by the Presbyterian missionaries in the Southern New Hebrides, the Rev.
W. Gray and Rev. Dr. Gunn. They come from a most interesting region of
Melanesia, from the islands of Tanna, Aniwa, and Futuna, where the Polynesian
and Melanesian people have met and mingled to such an extent that, except in
language, they are indistinguishable from each other. The people of the three
islands belong to the darkest and most frizzly-haired section of the Melanesian
race, but whilst the language of Tanna, differing in some respects from the
languages of the northern and central parts of the Melanesian Archipelago, is still
to be classed with them as essentially a Melanesian language, the languages of
Aniwa and Futuna are in vocabulary and grammar closely related to the tongues
of Eastern Polynesia.
The names of the islands of Aniwa and Futuna are decidedly Polynesian, the
former meaning " a place abounding in coconuts," and the latter recalling the
name of an island of the Tonga group (Horn Island) also called Futuna. The
relations of the New Hebrides Futuna and that of Horn Island need not be
discussed here, but it may suffice to state that there is no decided evidence of any
migration from the eastern island to the western.
The first four stories originated 'through inquiries being made of the natives
as to whether they knew anything about Tangaloa and Mauitikitiki, who are by
i'ar the most prominent persons in the folk-tales and myths of Eastern Polynesia.
Inquiries were also made regarding various other persons, places, and objects
referred to in the Eastern legends. These may form the subject of another
communication. In Futuna and Aniwa, Mauitikitiki is called Moshikishiki; in
other islands of the New Hebrides (Aneityum, Efate, and Nguna) he is called by
his Polynesian name Mauitikitiki. In Tanna the name becomes Motikitiki or
Matiktiki. Summaries of the actions of Mauitikitiki in various islands of the
east are given by Tregear,1 but none of them correspond to the Futuna and Tanna
exploits related here. The Futuna people also credit Moshikishiki with forbidding
the introduction of sorcery into the island. A partially sunken rock at some
distance from the shore is pointed out as the canoe which was bringing it.
1 Maori- Poly netian Comparative Dictionary. Wellington, 1891 ; article "Maui."
L 2
348 SIDNEY H. RAY. — Stories from the Southern New Hebrides,
1. — MOSIIIKISHIKI and TAPOSIESI. Futuna. Rev. Dr. Gunn.
Taposiesi1 was a devourer of men, who devoured all the big people, and kept
the children in the mdrae2 in Pau3 until they were big, and then he ate them.
One day he went up Kirisavini4 and met Moshikishiki, who had made himself young
like a boy, and had been sharpening a stone axe. Taposiesi asked him, " Whence
came you ? " "I was playing," he answered. " Come down to your brothers in the
marae." They both went down, and heard the noise of the boys playing inside.
Moshikishiki was put inside too. Taposiesi went away to his plantation. When
he was away Moshikishiki asked the children what they were doing. " Playing,
just waiting until our grandfather returns." "He is just deceiving you," said
Moshikishiki ; " he is feeding you up until you are big, and then he will eat you."
He then took them away down to Tavesua.5 Taposiesi, hearing no sound from
the house in the marae, came down and found no one inside. " What has become
of my grandchildren ? " he said. He went down to the cliff, and saw them on the
beach below. " What are you doing down there, my grandchildren ? " and he
went down after them, hoping to .enclose them inside the rocks. But Moshikishiki
cut the rocks at Masuataga," and he and the boys went out towards the sea.
Taposiesi followed. They went on with Moshikishiki at Taringakasi, and went on
to Sia, and climbed up Feiava, and went on towards Mounga.7 They climbed
tamakopu.8 The boys became the seeds and Moshikishiki the core of the
breadfruit. Taposiesi said, " This is my breadfruit," and went to get firewood to
cook it. When he was making the fire the boys watered it (urinated) and put it
out. He went away to get more food. When he was away they left the
tamakopu and climbed by means of the tarie* up into the sky. When Taposiesi
returned he found no one in the breadfruit tree, but saw them in the sky. " How
did you get up there, my grandchildren ? Give me the vine (or creeper) that I
may climb up." They threw it down to him and pulled him up some distance and
then let go. " How did you let me fall ? " asked Taposiesi. " You did not take a
good hold." He tried again, and fell, and laid clown. One of the boys came down
like a fly (tarango}™ and examined him. He went up and said, "He is dead."
Another came down like a large black ant (taroata)11 and examined him. He
passed through him, entering at the mouth. " He is dead," he said. The other
boys came down. " Where do you stay ? " asked Moshikishiki of one. " I am a
man of Mounga." " You will stay in Mounga." " What is your land ? " he asked
of another. " Sia." " Then you will stay in Sia." " What is your land ? " "1 am
a man of Asoa." " You will go to Asoa." " What is your land ? " " Akana."
"Go." "What is your land?" "Matangi." "Go." "What is your land?"
" Raro." " Go." " What is your land ? " " Pau." " Then we two will go." And
thus Moshikishiki took up his stay in Pau,12
with Introduction and Notes. 149
2. — MATIKT!KI and TEUAMS!MUS. Tanna. Rev. W. Gray.
Teramsiimiis,1 having oaten all the inhabitants, goes and looks for black people,
oats them, then looks for white people (this does not mean Europeans), and takes
them and throws them into a hole of a rock and shuts them up, and says to them,
that they are to wait for him till he goes and makes nikasi neri* for their food.
They remain in the cave and sing and dance.
Matiktiki goes past and knows that he hears dancing. He says, " Ho ! who
are you ? " They dance, but say, " We here." But he says, " Who are you ? "
But they say, " We here, our ancestor goes to make nikasi neri for our food."
But he says, " They say he goes to make nikasi neri for your food, whereas he kills
you and goes to make niparara? with you." But one says, " Alas ! my father-in-
law ! " But another says, " Alas ! my father ! " Matiktikt stands and holds a
fufau* and breaks in pieces the rock. They come out, and going up, run until
they come to a place and see a row of fish shorewards. They eat and leave none
of Teramsamiis' food.
Teramsamus runs and runs and cleans nikasi neri and goes back to the hole
of the rock and sees they are gone. But he says (with bad language), " I have
spoilt all my food ! " He runs and runs, holding his head down westward
and feels it cold ; he runs eastward till he feels it hot ; he runs and eats his
fifth.
Matiktiki and the children (the fellows out of the cave) run and feel they are
tired (?), and look up and see a makopo5 hanging. They go up and pull out its
core. The children go in and fill up the space (a hole about six inches long and
one inch and a half in diameter). Matiktiki sits on the edge of the core hole and
puts in again the core.
Teramsamus runs and runs, and feels hunger biting him greatly, and looks up
at that makopo and sees it hanging. He says, " Let me pluck the makopo and cook
and eat it, and be satisfied, and search for my food " (i.e., for those who had escaped
from the cave). He goes and takes wood, and heaps it together and climbs and
plucks the makopo and comes down and lays it on the fire and cooks it. The
youngsters feel the steam which is killing them. Matiktiki tells them to put out
the fire (as in previous story), and the fire goes out. Teramsamiis takes away the
breadfruit and lays it down and goes and looks again for wood. They pull out the
core and come out and put the core in again and run and run, and look up at a
she-oak tree, and see it standing inland.6 They run inland. Matiktiki says,
" Hasten for the she-oak." They hasten and hasten, and come just there below.
Climbing up, they all go to the top. Matiktiki has already seated himself in the
fork of the tree.
Teramsamus looks for them, and was going hither and thither, and goes up
and looks down into a pool of water. Matiktiki tosses frequently his crest of
feathers. Teramsamus (seeing Matiktiki reflected in the pool) springs down and
splashes in. the water-hole and conies up and was standing. Matiktiki says,
150 SIDNEY H. KAY. — Stories from the Southern Nciv Hebrides,
" Youngsters ! laugh." The youngsters laugh, and say " Ho ! what are you doing
there after having run hither and thither ? " He says, " Alas ! my children.
How do they manage to go there ? " They say, " We went on the palms of our
hands." He goes there on his hands and splits them, and says, " Alas ! I have
split and spoiled my hands. How do you always do it ? " They say, " We went
on the soles of our feet." (The same thing befalls his feet, his head, and his
knees.) Matiktiki says, " We went on this thing," and lets down a small rope, to
which Teramsamiis hangs on, and goes up, and cannot make the fork of the tree,
and says, " Alas ! my food ! You do tease me." Matiktiki takes a fufau and cuts
in two the small rope, and he falls down and strikes on the ground.
They send forth a black dove. It goes and shouts into his ear, and finds that
he lies and is silent. They send a bronze- wing dove, and it wails and finds
that he lies and is silent. They send a miahV It bites him and sees that he lies
and is silent. They send a kauyameta* It goes and stoops and passes right
through the body. They see blood stains upon it. (Hence its red breast.) They
exclaim, " He is dead verily." They come down and go and behold. Matiktiki
takes a bamboo fishing-rod (from which he makes a knife) that he may lance
the body. One by one they rise till every one who had been eaten carne
to life.
3. TANGAKOA, THE ORIGIN OF COCONUTS. Aniiva. Rev. Dr. Gfunn.
Tangaroa1 lived in Tavakosura in Aniwa. There was a woman, named Keke,
in the district of Eavaru. Tangaroa was one day following the course of the
vine, of a keire,2 and Keke met him. He took her for his wife, and they had a
son, and they lived in Tavakosura. Tangaroa now and again left Aniwa and went
over to Eupapu3 and to Nahabusima4 and to Namera5 and to other parts of
Tanna. When he went away, he left part of him behind as he was big and long
like a house.6 Once he went away altogether, and then the woman took her
child and returned to Eavaru. When Tangaroa returned to Tavakosura, he found
that his wife and child were gone. " Where are they two gone to ? " and he blew
a Pan's pipe. " WThat is that ? " asked his wife of those round about. " Oh ! it is
only the wind blowing through the toa7 leaves." The whistling continued, and
she began to clean up the premises, and swept it all round Then he came in
gradually and filled up the whole space. She got some kava,6 and some other
roots, and chewed them for him to drink. He said, " If, when I drink it, I live,
then we three shall stay together, if not, you will cut off my head, and bury me."
He drank the kava and died at once. She cut off the head and buried the body,
and then planted the head in a heap of rubbish in the premises. It grew and
became a nabuau? A fence was made round it. It grew larger and became a
niu™ and a larger fence was put round it. Keke gave her son the coconuts that
grew on it, but gave none to others.
Others ate the fruit of thefatau,11 and the pan.12 His mother told him not to
give any of his food to others. One day he was out with other children, and he
with Introduction and Notes. 151
saw them eating puddings of these fruits. He asked them to give him one, but
they refused. He said, " I have a very good pudding myself." " Let us see it ? "
they asked. He returned to his premises, brought the coconut made into a
pudding, and gave it to them. Each one took a bite of it, and they ate, and ate,
until they ate off his hand. He went back to his premises crying. When his
mother saw that his hand was bitten off, she was angry and pulled off the leaves
of the coconut tree. She threw away tanqjiro™ and they fell in Samoa,
Rarotonga, Nine (Savage Island), and thus these islands have large good coconuts,
while the bad ones have been left for Aniwa.14
4. TANGALUA and SEIMATA. Tanna. Bev. W. Gray.
Tangalua1 had an Aniwan woman, Seimata, as his wife. She had a little boy.
The Aniwans hated Tangalua, because, as they said, lie was not a man but only a
ghost.2 So they killed him with a big dose of Icava. Before he died he told
Seimata to watch the place where he was buried, for something would grow there
that would be food for her and her child. As Tangalua lay drunk with kava he
wagged his tail2 again and again, and died and was buried. Out of his two eyes
grew a coconut tree.3 But only Seimata and her child knew that its nuts were
good to eat. One day Seiuiata left her little boy alone, eating a nut, and told him
not to tell anyone where he got it. Some boys got him to show them the tree.
They pulled nuts and ate them. One boy in his greed ate the points of his
fingers. Seimata was very angry, and pulled up the tree and tore it to fragments.
The wind scattered these among all the islands, so they all have coconuts now.
5. The ORIGIN of DEATH. Tanna. Rev. W. Gray.
Munganeiveiva, having become an old woman, goes and takes her grandchild
in her arms, and walks with the aid of a stick and goes down seawards in order
that she shall bathe. She sets down her grandchild in a cavity of a white coral
rock, and sheds her skin and bathes. Then she takes a different skin and becomes
a young woman and puts on a kwanmari,1 and goes in order that she may take
her grandchild in her arms. She says, " My grandchild ! let me take thee up in
my arms." But her grandchild says, " Thou art a different person ; my grandmother
is not here." But her grandmother says, " I speak good, but thou sayest evil."
She goes and takes again the old-woman-skin, and goes toward her, and takes her
up in her arms.
It happens like this that we always die, and always die indeed. If she had
not hindered her grandmother from taking her in her arms, we would have
remained (i.e., lived) and always have been casting our skin and would not
indeed have died.2
152 SIDNEY H. EAY. — Stories from, the Southern New Helwidcs,
1. This story is told with very slight variations by the people of Aniwa.
They give more details of the attempts of Taposiesi to reach the sky.
1 Taposiesi. I have been unable to trace this person in the eastern legends.
2 The marae is the open space in the centre of a Polynesian village. 3 Pau is a
place in Futuna. 4 Kirisavini is a path leading to the great hill which forms the
centre of Futuna. 5 Tavesua is the landing-place near the mission station.
0 Masuataga is near the landing-place. 7 Taringakasi and Feiava are near the
mission station and landing-place ; Mounga is the central hill of Futuna. 8 In
these and similar words ta is the definite article. Makopo is the breadfruit tree ;
Samoan, maopo. 9 Tarie, the almond tree. 10 Tarango, the common house-fly ;
Samoan, etc., lango. u Taroata, Samoan loata, a large venomous ant. 12 Mounga,
Sia, Asoa, Akana, Matangi, Earo, and Pau are the seven districts into which the
island of Futuna is divided. Sometimes the locative particle i is prefixed —
Imounga, Imatangi, at Mounga, at Matangi.
2. In Tanna a story of this kind is called Kwananyei.
1 Teramsamus is not traced elsewhere in Polynesian or Melanesian myth.
2 Nikasi is unexplained ; neri is the Taro esculentum. 3 Niparara is animal food
eaten with taro or yam as a seasoning. Those in the cave understood that
Teramsamus had gone to get taro for their food, but his intention was to get taro
to cook with them. 4 The fufau is an axe of white stone used for cutting out
canoes. 5 Makopo, a variety of breadfruit tree. Cf. previous story. c The she-oak
or iron-wood tree (Casuarina), nil in Tanna, is called toa in Futuna and the
Polynesian islands. This story may be compared with that of Qat (Codrington's
Melanesians, p. 165). Qat and his brothers escape from the cannibal Qasavara by
climbing an aru (Casuarina). Qasavara is dashed to pieces against the sky. 7 The
miahi is an ant with a very painful bite, the roata of the previous story. 8 The
Jeauyameta is a small black bird with a bright scarlet breast. Kauya is a prefix
to other bird names, e.g., Jcauyamit, an owl. The Kauyametamin are the people
of the north and west of Tanna, who decorate their bodies with red paint; the
Numrikwenimin, people of the opposite side of the island, do not so paint
themselves. Meta is the adjective "bloody," from nita, blood; min is the sign of
the plural.
3. * Tangaroa is also called Teirauma or Lakeirea. 2 Keire is a tuberous plant
with a trailing stem, similar to the yam. 3 Eupapu, Port Resolution, Tanna.
1 Nahabusima, Weasisi, Tanna. 5 Namera, Kwamera, Tanna. G Tangaroa was a
gigantic eel or sea snake. 7 Toa, iron- wood (Casuarina). 8 Kava, Piper methysticum.
0 Nabuau, the sago palm. 10 Niu, the coconut palm. n Fatau is described as a tree
like the tomano tree. What the latter is I do not know. 12 The pan is a tree
with a pear-like fruit, containing a hard inedible seed. 13 Tanojiro, the central
leaves of the coco-palm ; tano, its, belonging to it, jiro, innermost sprout ; Samoan,
tilo. 14 In Earotonga, coconuts are said to have sprung from the head of Tuna.
He assumed the shape of an eel, and his head was cut oil' by his lover, Ina moe
with Introduction and Notes. 153
aitu. Twin coco-palms sprang from the two halves of his brain ; one red, sacred
to Tangaroa, tlio other green, sacred to Kongo. The white kernel of a coconut,
which was not to Le eaten by a woman, was tc roro o Tuna, Tuna's brain. (Gill,
M//tkfi and Sonys, p. 77.) The conception of Tangaroa as a snake or eel does not
seem to occur in Eastern Polynesia.
4. l Tangalua is the Ttiiina form of the word Tangaroa. 2 Because of his eel
or snake-like form. 3 Cf. the Aniwa and Ixarotougan versions.
5. l Kwanmari, a young woman's apron. * This story may be compared with
a similar one in Codrington's Mdanesians, from Omba, Lepers Island, north of
Taniia.
( If.
NOTE ON SOME AMERICAN PARALLELS TO EUROPEAN
AGRICULTURAL CUSTOMS.
BY K W. THOMAS, M.A.
IN his works on the agricultural customs of the European peasants, Mannhardt
only appeals occasionally, and more or less by accident, as it were, to savage
parallels. His investigations seldom led him to books which dealt with countries
outside Europe, and he was thus debarred from citing testimony, which would
not only have told in favour of his views, but also afforded a striking proof that
coincidences in custom are not necessarily due to transmission.
There are, no doubt, at the present day many cases of European agricultural
ceremonies having been taken over by the Indian tribes. This solution will,
however, hardly hold good in the case of the following parallels to the customs
of Europe. It was the custom at the end of February to take as large a deer hide
as could be procured, and, leaving the horns on it, to fill it with all manner of
herbs, and sew it together. The best fruits were fastened to the horns, and
other parts fastened to a ring or piece of stuff. They then proceeded to an open
space, and fastened the skin to a high tree, turning the head towards the east.
Thereupon they offered a prayer to the sun, asking it to give them in the
future these same fruits. The king and the magician stood nearest the tree
and officiated, and the remainder of the people stood further off. The hide was
left up until the following year.1 The account seems to refer to Florida.
A custom exists or existed until recently in the west of America which may
perhaps be regarded as analogous. The Papago performed a rain dance in July,
at which a deer's head was fixed on a pole and its flesh underneath ; the dancers
were unmarried boys and girls who always faced the moon, and bathed when
it set.2 There is, it is true, no explicit assertion of any connection with agri-
culture, but it may be inferred. A rain dance performed at a fixed season
can hardly have been anything else than a rite to promote the growth of
vegetation.
The Pawnees in their religious ceremonies dance, sing, and pray before a
bird stuffed with all kinds of roots and herbs ; they have a fabulous tradition
that the morning star sent this bird to their ancestors as its representative.8
1 De Bry, Die Newe Welt, PI. XXXV, Frankfurt : 1591 : fol., quoting some early traveller
whom I have not yet identified.
* Am. Anthr., O.S. vii, 295.
* De Smet, Missions of Oreyon, p. 357.
156 N. W. THOMAS. — Note on some American Parallels, etc.
According to an account taken by Maunhardt from Prcetorius,1 the Prussian
Slavs used to kill a goat when they sowed their winter corn, and consumed
its flesh with many superstitious ceremonies. They then hung its skin upon
a high pole near an oak, and it remained there until harvest. Then a bunch
of all sorts of corn and herbs was fastened over it, and after prayer had been
offered by a peasant who officiated as priest, the younger portion of the assembly
joined hands and danced round the pole. The corn and herbs were then divided
among them.
A somewhat similar custom seems to have prevailed among the Wogules.
When a reindeer was sacrificed and eaten, the skin with the horns was left as
an offering, and sometimes filled with rice.2
The parallelism between the American and European customs is therefore
very complete. This does not of course imply that the explanation of the facts is
the same. But we may infer that this is the case. The corn-spirit which we
know in Europe reappears almost unchanged in America. The Mandan belief
on the subject of the animal corn-spirit was very explicit. They said that
the " old woman who never dies " sent geese in the spring, and the geese
represented her; if eleven wild geese were found, it was expected corn would
be plentiful ; both corn and the birds were called the " Old Woman." Besides
geese the stag seems to have been regarded as a form of the corn-spirit. A
great stag or a white- tailed stag was said to keep patches of corn for the " Old
Woman."8
Among the Mandans, as with the Pawnees, the corn-spirit was thus mainly
identified with birds of various sorts. Among other tribes the corn-spirit seems
to have been regarded as incorporate in deer, as in the Florida example.
In New England there was a harvest festival, at which new corn and buck's
flesh were eaten.4 The Cherokees celebrated a similar festival.5 The Delawares
had a feast of first-fruits ; before any corn was eaten twelve of their old men met,
and a deer and new corn were provided ; the venison was divided into twelve
parts, and the corn made into cakes. The twelve men held the venison and corn
towards the east, and then consumed them ; after this the people were at liberty
to eat corn and other fruits freely.6
These facts seem to show that there was a parallelism between European and
Indian belief as well as custom. They also have a bearing upon a recent theory.
It has been argued that the feast of first-fruits was merely intended as a sign that
the taboo was removed, and that it was not sacramental. If this is so, it is singular
that an animal, which seems to be the representative of this corn-spirit, was also
eaten.
1 Delicice Prussicce, p. 23ff. (ed. Pierson).
2 Bidrag till kannedom af Finlands Natur och Folk, 1891, p. xlv.
3 Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, Travels in the Interior of N. America, p. 378ff.
4 Eupp, History of Berks, p. 23.
5 Missionary Herald, xiv, p. 415.
6 Beatty, Journal of a two-month^ Tour, p. 84.
( 157 )
THE SPIRIT OF VEGETATION.
BY E. TREGEAR, COMMUNICATED BY J. G. FIIAZER.
[READ AT MEETING, JUNE SOTII.]
AT the time the Maoris of New Zealand were first visited by European voyagers
they had no knowledge of cereal crops. Food was abundant, but it consisted
almost wholly of cultivated roots such as Kumara (sweet potato), taro (the edible
arum), gourds, etc., largely supplemented by wild plants such as fern-root and by
the natural produce of sea and river, forest and plain, birds, fish, etc. The crop on
which they most depended was the Kumara, a plant not to be confounded with
the yam, for the former is a variety of convolvulus. It needed immense care
in its cultivation, almost religious care, for every step in its planting and
development was attended with elaborate ceremonial. The fields in which it grew
were a beautiful sight, now, alas ! seldom seen, for it has been almost superseded
by " the soul-destroying potato." Kumara were planted with great regularity,
the tiny hillocks being arranged in lines almost mathematically true from
whatever position they were viewed. The fields were manured every season
with fresh gravel from the river-beds, the plants were picked over carefully for
the destruction of insect pests, and not the tiniest weed was allowed to break the
spotless surface of the soil. The Kumara was itself a god, not to be cooked with
common food, nor handled except with restriction and deference. The houses in
which it was stored were tapu or sacred (tabooed), and perhaps no food in the
world was regarded with such reverence unless it may be some holy plant grown
for priestly use alone or for temple-worship.
What were the particulars of the ceremonial by which the culture of the
Kumara was approached ? They differed slightly as to locality, but those
practised with antique strictness in one of the most famous places of the plant's
growth, viz., Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua, were as follows : —
The priests went forth to the forest to cut and collect boughs of the sacred
mapou tree. On that day the people fasted, for that day and the day following
were very sacred. The waters of the lake were tapu (prohibited), the fish were
not to be caught, nor might a canoe put forth on the lake. The priests carried
the mapou boughs to the altar of the god named " The Father of the South " and
recited the incantations reserved for that occasion, laying the boughs upon the
stone image until the sacredness had been imbibed by them. In the evening of
that day the priests went into the fields, made ready for the Kumara to be planted,
158 E. TREGEAR. — The Spirit of Vegetation.
and stuck the branches into the ground, repeating another incantation and
entreating the gods to send a fertile crop. In the morning of the next day they
went again and recited charms while the seed -tubers of Kumar a were being
planted in the little hills which had been measured and set off by sacred cords.
If the cultivation was that of a chief, the skull of that chief's father or ancestor
was disinterred (i.e., brought from the burial-cave), and placed beside the mapou
boughs to ensure a good crop. The Arawa tribe, however, at the particular place
in question (Mokoia Island) used for this purpose the time-honoured skull and
bones of their giant ancestor Tuhourangi, but in many other places the skulls of
vanquished enemies were set up round the sides of the fields to promote a large
supply of roots.
Everyone connected with the planting or harvesting of Kumara was very
sacred. All the men, chief and followers, who worked at the planting did so
absolutely naked. They kept perfect time as they toiled, giving loud cries at
intervals, a shout when the ground was first broken by digging, another when
taking the young shoots from the tubers, another when the tubers were set in the
little mounds. The Kumara sets were addressed as if they were animate objects ;
they were reminded how they ought to behave to grow well, how the best effects
were to be obtained from sun, wind, and rain, how the little roots were to hold
on, nor were reminders of the heavenly origin of the plant forgotten.
The favourite hymn was an address to the hero-god Maui, beseeching his
favour, and by some tribes three stakes or pillars were set up in the cultivation.
Each pillar represented a god, these being Kahukura (the Rainbow), Maui, and
Marihaka. Offerings were made to them, and then the priests went to consult
the image of Kahukura that stood in the temple of the tribe. Kahukura
was particularly a god to be propitiated, for it is said that it was through
him that the ancestors of the Maori first acquired the holy root. . If the
deity was prepared to send a good crop his image would shake or tremble, and
this was accepted as a sign that the Kumara fields would be protected by the
heavenly powers from human or natural foes. The most learned priest to be
procured was obtained, often with immense difficulty, for the slightest mistake or
omission made in the ceremonial provoked the anger of the gods and the priest
would die.
The above-written description is that of the procedure which took place at
the beginning of this century, but if we learn from tradition we shall find that the
ceremony of bringing out skulls and skeletons to promote fecundity of crops had
a darker origin. Legend says that the Kumara was brought to New Zealand from
Hawaiki, by two men named Taukata and Hoake. Hoake returned to his own
country as a guide to the canoes which started to get more of the roots, but
Taukata was sacrificed and his blood sprinkled upon the door-posts of the
store-house in which the first crop of Kumara was placed, lest the spirit or
essence (mauri) of the root should vanish and return no more. Hoake did not
come back from Hawaiki, but his descendants in the sixth generation arrived in
E. TREGEAR. — The Spirit of Vegetation. 159
New Zealand with their canoes loaded with Kumara. The skull of Taukata was
taken from its burial-cave and was set up on the edge of the plantation, a seed
Kumara being placed in each eye-socket of the skull. From that time on, one of
Taukata's descendants was slain each time the Kumara ceremonial was observed
and the blood of the victim sprinkled on the door-posts of the .Asmara-store.
All readers of Mr. Frazer's books are aware of the wide-spread ceremonies
attending the planting and harvesting of crops. We cannot, of course, expect to
find among a people like the Maoris (to whom corn was unknown) any ceremony
resembling " the Corn Mother," etc., but it appears to me that those older and
more terrible rites connected with the worship of " the Spirit of Vegetation " were
once as fully practised by the Polynesians as by the better known peoples of the
ancient world.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute Vol. XXXI, Plate X.
f c a do e g
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, To7. XXXI, Plate XI.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
NOTES ON MALAY METAL-WORK.
BY WALTER ROSENHAIN, B.A., St. John's College, Cambridge.
[PRESENTED FEBRUARY 12TH, 1901. WITH PLATES X, XI.]
MR. W. W. SKEAT recently asked me to examine a number of specimens of
Malay metal-work, in the hope that the use of the microscope would enable me to
settle all doubts as to the nature of some of the metals used by the Malays. The
present notes embody the results of the microscopic examination but in all
other respects are based on Mr. Skeat's account of processes which he has himself
witnessed. The experimental work described below was carried out in the
Engineering Laboratory at Cambridge by the kind permission of Professor J. A.
Ewing, F.RS.
I. THE MAKING OF A MALAY KRIS.
The most interesting specimen is a damascened Malay Aris-blade, illustrated in
PI. X, 1, XI, 3. It was made for Mr. Skeat near Trengganu by a Malay smith
who spent four days on the work. The tools of the Malay smith are simple and of
somewhat primitive construction, but do not differ very much from those to be
found in a European smithy ; forge, anvils, hammers, tongs, chisels and files are all
in use, but the European " cold and hot setts " used for cutting off pieces of iron
are replaced in the Malay smithy by a tool called Upa. This is simply a small
"cold chisel," but it is fixed in a long wooden handle from which the chisel
projects at right-angles, and in use the head of the chisel is struck with a hammer
while the handle merely serves to hold it in place. Another peculiar feature of
the Malay smithy are the bellows, which are made on the cylinder-and-piston
principle.
The Malay smith begins the manufacture of a kris by making a pile of short
bars, as shown in PI. X, 2. In this pile it will be seen that the bars are alternately
thick and thin, and according to the Malay smith, the thick bars are made of a
different metal from that of the thin bars. In fact, one set of bars had been made
by cutting up and forging down a rod of wrought-iron obtained, presumably, from
Singapore, while the others were made by straightening and drawing down the
blade of a weeding-instrument called krt. The smith called the wrought-iron
besi swe, while he called the metal of the hoe-blade b%si pdmor, so that he seems
to have regarded them as two different kinds of iron ; on the other hand the Malay
name for the steel of their tools is besi bdja — so that the smith must have known
that the hoe-blade he used was not made of the same steel as his tools. The
VOL. XXXI. M
162 W. KosENHAIN. — Notes on Malay Metal-Work.
microscopic examination of specimens of these metals has, I think, settled the
question of the nature of the b%si swe and b$si pdmor used in Mr. Skeat's specimen.
The pile of nine bars as seen in PI. X, 2, is then heated, welded together and
drawn down to a considerable length ; but the welding process is very primitive : —
the pile is heated, dipped in water mixed with clay, re-heated, and then hammered
together. The long bar so formed is heated again, and is then bent into the form
of the scroll seen at (a) and (b) in PI. X, 3. It should be remembered, however,
that in making this scroll, the long bar is so held that the bending takes place in
the plane of the welds, so that, in the scrolls as we see them in Fig. 3, we have
nine laminse standing on edge next to one another, but of course welded together.
Two such scrolls are used for each Jcris.
In the next step of the process, b$si bdja — i.e., steel derived from old tools — is
forged into three pieces, shown at (c), (d) and (c) in Fig. 3, corresponding in shape
to the two scrolls (a) and (b). The central layer (d) is much thicker than the
others and ultimately forms the body of the blade. Finally two small pieces are
cut from the laminated bar of which the scrolls have been made, and are bent to
form the pieces shown at (/) and (g) in Fig. 3. The seven pieces shown in Fig.
3 are then welded together, being placed in the order in which they are shown in
the figure, the result being a bar having a central layer of tool-steel, with a layer
of laminated scroll on either side of it, and that again covered by a thin layer of
steel. When this pile has been welded it is forged down to the length and
thickness required to give a blade of the desired size. This is done with some care,
as the Malays believe that the dimensions of the finished kris are of great
importance in bringing good luck or misfortune to the wearer.
The '•' haft " of the kris is then formed by notching the edge of the blade close
to its base and gradually drawing the portion between the notches down to the
form of a thin spike which is intended to enter the hilt. The next step in the
making of the kris is the production of the waves or sinuosities of the -edge.
Where these are small and numerous, they are produced by grinding and filing, but
where they are fairly long they are made by forging. In this operation the entire
blade is bent alternately to one side and then to the other; this is done by
supporting its ends upon two anvils and holding it edge up while it is struck with
a hammer. But the bending is localised at each successive spot required, by first
heating the blade and then cooling it with water, leaving only that part red-hot
where the bending is to occur. Each wave thus represents a separate operation of
heating and bending.
When the waves are finished, the kris is driven into the ground for about
two-thirds of its length and thus held firmly while the dagu or " chin " of the blade
is formed. Two notches are cut in one edge of the blade, the notches are filed out
and the small tongues of metal left are then bent as indicated in PI. XI, where
(4), (5) and (6) represent three successive stages of the process.
The blade is then withdrawn from the ground and its cutting edges are
roughed out with a file, the blade being held in V-blocks. In this operation the
W. ROSENHAIN. — Notes on Malay Meted- Work. 163
thick central portion of the blade is carefully left untouched. The next step is to
heat the haft and twist it in a way which is believed by the Malays to give it a
better hold on the hilt. Then the collar or guard is welded on the blade at the
haft end. This collar is made of a piece cut off' from the end of the blade in the
rough state and therefore consists of alternate layers of steel and " laminated scroll
The piece is forged to the proper shape, punched to receive the haft, and notched on
the under side so as to form a sort of " mortice and tenon " joint with the blade
when pushed down upon it. Some indentations are also punched on the sides of
this collar and it is claimed that they cause the pattern to appear more clearly at a
later stage.
The blade being now completed, is hardened by first heating in the forge and
then quenching in water, the temper attained being a mere matter of accident or
guess-work. The blade is then ground to its final shape on a grindstone hung in a
frame ; the stone is driven by a string which is pulled and released in such a way
as to alternately wind and unwind itself on the spindle of the stone. When such
a grindstone becomes eccentric through wear, the Malay smith "trues" it by
turning, much as an English smith would do.
The central portion of the blade has been ground down a little in the last
operation, but now the whole blade is filed down and is then ready for " pickling "
or etching. The blade is laid in a wooden trough containing a mixture of sulphur,
salt and boiling rice-water, some of this mixture being rubbed all over the kris with
a spatula. The blade is left in this liquid for two or three days, when the
damascened pattern appears on the surface, and it only remains to clean the blade
with limes.
Two questions arise in connection with this process of &ns-making : —
What are the metals used, and what is the nature of the action that produces
the damask pattern ? I hoped that the microscope would enable me to throw
some light on these questions, and I accordingly examined sections of metal cut
from the layers of the final pile shown at (d), (c), and (a) in Fig. 3. The specimens
were cut from the ends of the pieces (d), (c) and (a) respectively, and a surface of
each was polished and etched with dilute nitric acid in the manner customary for
microscopic examination. As was to be expected, the specimens (c) and (d) were
both found to consist of the same metal, a "high carbon steel" such as is
commonly used, for tools and cutlery; in the specimen it was in the soft or
" annealed " state. In this case the evidence of the microscope bears out exactly
the statements of the Malay workman as to the nature of the material.
With specimen (a) the result was rather different. From Mr. Skeat's account
of its manufacture, from alternate layers of pdmor and swe iron, I expected a trans-
verse section of the scroll to show alternating bands of two different metals such as
wrought-iron and mild steel. The actual section simply shows a series of layers of
common wrought-iron, differentiated by no peculiarities of structure or composition,
and only marked out by the lines of the very imperfect welds between the layers.
The imperfection of these welds is very marked, and is due to the Malay's neglect
M 2
164 W. RosENHAlN. — Notes on Malay Metal- Work.
to clean the welding surfaces adequately, and the imperfection of the welds plays
a most important part in the formation of the damask pattern. PI. XI, 1 and 2
are photographs of sections of the laminated scroll, seen under normally reflected
light, with a magnification of 80 diameters. The micro-structure is typical of
common wrought-iron ; some of the black bands seen in the photographs are traces
of slag-bands which have been eroded by the acid used in etching ; the most
marked bands, however, are due to the imperfection of the welds between the
laminae, where oxide and other impurities have been imprisoned.
The microscope then first of all shows that the laminated scroll is made up of
layers of one kind of metal only ; in this specimen, at any rate, the b%si swe and the
b$si pdmor of the Malay smith differ only in name. It is of course quite possible
that Malay tradition requires the smith to use iron from two different sources
although it seems probable that the smith believed he was dealing with two
different kinds of metal. It is also just possible that in the specimen I have
examined, the scroll was accidentally made of one metal only ; but this is unlikely,
particularly as I believe the damask pattern can be produced with a scroll made of
iron only. According to this view the whole process depends upon the imperfection
of the welds between the laminae of the scroll — an imperfection which is very
clearly shown by the microscope. This scroll is placed between two layers of steel
and subjected to prolonged hammering at a high temperature, the blows falling
edgewise on the welded laminae. No better treatment could be designed for the
purpose of opening the welds and spreading the individual layers, and at the same
time driving the steel into the interstices from above and below. At the temper-
ature of working, the steel is softer and more nearly fluid than the iron, and will
therefore force its way into any opening that may occur. For the later stages
of the process the outer layer of steel is entirely ground away, and the pickling or
etching process brings out the pattern by attacking and corroding the steel while
leaving the iron untouched. It is a well-known fact that steel can be stained and
corroded by many organic substances — such, for instance, as the juice of the
liquorice-root — which do not attack iron, and the active element of the Malay's
pickling-bath is probably a substance of this kind.
Final confirmation of the correctness of this view could only have been
obtained by cutting a section through the finished kris, but as this would have
destroyed the specimen, I was not able to do it. Careful examination of the
pattern on the surface, however, strongly confirms the view stated above ; the
pattern is seen to consist of bright uncorroded veins of iron, embedded in, and
slightly projecting from a matrix of blackened and corroded steel. Taken with the
microscopic evidence showing that the scroll consists of one metal only, I think
these facts justify the conclusion that this theory of the production of the pattern
is correct.
W. ROSENHAIN. — Notes on Malay Metal- Work. 165
II. MALAY GOLDSMITH'S TOOLS.
The next specimens with which I had to deal were a set of tools and implements
used by Malay gold and silversmiths. These, it should be remembered, are used
for working purer, and therefore softer, metal than is used in Europe. The Malays
melt their gold in very small clay crucibles, on a charcoal fire, in a portal >le
hearth, with bellows attached ; but much of their work is wrought — i.e., done by
hammering, filing, chiselling and embossing. Some of the more interesting tools
are shown in Plate X, A-D. A is a conical piece of hardwood used for forming
rings by bending and hammering gold and silver wire. The hammer is shown at
B ; its head is made of the tip of a bullock's horn. This very light hammer is also
used with the set of punches and chisels seen at C. These chisels have a great
variety of points and edges, and they are made from a metal which is almost
white, with a slight yellow tinge ; this metal is also used for making gongs. An
analysis shows it to consist of 70 '8 per cent, copper and 29*2 per cent, tin ; it is
thus a hard bronze not very different from speculum-metal. Its microstructure
which I have examined, is fairly characteristic of bronzes containing about 30 per
cent, of tin ; the microstructure further shows that the metal has not been
wrought, but cast in its present shape and finished by cutting and filing. The
metal has in fact been cast in a chill mould, and is consequently hard but brittle.
Plate X, D, illustrates the slab moulds used by Malay goldsmiths; these
moulds bear ornamental impressions into which gold sheet or wire can be hammered
or punched. The impressions in the mould itself are produced while the material
of the mould is still soft and plastic. According to the Malay account these slabs
are made of a substance called pandang which is made by boiling a stiff mixture of
finely powdered laterite or limonite, " rock rosin," and cocoanut oil. Mr. Skeat's
specimen, however, proved on examination to be a slab of practically pure tin.
Mr. Skeat supposes that this is an exceptional example and that the Malays as a
rule do use pandang.
III. VESSELS OF COPPER AND WHITE METAL : Cera perduta PROCESS : MALAY
LATHE.
Mr. Skeat's specimens further include a number of hollow vessels of copper
and white metal. The white metal is called by the Malays " white copper," but
it consists of 95 per cent, tin and 5 per cent, copper. These hollow vessels are
produced by casting, and the method used by the Malays is similar to the ancient
European cera perduta process. First, a wax model of the object to be cast is made.
The model is then bedded in clay, put on in successive layers alternately with
layers of sand. The entire mould when small enough is attached to a stick which
serves as a handle ; as soon as it is dry the mould is heated and the melted wax
is allowed to flow out by a small hole pierced through the clay for that purpose.
The mould then contains a cavity of the precise shape of the original wax model,
and an article of that shape can be cast by pouring the molten metal in through
166 W. ROSENHAIN. — Notes on Malay Metal- Work.
the hole through which the melted wax had run out. The articles cast in this
way have a rough surface which the Malays remove by turning the article in a
lathe. The Malay lathe is always a simple affair, and in one form of it the work
is made to rotate in alternating directions by means of a cord which is attached
to a flexible rod and passes round part of the work on the lathe to a treadle.
When the treadle is pressed the string is pulled and the work rotates in one
sense while the flexible rod becomes bent ; the treadle and cord are then released
and the bent rod straightens itself, driving the work in the opposite sense. This
appliance has also been in use in Europe.
IV. CHAINS MADE BY CASTING.
Another striking feat in metal- work is the production of chains by casting
which is practised by the Malays. These chains are used to weight and strengthen
their casting-nets, and they consist of jointless rings about f inch in diameter as
at u in Fig. 8 ; the material is a fusible alloy of lead and tin. Jointless chains,
produced by casting, are made by European and other goldsmiths, but their
/ production by the Malays is evidence of very high development of metallurgical
arts, particularly if the ingenious and well-made moulds are of Malay design and
workmanship ; and this, I have reason to believe, is the case. The mould itself
consists of four separate pieces of brass which fit well together ; each piece is
attached to a wooden handle by means of which it can be attached to its
J
fellows or removed from them. PI. XI, 7 and 8 shov/ the mould in two positions,
iwith portions of a chain in place. Each length of chain is produced in two
stages. First, a set of rings are cast, attached to one another in pairs (u), by
using the mould as shown at x, only without the three loose rings. These pairs
of rings are then cut off from the "tags" which hold them together; then the
mould is opened as seen in Fig. 7, and the separate rings are inserted into the
recesses provided for them, as at w (lower part). Their position now, relatively
to the other portion of the mould, is shown at v in Fig. 8. From this figure it
will be seen that if, when with these rings in position, the mould is closed and
another cast is made, the new set of attached rings will be linked through those
placed in the mould, as at w (upper part) in Fig. 7, and at x in Fig. 8 ; the result,
when released from the mould, being shown at y in Fig. 8. It now only remains
to detach the " tags " resulting from the second casting, and the finished chain is
obtained as at z in Fig. 7. It is obvious that by placing the last ring of one chain
in the first recess of the mould when the next chain is being made, successive
lengths of chain may be joined up ; so that endless chains can readily be made.
This process is very simple in practice, so that it is commonly carried out by
the Malay women ; but the design and workmanship of the mould are proofs of
great mechanical skill and ingenuity.
(
journal oj tin- Anthropological Institute, I ol. X.\XI , I'lat,- \ II
a b <•
SKTIJ, OF TOROKUKE, OF KABAKADA, IN NEW BRITAIN: HE LIVED SEVEN YEARS AFTER OPERATION.
1. SKULL OF TOARA, OF KABAKADA, IN NEW BRITAIN: HE DIED TWO HOURS AFTER OPERATION.
.3. SKULL OF TIGHAN, OF OLOLA1, IN NEW IRELAND: OPERATION TO CURE IIEADACHF.
Journal o) Mi l,i//ir,>r',f,,:/i,-,/
l. \.\'\l. /'/„/, Mil
2. SKULL OF TOROUUKK: SHOWING SUBSEQUENT GROWTH OF NEW BONK.
i. SKULL OF TOAKA: SHOWING UNHEALKD WOUND WITH KUESII SCHATCHES.
( 173 )
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN MEN AND ANIMALS IN SARAWAK.
BY CHARLES HOSE, Resident of the Baram District, and W. McDouGALL,
Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge.
/
[PRESENTED MAY 28TH, 1901. WITH PLATES XIV, XV.]
WHEN in the year 1898 we travelled together through every part of the Barani
District and began to put together the materials for this paper, one of us had
already lived for more than fourteen years among the tribes of the district, and by
constant observation and inquiry had become familiar with and had written down
from time to time careful notes of many of their customs and beliefs. Among
these were a large number that showed how all the various tribes hold certain
animals and plants in peculiar regard, how the conduct of the people is to a great
extent guided by well-established systems of augury, and how their relations to
many of the creatures among which they live are regulated by strict rules and
prohibitions. We determined, therefore, to make as complete as possible our
knowledge of the animal- and plant-superstitions of the various tribes, and
believing that by so doing we should find evidence that many of them are
survivals from a system of totem-worship now decayed, we kept this possibility
constantly in mind. In making these more systematic inquiries we enjoyed the
great advantage of being guided in our work by that very considerable mass of
information previously collected by one of us with a mind entirely free from
preconceived ideas as to what should be expected. We would point out that, since
one of us has lived for so long on terms of intimacy and friendship with members
of most of the tribes and is familiar with the various languages spoken by them,
and since the people seldom showed any reluctance to exhibit and explain their
customs to us and were usually pleased to allow us to take part in the
ceremonies and rites, a considerable weight, as negative evidence, must be allowec
to our failure to find traces of any particular custom or institution.
We shall first describe in some detail all that we have been able to learn of
the animal-superstitions of the Kenyahs, the tribe with which we are most
familiar. We shall then give a condensed account of similar customs and beliefs
as they occur among other tribes of the district, describing more particularly those
peculiar to the different tribes, and especially those connected with the "Nyarong"
or Spirit-helper of the Sea-Dayaks. We shall conclude with a short discussion of
the problems suggested by our observations, the problems of the origin and
meaning of the various customs.
174 CHARLES HOSE AND W. MCDOUGALL. — The Relations between
THE KENYAHS.
The Kenyahs inhabit a district far inland among the head-waters of the
Baram river. According to their own tradition they came into the basin of the
Baram from the east some hundred and fifty years ago. From that time until
the last few years they, in conjunction with the Kayans, an allied tribe, which
seems to have migrated to the Baram a little later than the Kenyahs, had
maintained a dominion of terror over all the neighbouring peoples, and they have
had extremely little intercourse of a friendly nature with any more civilised
folk, whether Malay, Chinese, or European.
At the present time they are settled in village-communities thinly scattered
on the banks of the tributaries and upper parts of the Baram river.- Each
community, consisting of thirty, forty, fifty or more families, lives in a single long
house massively built of hewn timber, and raised on great piles of iron-wood twenty
or thirty feet above the river bank on which it stands. Each community is ruled
over by a chief whose authority is usually very considerable, and in the case of
a chief of ability and strong character is always very great. Their principal food
is rice, which they cultivate assiduously. Their domestic animals are the pig, the
fowl and the dog, and the two former they eat not infrequently. By hunting and
fishing they add to the variety of their food, but these pursuits are regarded as
sports rather than as means to obtain the necessaries of life. They are skilful
and artistic handicraftsmen in ironwork, basket-making, wood-carving and rattan-
lashing, and they make rude earthen vessels for cooking. Their clothing was
chiefly, and still is in many cases, of bark-cloth. Their weapons are the sword
and spear and blow-pipe with poisoned darts.
They are an extremely warlike people, and are ever ready to defend themselves
against attack or to make war on others, either in following up some blood-feud or
in order to secure the human heads that play an essential part in some of their rites.
They believe in a beneficent Supreme Being and in a great number of less
powerful spirits. In fact, they may be said to attribute a soul or spirit to almost
every natural agent and to all living things, and they pay especial regard to those
that seem most capable of affecting their welfare for good or ill. They feel
themselves to be surrounded on every hand by spiritual powers, which appear to
them to be concentrated in those objects to which their attention is directed by
practical needs ; adapting a mode of expression familiar to psychologists we may
say that they have differentiated from a "continuum" of spiritual powers a
number of spiritual agents with very various degrees of definiteness. Of these
the less important are extremely vaguely conceived, but are regarded as being
able to bring harm to men, who must therefore avoid giving offence to them and
must propitiate them if they should by ill-chance have been offended. The more
important, assuming individualised and anthropomorphic forms and definite
functions, receive proper names, and a,re in some cases represented by rude images,
and become the recipients of prayer aiid sacrifice. The spirit of any object or
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 175
agent, or perhaps we should rather say the thing in its spiritual aspect, is usually
denominated by prefixing the word "Balli" to the ordinary name. Thus Balli
Sungei (Sungei = river) is the spirit or god of the river, Balli Atap
(Atap = roof) is the spirit or god who protects the household from harm of all
sorts ; a wooden image of him generally stands before the main entrance to the
house. Ballingo is the god of thunder ; Balli Bouin (bouin = pig) is the form of
address to the spirit of any pig about to be sacrificed. More important than any
of these is Balli Penyalong, the Supreme Being. To him the Kenyahs pray for
guidance in important undertakings, while the women pray to Doh Penyalong, his
wife.
The Cult of the Hawk.
Of the many animals that the Kenyahs dare not eat or kill those which
most influence their conduct are the omen-birds, and among the omen-birds the
common white-headed carrion-hawk (Haliaster intermedius) is by far the most
important. The Kenyahs always observe the movements of this hawk with keen
interest, for by a well-established code of rules, they interpret his movements in the
heavens as signs by which they must be guided in many matters of moment,
especially in the conduct of warlike or any other dangerous expeditions.1 The
hawk is always spoken of and addressed as Balli Flaki, and is formally consulted
before any party of Kenyahs sets out from home for distant parts.
To illustrate the formalities with which they read the omens we will transcribe
here a passage from a journal kept by one of us. The occasion of the incidents
described was the setting out of a large body of Kenyahs from the house of Tama
Bulan, a chief who by his personal merits has attained to a position of great
influence among the other Kenyah chiefs, and who has been confirmed in his
authority by His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak. The object of the
expedition was to visit and make peace with another great fighting tribe, the
Madangs, who live in the remotest interior of Borneo. Tama Bulan, whose
belief in the value of the omens has been slightly shaken, was willing to start
without ceremonies and to make those powers, which he believed to protect us,
responsible for himself and his people also. But the people had begged him not
to neglect the traditional rites, and he had yielded to their wishes.
" At break of day, before I was up, Tama Bulan was washed by the women
at the river's brink with water and the blood of pigs to purify him for his journey,
and later in the morning the people set to work to seek, omens and a guarantee of
their safety on the journey from the hawks that are so numerous here. A small
shelter of sticks and leaves was made on the river-bank before the house, and the
1 We find that the practices of these people hi connection with omens or auspices so
closely resemble those of the early Romans that it seems worth while to draw attention to
these resemblances, and we therefore quote in footnotes some passages from Dr. Smith's
Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, referring to the practice of the Romans: "in the most
ancient times 110 transaction, whether private or public, was performed without consulting the
auspices, and hence arose the distinction of auspicia privala and auspicia publica."
176 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The, Relations between
women having been sent to their rooms, three men of the upper class1 sat under
this leaf-shelter beside a small fire, and searched the sky for hawks. After sitting
there silently for about an hour, the three men suddenly became animated ; one of
them took in his right hand a small chick and a stick frayed by many deep cuts
with a knife and waved them repeatedly from left to right, at the same time
pouring out a rapid flood of words. They had caught sight of a hawk high up
and far away before them, and they were trying to persuade it to fly towards the
right. Presently the hawk, a tiny speck in the sky, sailed slowly out of sight
behind a hill on the right, and the men settled themselves to watch for a second
hawk which must fly towards the left, and a third which must circle round and
round. In the course of about half an hour, two hawks had obligingly put in an
appearance and behaved just as it was hoped and desired that they should behave ;
and so this part of this business was finished, and about a score of men bustled
about preparing for the next act. They brought many fowls and several young
pigs, and a bundle of long poles pointed at either end. Before the house stand
upright two great boles of timber, and of either one the upper end is carved into
a rude face and crowned with a brass gong (PI. XIV, 2). These are two images
of the one Supreme Being, Balli Penyalong, and they seem to be at the same time
the altars of the god. A tall young tree stripped of all but its topmost twigs, stands
beside one of them, and is supposed to reach to heaven, or at least, by its greater
proximity to the regions above, to facilitate intercourse. As to the meaning of
this and many other features of these rites, it is impossible to form any exact idea,
for the opinions of these people in such matters are hardly less vague and
diversified than those of more civilized worshippers. Taina Bulan, in his
character of high priest,2 took his stand before one of these images, while a
nephew, one of the three men who had watched the hawks, officiated before the
other and went through exactly the same ceremonies as his uncle, at the same
time with him. Tama Bulan held a small bamboo water-vessel in his left hand
and with a frayed stick in his right hand sprinkled some of the water on the
image, all the time looking up into its face and rapidly repeating a set form of
words. Presently he took a fowl, snipped off its head and sprinkled its blood upon
the image, and so again with another and another fowl. Then he held a young pig
while a follower gashed its throat, and, as the blood leapt out, he scattered it too
on the image, while the score of men standing round about put their hands, some
on him, some on one another, so that all were in contact, and joined in the prayer
or incantation which he kept pouring forth in the same rapid mechanical fashion
in which many a curate at home reads the church service. In the house,
meanwhile, four boys were pounding at two big drums to keep away from
the worshippers all sounds but the words of their own prayers.3 Then
1 " No one but a patrician could take the auspices."
2 " Bomulus is represented to have been the best of augurs, and from him all succeeding
augurs received the chief mark of their office."
3 "Hence devices were adopted so that no ill-omened sound should be heard, such as
blowing a trumpet during the sacrifice."
Men and Animalt in Sarawak. 177
another fowl and another pig were sacrificed in similar fashion at either altar, nii.l
the second part of the rite was finished by the men sticking the carcases of the
slaughtered beasts each one on the point of a pole, and fixing the poles upright in
the earth before the images.
" Tama Bulan now came up into the house to perform the third and last act. A
pig was brought and laid bound upon the floor, and Tama Bulan, stooping, with a
sword in his right hand, kept punching the pig gently behind the shoulder as
though to keep its attention, and addressed it with a rapid flow of words, each phrase
beginning ' 0 Balli Bouin.' The pig's throat was then cut by an attendant, and
Tama Bulan, standing up, diluted its blood with water and scattered it abroad over
all of us as we stood round about him, while he still kept up the rapid patter of
words. Then he pulled off the head of a fowl and concluded the rites by once more
sprinkling us all with blood and water. Everyone seemed relieved and well satisfied
to have got through this important business and to have secured protectors for all
the party during the forthcoming journey. For the three hawks will watch over
them and are held to have given them explicit guarantees of safety. The frayed
stick that had figured so largely in the rites was stuck under the rafters of the roof
among a row of others previously used, and there it will remain, a sign and a
pledge of the piety of the people, as long as the house shall stand. And then as
Tama Bulan, pretty well covered with blood, went away to wash himself, I felt as
though I had just lived through a book of the ^Eneid, and was about to follow
Father ^Eneas to the shores of Latium."
This elaborate rite, so well fitted to set agoing the speculative fancy of
anyone acquainted with the writings of Robertson Smith and Messrs. Jevons and
Frazer, was one of the first that we witnessed together. After giving all our facts
we shall return to discuss some of the interesting questions" raised by it, but it
will be seen that we are far from having discovered satisfactory explanations of all
its features. Obscure features to which we would direct attention are the use of
the fire and the frayed stick, for these figure in almost all rites in which the omen-
birds are consulted, or prayers and sacrifices made. The Kenyahs seem to feel
that the purpose of fire is to carry up the prayers to heaven by means of the
ascending flame and smoke, in somewhat the same way as the tall pole planted by
the side of the image of Balli Penyalong facilitates communion with the spirit ;
for they conceive him as dwelling somewhere above the earth.
Omens are always sought in the way we have described before going out to attack
an enemy, and if the expedition is successful the warriors bring home not only the
heads of the slain enemy but also pieces of their flesh, which they fix upon poles
before the house, one for each family, as a thank-offering to Balli Flaki for his
guidance and protection. It seldom occurs that a hawk actually takes or eats these
pieces of flesh, and that does not seem to be expected. Without favourable omens
from the hawks, Kenyahs will not set out on any expedition, and even when they
have secured them they still anxiously look out for further guidance and may be
stopped or turned back at any time by unfavourable omens. Thus, should a hawk
VOL. XXXI. iN
178 CHATJLES HOSE AND W. MoDouGALL. — The Relations between
fly over their boat going in the same direction as themselves this is a good omen,
but if one should fly towards them as they travel, and especially if it should
scream as it does so, this is a terribly bad omen, and only in case they can obtain
other very favourable omens to counteract the impression made by it will they
continue their journey. If one of a party dies on the journey, they will stop for
one whole day for fear of offending Balli Flaki. If a hawk should scream just as
they are about to deliver an attack, that means that some of the elder men will be
killed in the battle.
Balli Flaki is also consulted before sowing and harvesting the rice crop, but
besides being appealed to publicly on behalf of the whole community, his aid may
be sought privately by any man who wishes to injure another. For this purpose
a man makes a rough wooden image in human form and retires to some quiet spot
on the river bank, where he sets up a " tegulum," a horizontal pole supported about
a yard above the ground by a pair of vertical poles. He lights a small fire beside
the " tegulum," and taking a fowl in one hand, he sits on the ground behind it
so as to see through it a square patch of sky1 and so waits until a hawk becomes
visible upon this patch. As soon as a hawk appears he kills the fowl and with a
frayed stick smears its blood on the wooden image, saying, " Put fat in his mouth "
(which means " Let his head be taken and fed with fat in the usual wray "), and he
puts a bit of fat in the mouth of the image. Then he strikes at the breast of the
image with a small wooden spear and throws it into a pool of water reddened with
red earth, and then takes it out and buries it in the ground. While the hawk is
visible he waves it towards the left, for he knows that if it flies to the left he will
prevail over his enemy, but that if it goes to the right his enemy is too strong
for him.
When a new house is built a wooden image of Balli Flaki with wings
extended is put up before it and an offering of mixed food is put on a little shelf
before the image, and at times, especially after getting good omens from the
hawks, it is offered bits of flesh and is smeared with pig's blood. If the people
have good luck in their new house they renew the image, but if not they usually
allow it to fall into decay. If when a man is sitting down to a meal he espies a
hawk in the heavens he will throw a morsel of food towards it, exclaiming,
"Balli Flaki!"
We have seen that during the formal consultation of the hawks the women
are sent to their rooms. Nevertheless many women keep in the cupboards in whicli
they sleep a wooden image of the hawk with a few hawk's feathers stuck upon it.
If the woman falls sick she will take one of these feathers and waving it to and
fro will say, " Tell the bad spirit that is making me sick that I have a feather of
Balli Flaki," and when she recovers her health Balli Flaki has the credit of it.
Although Kenyahs will not kill a hawk, they would not prevent us from
1 " The person who has to take them (the auspices) first marked out with a wand . . .
a division of the heavens called ' templum,' . . . within which he intended to make his
observations."
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 179
shooting one if it stole their chickens, for they say that a hawk who will do that
is a low-class fellow, a cad, in fact, for there are social grades among the hawks just
as there are among themselves.
Although the Kenyahs thus look to Balli Flaki to guide them and help them
in many ways and express gratitude towards him, we do not think that they
conceive of him as a single great spirit as some of the other tribes tend to do ;
they rather look upon the hawks as messengers and intermediators between
themselves and Balli Penyalong,1 to which a certain undefined amount of power
is delegated. No doubt it is a vulgar error with them, as in the case of professors
of other forms of belief, to forget in some degree the Supreme Being and to direct
their prayers and thanks almost exclusively to the subordinate power, which,
having concrete forms, they can more easily keep before their minds. They regard
favourable omens as given for their encouragement and bad omens as friendly
warnings.2 We were told by one very intelligent Kenyah that he supposed that
the hawks, having been so frequently sent by Balli Penyalong to give them
warnings, had learnt how to do this of their own will, and that sometimes they
probably do give them warning or encouragement independently without being sent
by him.
All Kenyahs hold Balli Flaki in the same peculiar regard, and no individuals
or sections of them claim to be especially favoured by him or claim to be related
to him by blood or descent.
Other Omen-Birds.
Kenyahs obtain omens of less importance from several other birds. When
favourable omens have been given by the hawks some prominent man is always
sent out to sit on the river bank beside a small fire and watch and listen for these
./her birds. Their movements and cries are the signs which he interprets as
omens confirming or weakening the import of those given by the hawks. Of
these other omens the most regarded are those given by the three varieties of the
spider-hunter (Arachnothera Chrysogenys, A. modesta, and A. Lonyirostris). All
three varieties are known as " Sit " or " Isit.3' When travelling on the river the
Kenyahs hope to see " Sit " fly across from left to right as they sit facing the bow of
the canoe. When this happens they call out loudly, saying, " 0, Sit on the left
hand ! Give us long life, help us in our undertaking, help us to find what we are
seeking, make our enemies feeble." They usually stop their canoes, land on the
bank, and after making a small fire, say to it, " Tell Sit to help us." Each man of
the party will light a cigarette in order that he may have his own small fire, and
will murmur some part at least of the usual formulas. After seeing " Sit " on
their left, they like to see him again on their right side.
1 " It was from Jupiter mainly that the future was learnt, and the birds were regarded as
his messengers."
2 "The Roman auspices were essentially of a practical nature ; they gave no information
respecting the course of future events, they did not inform men what was to happen, but
simply taught them whether they were to do or not to do the matter purposed ; they assigned
no reason for the decision of Jupiter, they simply announced — yes or no."
N 3
180 CHAKLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The Relations between
Next in importance to the spider-hunters are the three varieties of the trogan
(Harpactes Diardi, H. Duvancelii, and H. kasumba). They like to hear the
trogan calling quietly and sitting on a tree to their. left, but if he is on their right
the omen is only a little less favourable.1 On hearing the trogan's cry they own
it, as they say, by shouting to it and stopping to light a fire just as in the case of
" Sit."
Kieng, the woodpecker (Lepocestes porpliyro melas), has two notes, one of
which is of good, the other of bad omen. If they have secured good omens from
the birds already mentioned they will then try to avoid hearing Kieng lest he should
utter the note of evil omen, so they sing and talk and rattle their paddles on the
sides of the boat.
Other omen birds of less importance are Asi (Carcincutes melanops), whose
note warns them of difficulties in their path, and Ukang (Sasia abnormis), whose
note means good luck for them. Telajan, the crested rain-bird (Platylophus
coronatus), announces good luck by its call and warns of serious difficulties also.
Kong, the hornbill (Anorrhimis comatus) gives omens of minor importance
by his strange deep cry. His handsome feathers, with their bold bars of black
and white, are worn on war-coats and stuck in the war-caps by men who are
tried warriors, but may not be worn by mere youths. The substance of the
beak of the hornbill is sometimes carved into the form of the canine tooth of
the tiger-cat, and a pair of these is the most valued kind of ear-ornament for
men. Only elderly men or men who have taken heads with their own hands
may wear them. One of the popular dances consists in a comical imitation
of the movements of the hornbill, but no special significance attaches to the
dance; it seems to be done purely in a spirit of fun. Young hornbills are
occasionally kept in the house as pets (cf. Plate XIV, 1).
We know of no other bird that plays any part in the religious life of the
Kenyahs or affects them in any peculiar manner.
The Pig.
All Kenyahs keep numerous domestic pigs, which roam beneath and about
the house, picking up what garbage they can find to eke out the scanty meals
of rice-dust and chaff given them by the women. It seems that they seldom
or never take to the jungle and become feral, although they are not confined
in any way.
These domestic pigs are not treated with any show of reverence, but rather
with the greatest contumely, and yet the pig plays a part in almost all religious
ceremonies, and before it is slaughtered apologies are always offered to it, and
1 " It was only a few birds which could give auguries among the Romans. They were
divided into two classes, Oscines, those which gave auguries by singing or their voice ; and
Alites, those which gave auguries by their flight." " There were considerable varieties of omen
according to the note of the Oscines or the place from which they uttered the note ; and
similarly among the Alites, according to the nature of their flight.''
Mf-n and An'mnil* in til fn in i/.:
it is assured that it is not to be eaten. We have seen that, in the rites
preparatory to an important and dangerous expedition, the chief was washed
with pig's blood and water, and that young pigs were slain before the altar-post
of Balli Penyalong and their blood was sprinkled on the post and afterwards
upon all or most of the men of the household. It is probably true that Balli
Penyalong is never addressed without the slaughter of one or more pigs, and
also that no domestic pig is ever slaughtered without being charged beforehand
with some message or prayer to Balli Penyalong which its spirit may carry up to
him. But the most important function of the pig is the giving of information
as to the future course of events by means of the markings on its liver.1
Whenever it becomes specially interesting or important to ascertain the
future course of events, when for example a household proposes to make war, or
two parties are about to go through a peace-making ceremony, a pig is caught by
the young men from among those beneath the house, and is brought and laid
with its feet lashed together before the chief in the great verandah of the house.
And it would seem that the more important the ceremony the larger and the
more numerous should be the pigs selected as victims. An attendant hands a
burning brand to the chief, and he, stooping over the pig, singes a few of its
hairs, and then addressing the pig as " Balli Bourn," and gently punching it behind
the shoulder as we have already depicted him, he pours out a rapid flood of
words. The substance of his address is a prayer to Balli Penyalong for guidance
and knowledge as to the future course of the business in hand and an injunction
to the soul of the pig to carry the prayer to Balli Penyalong.
Sometimes more than one chief will address one pig in this way, and then, as
soon as these prayers are concluded, some follower plunges a spear into the heart
or throat of the pig, and then rapidly opens its belly in the middle line, drags out
the liver and lays it on a leaf or platter with the underside uppermost, and so
carries it to the chief or chiefs. Then all the elderly men crowd round and
consult as to the significance of the appearances presented by the underside of
the liver. The various lobes and lobules are taken to represent the various
districts concerned in the question on which light is desired, and according to
the strength and intimacy of the connections between these lobes, the people
of the districts represented are held to be bound in more or less lasting
friendship; while spots and nodules in any part betoken future evils for the
people of that part, a clean healthy liver means good fortune and happiness for
all concerned. The omens thus obtained are held to be the answer vouchsafed
by Balli Penyalong to the prayers which have been carried to him by the
spirit of the pig.
If the answer obtained in this way from one pig is unsatisfactory they will
often kill a second, and on important occasions even a third or fourth in order
1 "They endeavoured to learn the future, especially in war, by consulting the entrails of
victims."
182 CHARLES HOSE AND W. MCDOUGALL. — The Relations between
to obtain a favourable answer. Unless they can thus obtain a favourable forecast
they will not set out upon any undertaking of importance.
After any ceremony of this kind the body of the pig is usually divided among
the people, and by them cooked and eaten without further ceremony. But we
have seen that after the ceremony in preparation for an expedition the bodies
of the young pigs, whose blood was scattered on the altar-post of Balli Penyalong,
were fixed upon tall poles beside this altar-post and there left, and this seems
to be the rule in ceremonies of this sort, though it is not clear whether the
carcases are left there as offerings to the hawks or to Balli Penyalong, or because
they are in some sense too holy to be used as food after being used in such rites.
Probably Kenyahs never give to the spirits in this way the whole body
of a large pig, but only of quite small pigs, and in this they are probably
influenced by economical considerations.
It may be said generally that Kenyahs do not kill domestic pigs simply and
solely for the sake of food. The killing of a pig is always the occasion for, or
occasioned by, some religious rite. It is true that on the arrival of honoured
guests a pig is usually killed and given to them for food, but its spirit is then
always charged with some message to Balli Penyalong. It is said that, when
the pig's spirit comes to Balli Penyalong, he is offended if it brings no message
from those who killed the pig, and he sends it back to carry off their souls.
On many other occasions also pigs are killed; thus, on returning from a
successful attack on enemies a pig is usually killed for each family of the
household, and a piece of its flesh is put up on a pole before the house; and
during the severe illness of any person of high social standing, pigs are usually
killed, and friendly chiefs may come from distant parts bringing with them
pigs and fowls that they may sacrifice them, and so aid in restoring the sick
man to health. On the death of a chief too a great feast is made, and many
pigs are slaughtered, and their jaw bones are hung up on the tomb. A pig is
sometimes used in the ceremony by which a newly-made peace is sealed between
tribes hitherto at blood-feud, but a fowl is more commonly used.
The wild pig which abounds in the forest is hunted by the Kenyahs, and
killed with spears when brought to bay by the dogs, and he is killed and eaten
without ceremony or compunction by all classes.
The lower jaws of all wild pigs that are killed are cleaned and hung up
together in the house, and it is believed that if these should be lost or in any
way destroyed the dogs would cease to hunt.
The Domestic Fowl.
Every Kenyah household has a large number of fowls which compete eagerly
with the pigs for the scraps of grain and garbage that fall from the house or
paddy-stores.
The sitting hen and the young chickens are always kept in a basket in
the house to prevent the chicks or eggs being eaten by pigs or dogs. But
Men and Animals in tinnm-al,-. i8.'»
beyond this very little attention is given to them. They are seldom killed
for food, and their eggs too can hardly be reckoned as a regular article of food,
though the people have no prejudice against eating them.
Fowls are killed on many of the occasions on which pigs are sacrificed,
and as we have seen in the description of the ceremony at Tama Bulan's house
their blood may be poured upon the altar-posts of Balli Penyalong, and it
would seem that fowls and pigs are to some extent interchangeable equivalents
for sacrificial purposes. Perhaps the most important occasion on which the
fowl plays a part is the performance of the rite by which a blood-feud is finally
wiped away. The following extract from the journal previously quoted describes
an incident of this kind : —
" In the evening there was serious business on hand. Two chiefs, who
some years ago were burned out of their homes in the Eejang district by the
government, have settled themselves with their people in the Baram district.
They had made a provisional peace with the Kay an s some years ago, but the
final ceremony was to be performed this evening. The two chiefs of the
immigrants, who had remained hitherto in a remote part of the house, seated
themselves at one side, and the Kayan chiefs at the other, and Tama Bulan and
ourselves between the two parties. First, presents of iron were exchanged.
In the old days costly presents of metal-work used to be given, but as
this led sometimes to renewed disputes, the government has forbidden the
giving of presents of a greater value than two dollars. So now old parang
(sword) blades are given, and the other essential part of the present has been
proportionately reduced from a full-grown fowl to a tiny chick. After much
preliminary talking, two chicks were brought, and a bundle of old parang*
blades which Tama Bulan, in his character of peace-maker, carries with him
whenever he travels abroad. A chief of either party took a chick and a
parang and presented them to the other. Then one led his men a little apart
and began to rattle off an invocation beginning '0 sacred (Balli) chick,' and
then snipped off its head with the parang, and with the bloody blade smeared
the right arms of his followers as they crowded round him. The old fellow
kept up the stream of words until every man was smeared, and then all stamped
together on the floor and raised a great shout. Then the other party repeated
the performance, and the peace being thus formally ratified we sat down to
cement it still further by a friendly drinking bout."
Another ceremony in which the fowl plays a prominent part is that by which
the wandering soul of a sick person is found and led back to his body by the
medicine-man.
Such a performance is described in the following extract from the same
journal : —
" In the evening we strolled along the great verandah and came upon a soul-
catching performance in full swing. In the midst of a crowd of young men
sitting in a semi-circle about ;i small lamp, stood Oyong Ian (a slave whose
184 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDoUGALL — The Relations between
merits have raised him to a very good position, but who is not by any means a
professional medicine-man). He was chanting loudly with closed eyes, and he was
supposed to be unconscious of all that was going on about him. The people
talked and came and went, but he took no notice and went on witli his
chant, the men joining in with a deep-voiced chorus at the end of each
phrase. An assistant physician handed to him a war-coat, shield, and parany,
which he took with a distant air as of one in a half-dream. Then the patients
were brought and set in a row on a mat, five children, the eldest a girl of
about fourteen years, the youngest a baby in the arms of the anxious mother.
One of the children was sick, that is to say, his soul had wandered away towards
that other land whither it is destined to travel on the death of the body, and it
was Oyong lan's task to go forth in spirit, to find the wandering soul and to lead
it back to the body of the sick child. The other children were not sick, and it
seemed a little illogical to have their souls caught when there was no reason to
suppose that they were straying, but then, if one must have the doctor to one child,
to let him see the other children hardly increases the expense, and they may get
some good from the treatment. Oyong took a short wand, and with it sprinkled
sugared water on his parany, addressing his chant to the weapon and then he
sprinkled each child. A young fowl was handed to him and he took it in his right
hand and sang, ' 0 spirit (Balli) of this bird, ask Balli Penyalong to take away all
sickness from us and to keep us from all harm.' Then, after waving the feebly
protesting bird over the head of each child, chanting the while a formula in
antique words whose meaning was unknown to the young man beside me, he
snipped off its head and sprinkled its blood on the children. Then he took a
second fowl and charged its spirit with prayers to both Penyalong and his wife
for the boys and girls respectively, and his song described how his spirit had
crossed a great river and had found the wandering souls and was leading them
back. Six pieces of specially prepared string were produced by the assistant, and
taking one in his right hand he put the finger-tips of that hand on the crown
of the head of one of the children (at that moment the child's soul is supposed
to pass back into his body through the spot toilched) ; then, as the little fellow
held out his arm very solemnly, he tied one of the strings round his right wrist.
This process he repeated with each child, the baby resisting violently, but the
others all very serious and deeply impressed. The assistant now snipped
off the head of the second fowl and with the bloody parany Oyong Ian cut
short the ends of the strings and smeared a little blood on the arm of each
child. Thus the children's souls are tied into their bodies and are not likely to
escape again for a long time to come. Lastly, a string was tied round Oyong's
wrist by the assistant, a third fowl was killed, and its blood smeared on his arm,
and the soul-catching was over. The children were led away and Oyong, still in
his trance or dream state, strutted to and fro still chanting, until suddenly he
staggered, opened his eyes widely, and then sat down beside me and lit a cigarette
in the most every -day sort of way, saying, ' White man's medicine is good, but
Men and Animals m Sarawak. 185
Kenyah medicine is good too ' ; and there was no trace of anything but the most
transparent frankness on his honest face."
It will be seen from this account that the fowl, like the pig, is used in many
cases as a messenger sent by man to the Supreme Spirit. In most cases when a
fowl is slaughtered in the course of a ceremony it is first waved over the heads of
the people taking part in it, and its blood is afterwards sprinkled upon them.
In the blood-brotherhood ceremony, when each of the two men drinks or
smokes in a cigarette a little of the other's blood drawn with a bamboo-knife, a
fowl is in many cases waved over them and then killed, and occasionally a pig also
is killed. In such a case the man who has killed the fowl will carry its carcase to
the door of the house and there will wave towards the heavens a frayed stick
moistened with its blood and announce the facts of the ceremony to Balli
Penyalong. So that here again the fowl seems to play the part of a messenger.
The carcase and the bloody stick are afterwards put up together on a tall pole
before the house. After going through this ceremony a man is safe from all the
members of the household to which his blood-brother belongs, and in the case
of two chiefs all the members of either household are bound to those of the other
by a sacred tie.
Fowls' eggs are sometimes put up on cleft poles as sacrifices. In one instance
when we were engaged in tishing a lake with a large party in boats we came upon
a row of eight poles stuck upright at the edge of the lake, each cleft at its upper
end and holding a fowl's egg. These had just been put there by the crew of one of
the canoes as an offering to the crocodiles, which were regarded as the most
influential of the powers of the lake and able to ensure us good sport.
In such cases the eggs are probably economical substitutes for fowls, as seems
to be indicated by the following facts : — "When Kenyah boys enter a strange branch
of the river for the first time, they go, each one taking a fowl's egg in his hand,
into the jungle with some old man, who takes the eggs, puts them into the cleft
ends of poles fixed upright in the earth, and thus addresses all the omen-bmln
collectively, " Don't let any harm happen to these children who are coming for the
first time to this river ; they give you these eggs." And sometimes instead of eggs
the feathers of a fowl are used, and both the eggs and feathers would seem to be
substituted for fowls as being good enough in the case of mere children performing
a minor rite.
When the belly of a fowl is opened there are prominent two curved portions
of the gut. The state of these is examined in some cases before the planting of
paddy, and sometimes before attempting to catch the soul of a sick man. If the
parts are much curved it is a good omen ; if straight or but slightly curved it is a
bad omen.
186 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The Relations between
The Crocodile.
Like all other races of Sarawak, the Kenyahs regard the crocodiles that infest
their rivers as more or less friendly creatures. They fear the crocodile and do not
like to mention it by name, especially if one be in sight, and refer to it as " the old
grandfather." But the fear is rather a superstitious fear than the fear of being
seized by the beast. They regard those of their own neighbourhood as more
especially friendly, in spite of the fact that members of their households are
occasionally taken by crocodiles, either while standing incautiously on the bank of
the river or while floating quietly at evening time in a small canoe. When this
happens it is believed either that the person taken has in some way offended or
injured one or all of the crocodiles, or that he has been taken by a stranger
crocodile that has come from a distant part of the river and therefore did not
share in the friendly understanding usually subsisting between the people and the
local crocodiles. But in any case it is considered that the crocodiles have
committed an unjustifiable aggression and set up a blood-feud which can only be
abolished by the slaying of one or more of the aggressors. Now it is the habit of
the crocodile to hold the body of his victim for several days before devouring it, and
to drag it for this purpose into some muddy creek opening into the main river.
A party is therefore organized to search all the neighbouring creeks, and the first
measure taken is to prevent the guilty crocodile escaping to some other part of
the river. To achieve this they take long poles, frayed with many cuts, and set
them up on the river bank at some distance above and below the scene of the
crime and at the mouths of all the neighbouring creeks and streamlets ; and they
kill fowls and pray that the guilty crocodile may be prevented from passing the
spots thus marked. They then search the creeks, and if they find the criminal
with the body of his victim they kill him, and the feud is at an end. But, if they
fail to find him thus, they go out on the part of the river included between
their charmed poles, and, with their spears tied to long poles, prod all the bed of
this part of the river, and thus generally succeed in killing one or more crocodiles.
They then usually search its entrails for the bones and hair of the victim so as to
make sure that they have caught the offending beast. But even if they do not
obtain conclusive evidence of this kind they seem to feel that justice is satisfied
and that the beast killed is probably the guilty one.
Except in the meting out of a just vengeance in this way, no Kenyah will
kill a crocodile, and they will not eat its flesh under any circumstances. But
there is no evidence to show that they regard themselves as related by blood or
descent to the crocodiles or that their ancestors ever did so.
When Kenyahs go on a journey into strange fivers or to the lower part of
the main river they fear the crocodiles of these strange waters, because they are
unknown to them, and any one of them might easily be mistaken by the crocodiles
for someone wjio has done them an injury. Some Kenyahs tie the red leaves of
the Droecina below the prow of their boat whenever they go far from home,
believing that this protons them from all danger of attack by crocodiles.
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 187
The Dog.
In all Kenyah houses are large numbers of dogs, which vary a good deal in
size and colour, but roughly resemble large, mongrel-bred, smooth-haired terriers.
Eacli family owns several, and they are fed with rice usually in the evening, but
seem to be always hungry. The best of them are used for hunting, but besides
these there is always a number of quite useless, ill-fed, ill-tempered curs, for no
Kenyah dare kill a dog, however much he may wish to be rid of it. Still less, of
course, will he eat the flesh of a dog. The dogs prowl about, in and around the
house, much as they please, and are not treated with any particular respect, but are
rarely kicked or struck. When a dog intrudes where he is not wanted it is usual
to click with the tongue at him, and this is usually enough to make him pass on.
One young Kenyah chief, on being questioned, said that the reason they will not
kill dogs is that they are like children and eat and sleep together with men in the
same house, and he added that if a man should kill a dog he would go mad.
If a dog dies in the house the men push the carcase out of the house and
into the river with long poles and will on no account touch it with their hands.
The spot on the floor on which the dog died is fenced round with mats for some
few days in order to prevent the children walking over it.
It is usual for the Kenyah men to have one or more designs tattooed on their
forearms and shoulders. Among the commonest of these designs are those known
as the scorpion, the prawn, and the dog. They seem to be conventionalised
derivatives from these animal forms. It is said that the dog's head design was
formerly much more in fashion than it is at the present time.
Deer and Cattle.
Kenyahs of the upper class will not kill or eat deer and wild cattle. They
believe that if they should eat their flesh they would vomit violently and spit out
blood. They have no domestic cattle, and the buffalo does not occur in their
districts. Lower-class Kenyahs and slaves, taken as war-captives from other
tribes, may eat deer and horned cattle, but they must take the flesh some little
distance from the house to cook it. A woman who is pregnant, or for any other
reason is in the hands of a physician, has to observe the restrictions with regard
to deer and cattle more strictly than other people, and she will not touch or allow
to be brought near her any article of leather or horn.
The war-coats of the men are often made of goat or deer skin, and any man
may wear such a war-coat. But when a man has a young son he is particularly
careful to avoid contact with any part of a deer lest through such contact he
should transmit to his son in any degree the timidity of the deer. On one
occasion when we had killed a deer, a Kenyah chief resolutely refused to allow
its skin to be carried in his boat, alleging the above reason.
The cry or bark of the deer (Cervuhis muntjae) is a warning of danger, and
the SL-eing or hearing of \\\Q plandolc (Tray alas napit) has a like significance.
188 CHAKLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL.— The Relations between
The Ticjer-Cat.
The only large species of the Felidce that occurs in Borneo is the tiger-cat
(Fclis nebulosa). Kenyahs will not eat it as men of some 'tribes do, but will kill
it, and they fashion its handsome spotted skin into war-coats. Such coats are
worn only by men who have been on the warpath. The canine-teeth of the
tiger-cat are much prized as ornaments ; they are worn thrust through holes in
the upper part of the shell of the ear, but only by full-grown men. Kuleh,
the name of this beast, is sometimes given to a boy.
The true tiger does not now occur in Borneo, and it is doubtful whether it
ever was a native of the island. Nevertheless the Kenyahs know it by name
(Linjau) and by reputation, and a few skins are in the possession of chiefs. No
ordinary man but only a distinguished and elderly chief will venture to touch
such a skin, much less wear it as a war-coat. These skins have been brought
from other lands by Malay traders, and it is probable that whatever knowledge of
the tiger the Kenyahs possess has come from the same source.
A chief will sometimes name his son Linjau, that is, the Tiger.
A carnivore (Arctogale leucotis) allied to the civet cat warns of danger when
seen or heard.
Other Animals.
There is a certain large lizard (varanus) that is eaten freely by other tribes,
but Kenyahs may not eat it, though they will kill it.
They regard the seeing of any snake as an unfavourable omen and will not
kill any snake gratuitously.
Kenyahs, like all, or almost all, the other natives of Borneo, are more or less
afraid of the Maias (the orang-utan) and of the long-nosed monkey, and will not
look one in the face or laugh at one.
In one Kenyan house a fantastic figure of the gibbon is carved on the ends
of all the main cross-beams of the house, and the chief says that this has been
their custom for many generations. He tells us that when these beams are
being put up it is the custom to kill a pig and divide its flesh among the men
who are working, and no woman is allowed to come into the house until this
lias been done. None of his people will kill a gibbon, though other Kenyahs will
kill and probably eat it. They claim that he helps them as a friend, and the
carvings on the beams seem to symbolize his supporting of the house.
In other parts of the same house are carvings of Semnopitkecus Hosei, but
the old chief regards these as much less important and as recent innovations.
We do not know of any other animals to which especial respect or attention
is paid by the Kenyahs, and we will now describe the corresponding customs of
the Kayans.
THE KAYANS.
Like the Kenyahs, the Kayans seem to have come from the east about
150 years ago, probably a little later than the Kenyahs, and are now settled in
Men and Animals in Sarawak. ISO
large villages, consisting usually of three or four long houses, on the banks of the
Baram about the middle of its course. In the state of their culture and the
character of their customs the Kayans closely resemble the Kenyahs. Individually
they are less attractive than the Kenyahs and the difference may be described in
one word, — there is in the Kenyah character something Hellenic that is wanting
in the Kayans. Since the customs of the Kayans in regard to animals are so
similar to those of the Kenyahs it will only be necessary to mention those points
in which they differ and to bring out some differences in the mental attitude of
the Kayans.
Kayans like Kenyahs worship the Supreme Being under the name Laki
Tenangan, i.e., Grandfather Tenangan, and the women pray to his wife Do
Tenangan. They also reverence a number of departmental deities. Thus there
are four gods of life, Buring Katingai, Laki Ju Urip, Laki Makatan Urip,
Laki Kalisai Urip, a harvest god Anyi Lawang and Abong Do his wife, a fire-god
Laki Pesong, a spirit of madness Balanan, a spirit who causes fear Toh Kiho, the
creator of the world Laki Kalira Murei, a god of the waters Orai Uka, and lastly,
Laki Jup Urip the deity or spirit who ferries souls across the. river of death to
Apo Lagan, the Kayan Hades.
The white-headed hawk (Balli Flaki) of the Kenyahs has its equivalent
among the Kayans in the large dark-brown hawk, which they call Laki Neho.
But as it is not possible to distinguish these two kinds of hawks when seen flying
at some distance, they address and accept all large hawks seen in the distance
as Laki Neho.
The functions and powers of Laki Neho seem to be almost identical with those
of Balli Flaki. He is a giver of omens and a bringer of messages from Laki
Tenangan. The following notes of a conversation with an intelligent Kayan chief
will give some idea of his attitude towards Laki Neho. It must be remembered
that these people have no priesthood and no dogmatic theologians to define and
formulate beliefs, so that their ideas as to the nature of their gods and their abodes
and powers are, though perhaps more concrete, at least as various in the minds of
different individuals as are the corresponding ideas among the average adherents
of more highly developed forms of religion ; and perhaps no two men will
agree exactly on these matters, and any one man will freely contradict his own
statements.
Laki Tenangan is an old man with long white hair who speaks Kayan and
has a wife, Do Tenangan. They sometimes see him in dreams, and if fortunate
they then see his face, but if unlucky they see his back only. In olden times
powerful men sometimes spoke with him, but now this never occurs. He dwells in
a house far away. Laki Neho also has a house that is covered with palm leaves
and frayed sticks. It is in a tree top, yet it is beside a river, and has a landing
place before it like every Kayan house. This house is sometimes seen in dreams.
It is not so far away as the house of Laki Tenangan. At first our informant said
that help is asked directly of Laki Neho, but when pressed he said that Laki Neho
190 CHAKI/F.K HOSE AND W. MoDouGALL. — The Relations between
may carry the message to Laki Tenangan. Some things Laki Neho does of his own
will and power, for example, if a branch were likely to fall on a Kayan boat he
would prevent it, for Laki Tenangan long ago taught him how to do such things.
When a man is sick Kayans appeal to Laki Neho, but if he does not make the
patient well, they then appeal to Laki Tenangan directly, killing a pig whose spirit
goes first to the house of Laki Neho, and then on to the more distant house of Laki
Tenangan. For they believe that in such a case the patient has somehow offended
Laki Neho by disregarding or misreading his omens. A man suffering from
chronic disease may himself pray to Laki Tenangan. He lights a fire and kills a
fowl and perhaps a pig also, and calls upon Laki Neho to be his witness and
messenger. He holds an egg in one hand and says, "This is for you to eat,
carry my message direct to Laki Tenangan that I may get well and live and bring
up my children, who shall be taught my occupations and the true customs " ; and
he will say to Laki Neho, " You I put on the top of my head, when you are with
me men look up to me as to a high cliff." The fire is lighted to make Laki Neho
warm and energetic.
It will be seen from the above account that the Kayans have formed a concept
of the power of the hawks in general, and have given it a semi-anthropomorphic
character, and we shall see below that the Sea-Dayaks have carried this process
still further.
Crocodiles.
The Kayan's attitude towards the crocodile is practically the same as the
Kenyah's. We append the following notes of a conversation with a young Kayan
chief, Usong, and his cousin Wan : — There are but very few Kayans who will kill a
crocodile except in revenge. But if one of their people has been taken by a
crocodile, they go out together to kill the criminal, and they begin by saying,
" Don't run away, you've got to be killed, why don't you come to the surface ?
You won't come out on the land because you have done wrong and are afraid."
After this he will perhaps come on to the land, and if he does not he will at least
float to the surface of the water and is then killed with spears. In olden days
Kayans used to make a crocodile of clay and ask it to drive away evil spirits, but
now this is not done. A crocodile may become a man just like themselves.
Sometimes a man dreams that a crocodile calls him to become his blood-brother
and after they have gone through the regular ceremony and exchanged names (in
the dream) the man is quite safe from crocodiles. Usong's uncle has in this way
become blood-brother to a crocodile and is now called " Baiya " (the generic name
for the crocodile) while some crocodile unknown is called Jok, and Usong considers
himself the nephew of the crocodile Jok. Usong's father has also become
blood-brother to a crocodile, and Usong calls himself a son of this particular
unknown crocodile. Sometimes he asks these two, his uncle- and his father-
crocodiles, to give him a pig when he is out hunting, and once they did give him
one. After relating this Usong adder!, "But who knows if this be true ? "
Wan's great-great-grandfather became blood-brother to a crocodile, and was
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 191
called " Klieng Baiya." Wan has several times met this crocodile in dreams.
Thus in one dream he fell into the river when there were many crocodiles about.
He climbed on to the head of one which said to him, " Don't be afraid," and carried
him to the bank. Wan's father had charms given him by a crocodile and would
not on any account kill one, and Wan clearly regards himself as being intimately
related to crocodiles in general.
The Kayans regard the pig and the fowl in much the same way as the
Kenyahs do, and put them to just the same uses. Their beliefs and customs
with regard to deer, horned cattle, dogs and the tiger-cat, are similar to those of
the Kenyahs save that they will not kill the last of these. They are perhaps
more strict in the avoidance of deer and cattle. One old chief who had been
ailing for a long time hesitated to enter the Resident's house because he saw
a pair of horns hanging up there. When he entered he asked for a piece of
iron and on returning home he killed a fowl and a pig, and submitted to the
process of having his soul caught by a medicine-man lest it should have remained
in the dangerous neighbourhood of the horns.
Like the Kenyahs the Kayans entertain a superstitious dread of the Maias
and the long-nosed monkey, but the Dok (Macacus nemestrinus), the coco-nut
monkey of the Malay States, has special relations to them. It is very common in
their district and they will kill it only when it is stealing their rice-crop, and
they will never eat it as other peoples do. There is a somewhat uncertain belief
that it is a blood-relative, and the following myth is told to account for
this: — A Kayan woman of high class was reaping paddy with her daughter.
Now it is against custom to. eat any of the rice during reaping, and when the
mother went away for a short time leaving the girl at work she told her on no
account to eat any of the rice. But no sooner was the mother gone than the
girl began to husk some paddy and nibble at it. Then at once her body began
to itch and hair began to grow on her arms like the hair of a Dok. Soon
the mother returned and the girl said, " Why am I itching so ? " and the mother
answered, " You have done some wicked thing, you have eaten some rice." Then
hair grew all over her body except her head and face, and the mother said,
" Ah, this is what I feared, now you must go into the jungle and eat only what
has been planted by human hands." So the girl went into the jungle and her
head became like a Dok's and she ceased to be able to speak.
The Dok does not help them in any way but only spoils their crops.
A very popular dance is the Dok dance, in which a man imitates very
cleverly the behaviour of the Dok. It is a very ludicrous performance, and
excites boisterous mirth. They say it is done merely in fun.
In one Kayan house the ends of all the main cross-beams that support
the roof are ornamented with fretwork designs which are clearly animal
derivatives and apparently all of the same animal. Its form suggests a crocodile,
and some of the men agreed that that was its meaning, while others asserted
that it was a dog. It was doubtless originally one or other of these, but
192 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouoALT, — The Relations betiveen
has now become a conventional design merely, and its true origin has been
forgotten (cf. Plate XV, 1).
Neither Kayans nor Kenyahs make much use of snakes of any kind, but
there is one snake with red head and tail which, when they see it in the course
of a journey, they must kill, else harm will befall them. And again if they
see a certain snake just as they are about to enter a strange river or a strange
village they will stop and light a fire on the bank in order to communicate
with Laki Neho. Kayans will not eat any species of turtle or tortoise.
KALAMANTANS.
The Kalamantans is the name by which we propose to denote the people
of the scattered communities that seem to be descendants of the tribe that
inhabited the interior of the Baram district at the time when the Kenyahs and
Kayans first invaded it from the eastward. Their general modes of life and
thought are very similar to those of the Kayans and Kenyahs, especially those
of the latter, but they present a greater variety of customs than either of those
tribes, owing no doubt to their widely scattered distribution. We will describe
the main points of interest in which their relations to the animals differ from
those of the Kenyahs and Kayans.
The following notes of a conversation with the Orang Kaya Tummonggong,
the distinguished chief of the Long Pata people (one of the many groups of
Kalamantans), show that these people regard the hawk in much the same way
as the Kenyahs do : — The hawk, " Balli Flaki," is the messenger of " Balli Utong "
the Supreme Being. When a party is about to set out on any expedition, they
explain their intentions to Balli Flaki and then observe the movements of the
hawks. If a hawk circles round over their heads some of the party will fall
sick on the journey and probably die. If the hawk flies to the right when near
at hand it is a good omen, but if it flies to the right when at a distance or to
the left, whether near or far, that is a bad omen. The people then light a
fire and entreat the hawk to give a more favourable sign, and if it persists in
going to the left they give up the expedition. If while the omens are being
read the hawk flaps his wings, or screams, or swoops down and settles on a tree
the omens are bad. But if it swoops down and up again that is good. If
two or three hawks are visible at the same time, and especially if they all fly
to the right that is very good, but if many are visible and especially if they
fly off in different directions that is very bad, for it means that the enemy will
scatter the attacking force. If the hawk should capture a small bird while they
are watching it, that means that they will be made captives if they persist in
their undertaking. The hawk is not claimed as a relative by Kalamantans.
They take omens from various other birds in matters of minor importance.
Kalamantans use the domestic pig and fowl as sacrificial animals just as
the Kenyahs and Kayans do, and they have the same superstitious dread of
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 193
killing a dog. One group of them, the Malanaus, use a dog in taking a very
solemn oath, and sometimes the dog is killed in the course of this ceremony.
Or instead of the dog being killed, its tail may be cut off, and the man taking the
oath licks the blood from the stump, and this is considered a most binding
and solemn form of oath. The ceremony is spoken of as "makan asu," i.e.,
" the eating of the dog."
Most Kalamantans will kill and eat deer and cattle freely. But there are
exceptions to this rule. Thus Damong, the chief of a Malanau household, together
with all his people, will not kill or eat the deer Cervulus muntjac, alleging that an
ancestor had become a deer of this kind, and that, since they cannot distinguish this
incarnation of his ancestor from other deer, they must abstain from killing all deer
of this species. We know of one instance in which one of these people refused to
use again his cooking-pot which a Malay had borrowed and used for cooking the
flesh of this deer. This superstition is still rigidly adhered to, although these
people have been converted to Islam of recent years.
On one occasion another chief resolutely refused to proceed on a journey
through the jungle when a mouse deer (Plandolc} crossed his path, and he will not
eat this deer at any time.1
The people of Miri, who also are Mohammedan Malanaus, claim to be related
to the large deer (Cervus equinus) and some of them to the muntjac deer also.
Now these people live in a country in which deer of all kinds abound, and they
always make a clearing in the jungle around a tomb. On such a clearing grass
grows up rapidly, and so the spot becomes attractive to deer as a grazing ground ;
and it seems not improbable that it is through frequently seeing deer about
the tombs that the people have come to entertain the belief that their dead
relatives become deer or that they are in some other way closely related to
the deer.
The Bakongs, another group of Malanaus, hold a similar belief with regard to
the boar-cat (Artictis) and the various species of Paradoxurus, and in this case the
origin of the belief is admitted by them to be the fact that on going to their grave-
yards they often see one of these beasts coming out of a tomb. These tombs are
roughly constructed wooden coffins raised a few feet only from the ground, and it is
probable that these carnivores make their way into them in the first place to devour
the corpse, and that they then make use of them as lairs.
The relations of the Kalamantans to the crocodiles seem to be more intimate
than those of other tribes. One group, the Long Patas, claim, the crocodile as a
relative. The story goes that a certain man named Silau became a crocodile.
First he became covered with itch, and he scratched himself till he bled and became
rough all over. Then his feet began to look like a crocodile's tail, and as the
change crept up from his feet to his body he called out to his relatives that he was
1 Of the Romans it is said : " When a fox, a wolf, a serpent, a horse, a dog. or any other
kind of quadruped ran across a person's path or appeared in an unusual place, it formed an
augury."
VOL. XXXI. 0
194 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The Relations between
becoming a crocodile, and made them swear that they would never kill any
crocodile. Many of the people in olden days knew that Silau became a crocodile
because they saw him at times and spoke to him, and his teeth and tongue were
always like those of a man. Many stories are told of his meeting with people by
the river-side. On one occasion a man was roasting a pig on the river-bank, and
when he left it for a moment Silau took it and divided it among the other crocodiles,
who greatly enjoyed it. Silau then arranged with them that he would give a sign
to his Imman relatives by which the crocodiles might always be able to recognize
them when travelling on the rivers. He told his human friends that they must
tie leaves of the Draccena below the bows of their boats, and this they always do
when they go far from home, so that the crocodiles may recognise them and so
abstain from attacking them.
If a man of the Long Patas is taken by a crocodile they attribute this to the
fact that they have intermarried to some extent with Kayans. When they come
upon a crocodile lying on the river-bank they say, " Be easy, grandfather, don't
mind us, you are one of us." Some of the Kalamantans will not even eat anything
that has been cooked in a vessel previously used for cooking crocodile's flesh, and
it is said that if a man should do so unwittingly his body would become covered
with sores.
If a crocodile is seen on their left hand by Long Patas on a war expedition
that is a bad omen, but if on their right hand that is the best possible omen.
The Orang Kaya Tummonggong tells us that in the olden times the crocodiles
used to speak to his people, warning them of danger, but that now they never
speak, and he supposes that their silence is due to the fact that his people have
intermarried with other tribes. The Long Patas frequently carve a crocodile's
head as the figure-head for a war canoe.
The Batu Blah people (Kalamantans) on returning from the war-path make a
huge effigy of a crocodile with cooked rice, and put fowl's eggs in its head for eyes
and bananas for teeth, and cover it with scales made from the stem of the banana
plant. When all is ready it is transfixed with a wooden spear and the chief cuts
off its head with a wooden sword. Then pigs and fowls are slaughtered and
cooked and eaten with the rice from the rice-crocodile, the chiefs eating the head
and the common people the body. The chief of these people could give us no
explanation of the meaning of this ceremony ; he merely says they do it because it
is " adat " (custom).
One community of Kalamantans, the Lelak people, lived recently on the banks
of a lake much infested with crocodiles. Their chief had the reputation of being
able to induce them to leave the lake. To achieve this he would stand in his
boat waving a bundle of charms, which included among other things teeth of the
real tiger and boars' tusks, and then address the crocodiles politely in their own
language. He would then allow his boat to float out of the lake into the river, and
the crocodiles would follow him and pass on down the river.
Many, probably all, Kalamantans put up wooden images of the crocodile
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 195
before their houses, and many of them carve the prow of their war-canoes into
the form of a crocodile's head with gaping jaws.
THE PUNANS.
We regard the Punans as being in all probability closely allied on the one
hand to the group of tribes which we have called the Kalamantans and to the
Kenyans on the other, but their mode of life and general customs are so different
from those of the other peoples that we describe them separately here. They
are a nomadic people who build no permanent houses of any kind and do not
cultivate rice, and they live by hunting and gathering of wild fruits and jungle
produce such as camphor, which they exchange for rice, salt, and iron with the
people of other tribes. Since their mode of life is so very much more primitive
than that of the other tribes, we hoped that their relations to the animals might
throw light upon the significance of many customs that we have described above.
In this respect what we have been able to learn of the Punan beliefs and customs
is disappointing, but it must be confessed that our failure to discover any
particular belief or custom is, in their case, of far less value as negative evidence
than in the case of any of the other tribes, because the Punans are very timid
and reserved people ; and we have little doubt that much remains to be learnt
of their customs and beliefs. We hope to be able to complete our account of
them at some future date.
Punans reverence the Supreme Being as the Kenyahs do, and they address
him as Balli Lutong. They have similar ideas with regard to the soul of man
and its behaviour and destination after the death of the body, and like all the
other peoples they believe themselves to be surrounded by spirits which may
be hurtful to them. Their medicine men are sometimes called in by people of
other tribes, and enjoy a high reputation.
The Punans make use of all the omen-birds that are used by the Kenyahs,
and they regard them as in some degree sacred, and not to be killed and eaten.
They seem to read the omens in much the same way as the Kenyahs do, but
they are not so constant in their cult of the omen-birds, and Punans of different
districts differ a good deal from one another in this respect. In fact, it is doubtful
whether those that have mixed least with the other peoples pay any attention
to the omen-birds, and it seems not unlikely that the cult of the omen-birds is
in process of being adopted by them.
With the exception of these birds there is probably no wild animal of the
jungle that the Punans do not kill and eat. They refuse to eat the domestic
pig, but this, they say, is because they know nothing of it, it is strange to them.
Having no domestic pigs and fowls, they of course do not sacrifice them to their
gods, nor do they seem to practise the rite of sacrifice in any form.
They give the names of various animals to their children, and use these
names in the ordinary way.
o 2
196 CHARLES HOSE AND W. MCDOUGALL. — The Relations between
The crocodile seems to be regarded as a god by the Punans — they speak
of it as Balli Penyalong. (This, as we have already said, is the name of the
Supreme Spirit of the Kenyahs.) They sometimes make a wooden image of it,
and hang it before the leaf shelter or hut in which they may be living at any
time, and if one of their party should fall ill they hang the blossom of the betel-
nut tree on the figure, and the medicine man addresses it when he seeks to call
back the wandering soul of his patient.
Punans certainly ascribe significance to the behaviour of a few animals
other than those observed by the other peoples. Thus if they see a lizard of
any kind upon a branch before the shelter in which they are encamped, and
especially if it utters its note, they regard this as a sign that enemies are near.
THE SEA DAYAKS OR IBANS.
These people, who have been a good deal confused with the Land Dayaks
(whom we regard as belonging to the group of scattered communities that we
have classed together as Kalamantans), we propose to call Ibans in order to avoid
this confusion. This name, which means the immigrants, has been given them
by the Kayans because they have migrated from the Saribas and Lemanak rivers
in the Kejang, and they have adopted it for themselves.1
They inhabited a small district only at the time of the advent of Sir James
Brooke, but since that time they have spread, under the protection of the Sarawak
government, over a much wider area, and have made settlements in most of the
main rivers of Sarawak. We regard them, for reasons which it would take too
long to give here, as people of Malay stock who, like the Malays, have come
to Borneo from the west. They have had much more intercourse with Malays,
Chinamen, and all the other peoples of the country than have the tribes with
which we have hitherto dealt, and they are a very imitative people, readily
adopting the fashions, customs, and beliefs of those with whom their roving
natures bring them into relations of any kind. The result is that their beliefs
and customs are much mixed, and present unusually great inconsistencies and
extravagances. Since, then, we regard the customs of the Ibans as of less
anthropological value than those of the tribes with which we have dealt above,
and since various writers have already described many of them at length, we
shall describe in this paper only some features of their animal superstitions that
seem to us especially interesting.
The Ibans do not seem to have any conception that corresponds closely to the
Supreme Spirit of the races with which we have already dealt. Archdeacon
Perham2 has given an account of the Petara of these people, showing how it is a
conception of one god having very many manifestations and functions, each special
function being conceived vaguely as an anthropomorphic deity. He has described
1 We believe that Dr. A. C. Haddon also proposes to use the name Iban for these people.
2 Journ. of Straits Asiatic Society, Nos. 8, 10, and 14.
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 197
also the mythical warrior-hero and demi-god Klieng, and the god of war, Singalanr;
Burong. As Archdeacon Perham has said, this last deity has a material animal
form, namely, the white-headed hawk, which is the Balli Flaki of the Kenyans,
and plays a somewhat similar part in their lives. But Singalang Burong is
decidedly more anthropomorphic than Balli Flaki and is probably generally
conceived as a single being of human form living in a house such as the Ibans
themselves inhabit; whereas Balli Flaki, even if sometimes conceived in the
singular as the great Balli Flaki, is very bird-like. We have seen that the
Kayans describe their hawk-god, Laki Neho, as dwelling in a house, which, though
in the top of a tree, has a landing-stage before it on the river-bank. In the case of
the Kayans the conception is only half-way on the road to a full anthropomorph.
whereas with the Ibans the change has been completed and the hawk-god is
completely anthropomorphic. And corresponding with this increased importance
and definition of the anthropomorphic hawk-god, we find that for the Ibans the
virtue has departed out of the individual hawks and they are no longer consulted
for omens, for they say that Singalang Burong never leaves his house, and
therefore they do not take omens from 'the hawks when going on the warpath.
Nevertheless, he is the chief or ruler over all the other omen-birds, who are merely
his messengers. He thus seems to have come to occupy almost the position of
Balli Penyalong among the Kenyahs. The following notes are the statements made
upon this subject by a very intelligent I ban of the Undup district : — Once a year
they make a big feast for Singalang Burong and sing for about twelve hours,
calling him and Klieng and all the Petara to the feast. (This is the ceremony
known as Gawai Burong. It is a most tedious and monotonous performance after
the first few hours.) Singalang Burong in older days used to come to these feasts
in person as a man just like an Iban in appearance and behaviour. At the end of
the feast he would go out, take off his coat, and fly away in the form of the
white-headed hawk. Now they are not sure that he comes to their feast, because
they never see him. Singalang Burong is greater than Klieng, although it is
Klieng that gives them heads in war. Singalang Burong married an Iban woman,
Kachimdai Lanai Pantak Girak, and he gave all his daughters in marriage to the
omen-birds. Dara Inchin Tembaga Monghok Chelabok married Katupong (Sasia
abnormis), Dara Selaka Ulih Nujut married Manbuus (Carkurentis), Pingai Tuai
Nadai Mertas Indu Moa Puchang Penabas married Bragai (Harpactes), Indu Langgu
Katungsong Ngumbai Dayang Katupang Bungah Nketai married Papan (Harpactes
diardi), and lastly ludu Bentok Tinchin Mas Ndu Pungai Lelatan Pulas married
Kotok (Lepocestes). He had also one son, Agi Melieng, etc., who married the
daughter of Pulang Gana, the god of agriculture, her name being Indu Kachanggut
liumput Melieng Capian.
It was amusing and instructive to hear this Iban rattle off these enormous
names without any hesitation, while another Iban sitting beside him guaranteed
their accuracy.
In the olden days, it is said, there were only thirty-three individuals of each
198 CHARLES HOSE AND W MCDOUGALL. — The Relations between
kind of omen-bird (including Singalang Burong). But although these thirty-three
of each kind still exist, there are many others which cannot be certainly
distinguished from them, and these do not give true omens. It would be quite
impossible to kill any one of these thirty-three true representatives of each kind,
however much a man might try.
Nevertheless, if an Iban kills an omen-bird by mistake, he wraps it in a
piece of cloth and buries it carefully in the earth, and with it he buries rice and
flesh and money, entreating it not to be vexed and to forgive him because it was
all an accident. He then goes home and will speak to no one on the way, and
stays in the house for the rest of that day at least.
The Ibans read omens not only from the birds mentioned above as- the
sons-in-law of Singalang Burong, but also from some other animals. And
it is interesting to note that they have made a verb from the substantive
"burong," a bird, namely, "beburong," to bird, i.e., to take omens of any kind,
whether from bird or beast. An excellent account of the part played by
omens in the life of the Ibans has been given by Archdeacon Perham in the
paper referred to above, and we have nothing further to add to that
account.
The hornbill must be included among the sacred birds of the Iban, although
it does not give omens. On the occasion of making peace between hostile tribes,
the Ibans sometimes make a large wooden image of the hornbill and hang great
numbers of cigarettes upon it, and these are taken from it during the ceremony
and smoked by all the men taking part in it. On the occasion of the great
peace-making at Baram in March, 1899, at which thousands of Kenyahs, Kayans
Kalainantans, and Ibans were present, the Ibans made an elaborate image of the
hornbill some nine feet in height and hung upon it many thousands of cigarettes,
and these were smoked by the men of the different tribes with apparently full
understanding of the value of the act.
A special deity, Pulang Gana, presides over the rice-culture of the Ibans, but
the crocodile also is intimately concerned with their rice-culture. The following
account was given us by an intelligent Iban from the Batang Lupar: —
Klieng first advised the Ibans to make friends with Pulang Gana, who is a
Petara and the grandfather (" aki ") of paddy. Pulang Gana first taught them to
plant paddy and instructed them in the following rites :
On going to a new district Ibans always make a life-size image of a crocodile
in clay on the land chosen for the paddy-farm. The image is made chiefly by some
elderly man of good repute and noted for skilful farming. Then for seven days
the house is "mali," i.e., under special restrictions — no one may enter the house -or
do anything in it except eat and sleep. At the end of the seven days they go to
see the clay crocodile and give it cloth and food and rice-spirit and kill a fowl and
a pig before it. The ground round about the image is kept carefully cleared and
is held sacred for the next three years, and if this be not done there will be poor
crops on the other farms. When the rites are duly performed this clay crocodile
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 199
destroys all the pests which eat the rice. If in a district where Ibans have been
long settled the farm-pests become very noxious, the people pass three days <;mali"
and then make a tiny boat of bark, which they call " utap " (a shield). They then
catch one specimen of each kind of pest — one sparrow, one grasshopper, etc. — and
put them into the small boat together with all they need for food and set the boat
free to float away down the river. If this does not drive away the pests they then
resort to the more thorough and certainly effectual process of making the clay
crocodile.
Many Ibans claim the live crocodile as a relative, and like almost all the other
peoples will not eat the flesh of crocodiles nor kill them, save in revenge when a
crocodile has taken one of their household. They say that the spirit of the
crocodile sometimes becomes a man just like an Iban, but better and more
powerful in every way, and sometimes he is met and spoken with in this form.
Another reason given for their fear of killing crocodiles is that Ribai., the
river-god, sometimes becomes a crocodile ; and he may become also a tiger or a
bear. Klieng too, may become any one of five beasts, namely, the python, the
maias, the crocodile, the bear, or the tiger, and it is for this reason that Ibans will
not kill these animals. For if a man should kill one which was really either
Ribai or Klieng he would go mad.
The Ibans are by nature a less serious-minded and less religious people
than the Kenyahs and Kayans, and they have a greater variety of myths and
extravagant superstitions ; nevertheless, they use the fowl and the pig as sacrificial
animals in much the same way as the other tribes. They eat the fowl and both
the wild and domestic pig freely, except in so far as they are restrained by
somewhat rigid notions of economy in such matters. The fowl plays a larger
part than the pig in their religious practices, and its heart is sometimes consulted
for omens. Ibans will kill and eat all kinds of deer, but there are exceptions to
this rule. The deer are of some slight value to them as omen-givers. Horned
cattle they will kill and eat, but they are not accustomed to the flesh of them, and
most do not relish it.
Ibans have numerous animal fables that remind one strongly of ^Esop's fables
and the Brer Rabbit stories of the Africans. In these " Tekora " the land-tortoise
and "pelandok," the tiny mouse-deer, figure largely as cunning and unprincipled
thieves and vagabonds that turn the laugh always against the bigger animals and
man.
The " Nyarong " or Spirit-helper.
An important institution among the Ibans, which occurs but in rare instances
among the other peoples, is the " Nyarong " or Spirit-helper. The " Nyarong " is
one of the very few topics in regard to which the Ibans display any reluctance to
speak freely. So great is their reserve in this connection that one of us lived
for fourteen years on friendly terms with Ibans of various districts without
ascertaining the meaning of the word " Nyarong " or suspecting the great
importance of the part played by it in the lives of many of these people. It
200 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDoUGALL. — The Relations between
seems to be usually the spirit of some ancestor or dead relative, but not always
so, and it is not clear that it is always conceived as the spirit of a deceased
human being. This spirit becomes the special protector of some individual Iban,
to whom in a dream he manifests himself, in the first place in human form, and
announces that he will be his "Nyarong," and apparently he may or may not
inform the dreamer in what form he will appear in future. On the day after
such a dream the Iban wanders through the jungle looking for signs by which
he may recognize his " Nyarong," and if an animal behaves in a manner at all
unusual, if a startled deer stops a moment to gaze at him before bounding away,
if a gibbon gambols about persistently in the trees near him, if he comes upon
a bright quartz-crystal or a strangely contorted root or creeper, that animal or
object is for him full of a mysterious significance and is the abode of his
" Nyarong." Sometimes the " Nyarong " then assumes the form of an Iban and
speaks with him, promising all kinds of help and good fortune. If this occurs the
Iban usually faints away, and when he comes to himself again the " Nyarong " will
have disappeared. Or, again, a man may be told in his dream that if he will go into
the jungle he will meet his " Nyarong " as a wild boar. He will then of course
go to seek it, and if by chance other men of his house should kill a wild boar that
day he will go to them and beg for its head or buy it at a great price if need be,
carry it home to his bed-place, offer it cooked rice and kill a fowl before it,
smearing the blood on the head and on himself and humbly begging for pardon.
Or he may leave the corpse in the jungle and sacrifice a fowl before it there. On
the following night he hopes to dream of the " Nyarong " again, and perhaps he is
told to take the tusks from the dead boar and that they will bring him good luck.
Unless he dreams something of this sort he feels that he has been mistaken and
that the boar was not really his " Nyarong."
Perhaps only one in fifty or a hundred men is fortunate enough to have a
" Nyarong," though all ardently desire it. Many a young man goes out to sleep
on the grave of some distinguished person or in some wild and lonely spot and
lives for some days on a very restricted diet, hoping that a " Nyarong " will come
to him in his dreams.
When, as is most commonly the case, the " Nyarong " takes on the form of
some animal, all individuals of that species become objects of especial regard to
the fortunate Iban, and he of course will not kill or eat any such animal, and he
will as far as possible restrain others from doing so. A " Nyarong " may change
the form in which it manifests itself, but even then the Iban will continue to
respect the animal-form in which it first appeared.
In some cases the cult of a " Nyarong " will spread through a whole family
or household. The children and grandchildren will usually respect the species of
animal to which a man's " Nyarong " belongs and perhaps sacrifice fowls or pigs to
it occasionally. But it does not do anything for them ; whereas it is asserted that,
if the great-grandchildren of a man behave well to his " Nyarong," it will often
befriend them just as much aa its original protege.
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 201
The above general account of the " Nyarong " is founded on the descriptions
of many different Ibans, and we will now supplement it by describing several
particular instances.
Angus (a Batang Lupar Iban) says that every Iban who has no " Nyarong "
hopes to get some bird or beast as his helper at the " begawai," the feast given to
the Petara. He himself has none, but he will not kill the gibbon because the
" Nyarong " of his grandfather, who died twenty years ago, was a gibbon. Once a
man came to his grandfather in a dream and said to him, " Don't you kill tha
gibbon," and. then turned into a grey gibbon. This gibbon helped him to become
rich and to take heads and in all possible ways. On one occasion when he was
about to go on the warpath his "Nyarong" came to him in a dream and said, " Go
on, I will help you," and the next day he saw in the jungle a grey gibbon which
was undoubtedly his " Nyarong." "When he died he said to his sons, " Don't yen
kill the gibbon," and his sons and grandsons have obeyed him in this ever since.
Angus adds that when a man dreams of a " Nyarong " for the first time he does
not believe it and will still kill animals of that kind; nor is a second dream
enough, but when he dreams the same dream a third time, then his scepticism is
overcome and he can no longer doubt his good fortune.
Angus himself once shot a gibbon when told to do so by one of us. He
first said to it, " I don't want to kill you, but the Tuan who is giving me
wages expects me to, and the blame is his. But if you are really the
' Nyarong ' of my grandfather, make the shot miss you." He then shot and
missed three times, and on shooting a fourth time he killed a gibbon, but not
the one he had spoken to. Angus does not think the gibbon helps either his
father or himself.
Payang, an old Katibas Iban, tells us that he has been helped by a python
ever since he was a young man, when a man came to him in a dream and said,
" Sometimes 1 become a python and sometimes a cobra, and I will always help you."
It has certainly helped him very much, but he does not know whether it has
helped his children ; nevertheless, he has forbidden them to kill it. He does not
like to speak of it, but he does so at our request. Payang concluded by saying
that he had no doubt that we white men have " Nyarongs " very much more
powerful than the Iban's, and that to them we owe our ability to do so many
wonderful things.
Imban, an Iban who had recently moved to the Baram river from the Eejang,
had once when sick seen in a dream the Labi-Labi, the large river-turtle (Trionyx
subplanus), and made a promise that if he should recover he would never kill it.
So when he settled on the Baram river as head of a household he attempted to
impose a fine on his people for killing the Labi-Labi. They appealed to one of us
as the resident magistrate, and it was decided that if Imban wished to insist on
this observance he must remove to a small tributary stream. This he has done,
and a few of his people have followed him and on them he enforces a strict
observance of his cult of the Labi-Labi.
202 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouoALL. — The Relations between
A still more interesting case is the following one : — A community of Ibans
were building a new house on the Dabai river some years ago, and one day, while
they were at work, a porcupine ran out of a hole in the ground near by. During
the following night one of the party was told by the porcupine in a dream to join
their new house with his (the porcupine's). So they completed their house, and
ever since have made yearly feasts in honour of the porcupines that live below the
house, and no one in the house dare injure one of them, though they will still
kill and eat other porcupines in the jungle. They have had no death in the house
during the seven years that it has been built, and this they attribute to the
protecting power of the porcupines, and when anyone is sick they offer food to
them and regard their good offices as far more important than the ministrations of
the " inanang," the medicine man. Last year some relatives of these Ibans moved
to this village, and for three months the knowledge of the part played by the
porcupines was hid from them as a mysterious secret. At the end of that time
this precious mystery was disclosed to the new-comers, and the porcupines were
feasted with every variety of cooked rice, some of it being made into a rude image
of a porcupine, and witli rice-spirit and cakes of sugar and rice-flour, salt and
dried fish, oil, betel-nut, and tobacco. Several fowls were slain, and their blood
was daubed on the chin of each person in the house. The heart of one fowl was
carefully taken out and put with the food offered to the porcupines, that they
might read the omens from it, and they were then informed of the arrival of
the new-comers. The fowls were waved over the heads of the people by the old
men while they prayed the porcupines to give them long life and health and a
token of their goodwill in the form of a smooth, rounded peeble. On an occasion
of this sort it is highly probable that the required token will be found, for the
spirit-helper would no doubt be surreptitiously helped by some member of the
household who, being deficient in faith, prefers to make a certainty of so
important a matter rather than leave it entirely to the " Nyarong."
CONCLUSION.
We have now to discuss some problems suggested by a review of the facts
set forth above and to bring forward a few additional facts that seem to throw
light on these questions.
The question that we will first discuss in this — Are all or any of the instances
of peculiar regard paid to animals, or of animals sacrificed to gods or spirits, or of
the ceremonial use of their blood, to be regarded as institutions surviving from a
fully developed system of totem-worship now fallen into decay? It will have been
noticed that a large number of the features of totem-worship, as it occurs in its
best developed forms, occur among the people of one or other of the tribes of
Sarawak. We have in the first place numerous cases in which a whole community
refuses to kill or eat an animal which is believed to protect and aid them by
omens and warnings and in other ways, and iu which the animal is worshipped
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 20
with prayer and sacrifice (the hawk among various tribes) ; we have at least one
nstance of a community claiming to be related to a friendly species (Long Patas and
the crocodile), and having as usual an extravagant myth to account for the belief ;
we have the domestic animal that is sacrificially slain, its blood being sprinkled
on the worshippers and its flesh eaten by them, and that is never slain without
religious rites (pig of the Kenyahs and Kayans); we have the animal that
must not be killed tattooed on the skin of the men (the dog), or its skin worn by
fully grown men only (the tiger-cat), or images of it made of clay or carved in
wood and set up before the house (the hawk and crocodile) ; we have the animal
that is claimed as a relative imitated in popular dances (the Dokrmonkey of the
Kayans), the belief that the souls of men assume the form of some animal that
must not be killed or eaten (deer and the arctogale among Kalamantans), the
observance by invalids of a very strict avoidance of contact with any part of an
animal that must not be killed or eaten in any case (horned cattle among Kenyahs
and Kayans).
Not only do we see these various customs, that in other parts of the world
have been observed as living elements of totem-worship, and that «in other parts
have been accepted as evidence of totem-worship in the past, but in the
agricultural habits of the people we may see an efficient cause of the decay of
totem-worship if at some time in the past it has flourished among them. For it
has been pointed out, especially by Mr. Jevons in his Introduction to the History
of Religion, that totemisrn seems to flourish most naturally among tribes of
hunters, and that the introduction of agriculture must tend towards its decay.
Now there is some reason to suppose that the introduction to Borneo of rice
and of the art of cultivating it is of comparatively recent date. Crawford
reckoned that the cultivation of paddy was introduced to the southern parts of
Borneo from Java some three hundred years ago, and into the northern parts from
the Philippine Islands about one hundred and fifty years ago. But whatever the
date of the occurrence may have been, it seems to be certain that, by the
introduction of paddy-cultivation from some other country, most of the tribes of
Sarawak were converted, probably very rapidly, from hunting to agriculture. This
conversion must have caused great changes in their social conditions and in their
customs and superstitions, and if totemism flourished among them while they
were still simple hunters, its decay may well have been one of the chief of these
changes.
A second factor that would have tended to bring about this change is the
prevalence of a belief in a god or beneficent spirit more powerful than all others
and more directly concerned with the welfare of his worshippers, however this
belief may have come into being. And a third factor that may have tended in
the same direction is the custom of head-hunting, and the important part played
by the heads in the religious life of the people. For there is some reason to think
that head-hunting is a comparatively young institution among the tribes of
Sarawak.
204 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The Relations let-ween
But in spite of all this and although we do not think it is possible completely
to disprove the truth of this hypothesis, we are inclined to reject it. We are led
to do so by four considerations. In the first place, if by totemism we mean a
social organisation consisting in the division of a people into groups or clans, each
of which worships or holds in superstitious regard one or more kinds of animal or
plant or other natural objects to which the members of the group claim to be related
by blood or by descent, then it seems to us sufficiently wonderful that this system
should have existed among peoples so remote from one another in all things, save
certain of the external conditions of life, as the Indians of North America and the
indigenes of Australia. And it seems to us that to invoke the aid of the
hypothesis of totemism in the past to explain the existence of a set of animal or
plant superstitions in any particular case is but to increase the mystery that
shrouds their origin ; for unless it can be shown that the adoption or development
of totemism by any people brings with it immense advantages for them in the
struggle for existence, every fresh case in which the evidence compels us to admit
its occurrence, whether in the past or as a still flourishing institution, can but
increase the wonder with which we have to regard its wide distribution.
Secondly, we have in the total absence of totemism among the Punans very
strong ground for rejecting the suggestion of its previous existence among the
Kenyahs. For in physical characters, in language, and, as far as the difference in
the mode of life permits, in customs and beliefs the Punans resemble the
Kenyahs so closely that we must assume them to be closely allied by blood, and
it seems probable that the Punans have merely persisted in the social condition
from which the Kenyahs and other tribes have been raised by the adoption of
agriculture and the practice of building substantial houses. Yet, as we have said,
the Punans, although in that condition of nomadic hunters which is probably the
most favourable to the development and persistence of totemism, observe hardly
any restrictions in their hunting, and in fact seem to kill and eat with equal
freedom almost every bird and beast of the jungle, shooting them with the
blowpipe and poisoned darts with consummate skill. The only exceptions to this
rule are, as far as we know, the omen-birds, and as we have said, it seems doubtful
whether even these are excepted' in the case of Punans who have not had much
intercourse with other peoples.
Thirdly, although it may be said that even at the present time many of the
features of the religious side of totemism are present, we have not been able to
discover any traces of a social organisation based upon totemism. There is no
trace of any general division of the people of any tribe into groups which claim
specially intimate relations with different animals, except in the case of the
Kalamantans; and in their case such special relations seem to be the result
merely of the different conditions under which the various scattered groups now
live. There are no restrictions in the choice of a wife that might indicate a rule
of endogamy or exogamy. There are no ceremonies to initiate youths into tribal
mysteries ; certain ceremonies in which the youths take a leading part are directed
^[f.n and Animals in Sarawak. 205
exclusively to training them for war and the taking of heads in battle. We know
of no instance of any group of people being named after an animal or plant
which is claimed as a relative and in the case of the more homogeneous tribes,
such as the Kenyans and Kayans, all prohibitions with regard to animals and all
benefits conferred by them are shared equally by all the members of any one
community and, with but very few exceptions, are the same for all the communities
of the tribe.
Lastly, we think it unnecessary to regard the animal superstitions of these
tribes as survivals of totemism, because it seems possible to find a more direct and
natural explanation of almost every case. The numerous cases seem to fall into
two groups, the superstitious practices concerned with the sacrificial animals, the
pig and fowl, on the one hand, and all those concerned with the various other
animals on the other hand. These latter may, we think, be regarded as the
expression of the direct and logical reaction of the mind of the savage to the
impression made upon it by the behaviour of the animals.
It has been admirably shown by Professor Lloyd Morgan1 how we ourselves,
and even professed psychologists among us, tend to overestimate the complexity of
the mental processes of animals, and there can be no doubt that savages generally
are subject to this error in a very much greater degree, that, in fact, they make,
without questioning and in most cases without explicit statement even to
themselves, the practical assumption that the mental processes of animals, their
passions, desires and motives, and powers of reasoning are of the same order as and
in fact extremely similar to their own. That the Kenyans entertain this belief in a
very practical manner is shown by their conduct when preparing for a hunting or
fishing excursion. If, for example, they are preparing to poison the fish of a
section of the river with the " tuba " root, they always speak of the matter as
little as possible and use the most indirect and fanciful modes of expression ; thus
they will say, " There are many leaves fallen here," meaning, " There are plenty of
fish in this part of the river." And these elaborate precautions are taken lest the
birds should overhear their remarks and inform the fish of their intentions when
of course the fish would not stay to be caught but would swim away to some
other part of the river.
Since this belief seems to be common to all or almost all savages and
primitive peoples, it would be a strange thing if prohibitions against killing and
eating certain animals and various superstitious practices in regard to animals
were not practically universal among them.
Bearing in mind the reality of this belief in the minds of these people, it
is easy to understand why they should shrink from killing any creature so
malignant-looking and powerful for harm as a snake, and why they should feel
uneasy in the presence of, and to some extent dread, the maias and the
long-nosed monkey, creatures whose resemblance to man seems even to us
somewhat uncanny. Their objection to killing their troublesome dogs seems
1 Introduction to Comparative Psychology, and elsewhere.
206 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDouGALL. — The Relations between
to be due to a somewhat similar feeling, a recognition of intelligence and
emotions not unlike their own, but mysteriously hidden from them by the
dumbness of the animals. In the same way it is clear that it is but a very
simple and logical inference that the crocodiles are a friendly race, and but the
clearest dictate of prudence to avoid offending creatures so powerful and agile ;
for if they were possessed of the mental powers attributed to them by the
imagination of the people, they might easily make it impossible for men to
travel upon the rivers and dwell on their banks. A similar process would lead
to the prohibition against the eating of the tiger-cat, the only large and
dangerous carnivore.
The origin of the prohibitions against killing and eating deer and horned
cattle is perhaps not so clear. But it must be remembered that until very
recently the only horned cattle known to the tribes of the interior were the
wild cattle (the Saladang of the Malay peninsula), very fierce and powerful
creatures. These wild cattle hide themselves in the remotest recesses of the
forests, and as they are but very rarely seen, they may well be regarded as
somewhat mysterious and awful. Deer, on the other hand, abound in the forests
and like most deer are very timid, and it is perhaps their timidity that has led
in some cases to the prohibition against their flesh, for we have seen how a
Kenyan chief feared lest his little son, safe at home a hundred miles away,
should be infected with the deer's timidity if he should come in contact with
the skin of one. In another case we have seen that by the people of one
community deer are regarded as relatives or as containing the souls of their
ancestors, and that this belief probably had its origin in the fact that deer are
in the habit of frequenting the grassy clearings made about the tombs by the
people. And we saw that a similar belief in the -case of certain carnivores
probably had a similar origin.
We think that even the elaborate cult of the hawk and of the other omen-
birds is to be explained on these lines. If we think of his erratic behaviour,
how he will come suddenly rushing down out of the remotest blue of the sky
to hover overhead and then perhaps to circle hither and thither in an apparently
aimless manner, or will keep flying on before a boat on the river or come
swiftly to meet it screaming as he comes, — if we think of this, it is easy to
understand how a people whose whole world consists of dense forests and
dangerous rivers, a people extremely ignorant, yet intelligent and speculative
and always looking out for signs that shall guide them among the mystery and
dangers that surround them, may have come to see in the hawk a messenger
sent to them by the beneficent Supreme Being. For this Being is vaguely
conceived by them as dwelling in the skies, whence the hawk comes, and
whither he so often returns. And then we may suppose that the messenger
himself has come to be an object of worship in various degrees with the different
tribes, as seems to be the rule in all religions systems in which servants of a
deity mediate between him and man.
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 207
The origin of the various rites in which the fowl and pig are sacrificed, and
their blood smeared or sprinkled on men or on the altar-posts of gods, or on the
image of the hawk, and their so ills charged with messages to the Supreme Being —
the origin of this group of customs must be sought in a different direction.
To anyone acquainted with Kobertson Smith's Religion of the Semites, and
with Mr. Jevons's Introduction to the History of Religion, the idea naturally suggests
itself that these animals are or were true totems, of which the cult has passed
into a late stage of decay. It might be supposed that, being originally totem
animals, they thereby became domesticated by their worshippers, that they were
occasionally slain as a rite for the renewal of the bond between them and their
worshippers, their blood being smeared or sprinkled on the latter, and their flesh
ceremonially eaten by them, and that the eating of them has become more and
more frequent, until now every religious rite, of however small importance, is made
the occasion for the killing and eating of them. It might also be supposed that,
with the development or the adoption of the conception of a Supreme Being, the
original purpose and character of the rites had become obscure, so that the
slaughtered animals are now regarded in some cases as sacrifices offered to the
deity.
But we do not think that this tempting hypothesis as to the origin of the
rites can be upheld in this case. In the first place the wild pig of the jungle is
hunted in sport and killed and eaten freely by all the various tribes, and is, in fact,
treated on the whole with less respect and ceremony than perhaps any other animal.
Secondly, the domestic pig differs so much from the wild pig that Mr. Old field
Thomas has pronounced it to be of a different species, and it seems likely that
it has been introduced to Borneo by the Chinese at a comparatively recent date.
Further, there is reason to suppose that the custom of sacrificing pigs and fowls
arose through the substitution of them for human beings in certain rites. For
there is a number of rites, of which it is admitted by the people that the slaughter of
human beings was formerly a central feature ; of these, the most important and the
most widely spread are the funeral rites of a great chief, the rites at the building
of a new house, and those on returning from a successful war expedition. In
all these, fowls or pigs are now substituted as a rule, but we know of instances
in which in recent years human beings were the victims. Thus some six years
ago, on the death of the chief of a community of Kalarnantans (the (Drang Bukit),
a slave was bought by his son, and a feast was made, and the slave was killed
through each man of the community giving him a slight cut with his parang.
This was said to be the revival of an old and almost obsolete custom. In another
recent case, when a mixed party of Kayans and Kenyahs returned from a
successful war expedition, only the Kenyahs had secured heads. The Kayans
therefore took an old woman, one of the captives, and killed her by driving a
long pole against her abdomen, as many of them as possible taking part by holding
and helping to thrust the pole. The head was then divided among the parties
of Kayans, and pieces of the flesh were hung on poles beside the river, just as is
208 CHARLES HOSE AND "W. McDouGALL. — The Relations bctu-ccn
done with the flesh of slain enemies and with the flesh of the pigs that are
always slaughtered on such occasions. It was said that this killing of a human
being was equivalent to killing a pig, only much finer.
Kayans tell us that they used to kill slaves at the death of a chief, usually
three, but at least one, and that they nailed them to the tomb, in order that
they might accompany the chief on his long journey to the other world and
paddle the canoe in which he must travel. This is no longer done, but a wooden
figure of a man is put up at the head and another of a -woman at the foot of
the coffin of a chief as it lies in state before the funeral. And a small wooden
figure of a man is usually fixed on the top of the tomb, and it is said that this
is to row the canoe for the chief. A live fowl is usually tied to this figure, and
although it is said to be put there merely to eat the grubs, we think there can
be no doubt that we see here going on the process of substitution of fowl for
slave.
In building a new house it is customary among almost all these tribes to put
a fowl into the hole dug to receive the first of the piles which are to support the
house, and to allow the end of the pile to fall upon the fowl so as to kill it. The
Kenyans admit that formerly a girl was usually killed in this way, and there is
reason to believe that in all cases a human victim was formerly the rule, and that
the fowl is a substitute merely. In the following cases, too, we see the idea of
substitution of fowls or pigs for men.
It is customary with the Malanaus of Niah to kill fowls and put them together
with eggs on poles in the caves in which the swifts build the edible nests, in order
to secure a good crop of nests. One year when the nests were scanty they bought
a slave in Brunei and killed him in the cave in the hope of increasing the number
of nests.
It was formerly the custom to exact a fine of one or more slaves as punish-
ment for certain offences, e.g., the accidental setting fire to a house. At the present
time, when slaves are scarcer than of yore, slaves are rarely given in such cases,
but usually brass gongs, always accompanied by a pig.
Now when slaves were killed and nailed to the tomb of a chief the purpose
was perfectly clear and simple. It was done in just the same spirit in which the
weapons and shield and clothing are still always hung on the tomb of a deceased
warrior in order that his soul may not be without them on the journey to the
other world. On the introduction of the domestic pig it may well have become
customary for the poorer classes, who could not afford to kill a slave, or for families
which owned no slaves, to kill a pig as in some degree a compensation for the want
of human victims. If such a custom were once introduced it may well have spread
rapidly from motives of both economy and humanity, for slaves are as a rule very
kindly treated by their masters, and in many cases come to be regarded as members
of their family.
"We may suppose, too, that formerly it was the custom to kill a slave when
prayers of public importance were made to the Supreme Being in order that the
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 209
soul of the slave might carry the prayer to him. If this was the case, the substitu-
tion of pig for slave, on the introduction of the domestic pig, may be even more
readily conceived to have become customary, when we remember that these people
regard the souls of animals as essentially similar to their own. If such a custom
of substitution once gained a footing it would naturally become usual to take the
opportunity of communicating with the higher powers whenever a pig was to be
slaughtered. This view, that in all sacrifices the pig and fowl are but substitutes
for human victims, finds very strong support in the following facts : — The Kalabits, a
tribe inhabiting the north-western corner of the Baram district, breed the water-
buffalo and use it in cultivating their land. It has probably been introduced to
this area from North Borneo at a recent date. The religious rites of these people
closely resemble those of the tribes with which we have been dealing above, but in
all cases in which pigs are sacrificed by the latter buffaloes are used by the
Kalabits.
The rite of sprinkling the blood of pigs and fowls on men and on the altar-
posts and images may, we think, be an extension or adaptation of the blood-
brotherhood ceremony. We have seen that with the Kayans and Kenyahs the
essential feature of this ceremony is the drawing of a little blood from the arm of
the two men, either of whom then drinks or consumes in a cigarette the blood of
the other one. Such a rite calls for no remote explanation ; it seems to have
suggested itself naturally to the minds of primitive people all the world over, as a
process for the cementing of friendship. When two hostile communities wished to
make a permanent peace with one another it would be natural that they should
wish to perform a ceremony similar to the rite of blood-brotherhood. But the
interchange of drops of blood between large numbers of persons would obviously be
inconvenient, and if the idea of substituting fowls and pigs for human victims had
once taken root in their minds, it would have been but a small step to substitute
their blood for human blood in the peace-making ceremonies. We have seen above
(p. 183) that in such a ceremony fowls are exchanged by the two parties, so that the
men of either party are smeared with the blood of the fowl originally belonging
to the other party. It may be that here, too, the blood of slaves was formerly
used, but of this we have no evidence. The custom of smearing the blood of fowls
and pigs on the two parties to a friendly compact having been arrived at in this way,
the rite might readily be extended to the cases in which the hawk, represented by
his wooden image, or the Supreme Being, also represented by an image, is invoked as
one of the parties to the compact. We are inclined to think that in some such
way as we have here suggested, namely, by the substitution of pigs and fowls for
human victims, and of their blood for human blood, the origin of the customs of
sacrificing fowls and pigs, and of ceremonially sprinkling their blood, may be
explained.
We conclude, then, that the various superstitions entertained by these tribes
in regard to animals are not to be looked upon as survivals of totem-worship, but
that they may all be explained in a simpler and more satisfactory manner. But
VOL. XXXI. P
210 CHARLES HOSE AND W. McDou&ALL. — The Relations between
before bringing our paper to an end we would point out that among the facts we
have described there are some which seem to suggest a possible and indeed, as it
seems to us, a very natural and probable mode of origin of totem-worship. We
refer to the varieties of the " Nyarong " of the Ibans and sporadic analogous cases
among the other tribes. We have seen that the " Nyarong " may assume the form
of some curious natural object or of some one animal, distinguished from its
fellows by some slight peculiarity, which receives the attentions of some one man
only. In such cases the " Nyarong " is hardly distinguishable from a fetish, In
other cases the man, being unable to distinguish the particular animal which he
believes to be animated by his " Nyarong," extends his regard and gratitude to the
whole species. In such a case it seems difficult to deny the name "individual
totem " to the species if the term is to be used at all. In other cases, again, all
the members of a man's family and all his descendants, and if he be a chief all
the members of the community over which he rules, may come to share in the
benefits conferred by the "Nyarong," and in the feeling of respect for and in
performing rites in honour of the species of animal in one individual of which it
is supposed to reside. In such cases the species approaches very closely the
clan-totem in some of its varieties. (In speaking of the "Kobong" of certain
natives of Western Australia, Sir G. Grey1 says, "This arises from the family
belief that some one individual of the species is their nearest friend to kill whom
would be a great crime, and to be carefully avoided.")
Of similar cases among other tribes of guardian-animals appearing to men
in dreams and claiming their respect and gratitude, we must mention the case of
Aban Jau, a powerful chief of the Sebops, a sub-tribe of Kenyahs. He had
hunted and eaten the wild pig freely like all other Kenyahs, until once in a dream
a wild boar appeared to him and told him that he had always helped him in his
fighting. Thereafter Aban Jau refused, until the day of his death, to kill or eat
both the wild and the domestic pig, although he would still consult for omens the
livers of pigs killed by others.
We have described above (p. 190) how a Kayau may become blood-brother
to a crocodile in a dream, and may thereafter be called Baiya (crocodile), and how
in this way one Kayan chief had come to regard himself as both son and nephew
to crocodiles, and how he believed that they brought him success in hunting and
carried him ashore when (in a dream) he had fallen into the river. The cousin
of this chief, too, regarded himself as specially befriended by crocodiles because
his great-grandfather had become blood-brother to one in a dream. So it is clear
that the members of the family to which these young men belong are likely to
continue to regard themselves as related by blood to the crocodiles and bound to
them by special ties of gratitude.
In another case we saw how all the people of one household regard
themselves as related to the crocodiles and specially favoured by them, explaining
the relation as due to one of their ancestors having become a crocodile. In
1 Quoted in Mr. Frazer's Totemism, p. 8,
Men and Animals in Sarawak. 211
another case we saw that some ill-defined relation to the gibbon is claimed by a
community of Kenyans, whose house is decorated with carvings of the form
of the gibbon, and whose members will not kill the gibbon. And in yet
another case we saw that a Kayan house is decorated with conventionalised
carvings of some animal whose species has been forgotten by the community.
In each of these last three cases it seems highly probable that the special relation
to the animal was established by some such process as we see going on in the
preceding case, so that we seem to have in this series of cases one of incipient
totemism and others illustrating various stages of decay of abortive beginnings of
totemism. And it is easy to imagine how in the absence of unfavourable
conditions such beginnings might grow to a fully developed totem-system. For
suppose that in any one community there happened to be at one time two or more
prosperous families, each claiming to be related with and protected by some
species of animal as the result of friendly overtures made by the animals to
members of the families in their dreams ; it would then be highly probable that
members of other families, envious of the good fortune of these, would have
similar dream-experiences and so come to claim a similar protection, until very
soon the members of any family that could claim no such protection would come
to be regarded as unfortunate and even somewhat disreputable beings, while the
faith of one family in its guardian-animal would react upon and strengthen the
faith of others in theirs. So a system of clan-totems would be established, around
which would grow up various myths of origin, various magical practices, and
various religious rites.
It is well known that such dreams as convince the Iban, the Kayan, and the
Kenyan of the reality of his special relation to some animal and lead him to
respect all animals of some one species produce similar results in other parts of
the world. We quote the following passages from Mr. Frazer's remarks on
individual totems in his book on totemism : — " An Australian seems usually to get
his individual totem by dreaming that he has been transformed into an animal of
that species." " In America the individual totem is usually the first animal
of which a youth dreams during the long and generally solitary fasts which
American Indians observe at puberty." Such dream experiences are, then,
the vera causa of the inception of faith in individual totems among the
peoples in which totemism is most highly developed, and among the tribes
of Sarawak we find cases which illustrate how a similar faith, strengthened by
further dreams and by the good fortune of its possessor, may spread to all the
members of his family or of his household and to his descendants, until in some
cases the guardian-animal becomes almost, though not quite, a clan-totem. The
further development of such incipient totems among these tribes is probably
prevented at the present time, not only by their agricultural habits, but also by
their passionate addiction to war and fighting and head-hunting ; for these
pursuits necessitate the strict subordination of each community to its chief and
compel all families to unite in the cult of the hawk to the detriment of all other
212 CHAKLES HOSE AND W. MCDOUGALL. — The Relations between
animal-cults, because the hawk is, by its habits, so much better suited than any
other animal to be a guide to them on warlike expeditions.1
The prevalence of the belief in a Supreme Being must also tend to
prevent the development of totemism, and we cannot conclude without saying
something as to the possible origin of this conception of a beneficent Being more
powerful than ail others, who sends guidance and warnings by the omen-birds,
and receives and answers the prayers carried to him by the souls of the fowls and
pigs. It might be thought that this conception of a beneficent Supreme Being has
been borrowed directly or indirectly from the Malays. But we do not think that
this view is tenable in face of the fact that while the conception is a living belief
among the Madangs, a tribe closely allied to the Kenyans that inhabits a district
in the remotest interior and has had no intercourse with Malays, the Ibans, who
have had far more intercourse with the Malays than have the Kayans and
Kenyans, yet show least trace of this conception. As Archdeacon Perham has
written of the Ibans, there are traces of the belief in one supreme God which
suggest that the idea is one that has been prevalent, but has now almost died out.
We are inclined rather to suppose that the tribes of the interior, such as the
Kenyahs and Kayans, have evolved the conception for themselves, and that in fact
Balli Penyalong of the Kenyahs is their god of war exalted above all others by the
importance of the department of human activity over which he presides ; for we
have seen that they have conceived other gods, Ballingo, the god of thunder, Balli
Sungei, the god of the rivers, whose anger is shown by the boiling flood, and Balli
Atap, who keeps harm from the house, while the Kayans have gods of life, a creator
of the world, Laki Kalira Murei, a god of harvesting, and others. It seems to us
that the only difficult step in such a simple and direct evolution of the idea of a
beneficent Supreme Being is the conception of gods or spirits that perform definite
functions, such as Balli Atap, who guards the house, and the gods that preside over
harvesting and war, as distinct from such gods or spirits as Ballingo and Balli
Sungei. But there seems to be no doubt that this step has been taken by these
peoples and that these various gods of abstract function have been evolved by them.
And it seems to us that were a god of war once conceived it would be inevitable
that, among communities whose chief interest is war and whose prosperity and
very existence depend upon success in battle, such a god of battles should come to
predominate over all others and to claim the almost exclusive regard of his
worshippers. Such a predominance would be given the more easily to one god by
these people because the necessity for strict subordination to their chiefs has
familiarised them with the principle of obedience of subjects to a single ruler ;
1 Dr. Boas is of the opinion that the totems of the Indians of British Columbia have been
developed from the personal " manitous," the guardian animals acquired by youths in dreams.
Miss A. C. Fletcher is led to a similar conclusion by a study of the totems of the Omaha
tribe of Indians (Import of the Totem, Salem, Mass., 1897). The facts described above in
connection with the " Nyarong " of the Ibans and similar allied institutions among other tribes
of Sarawak would seem, then, to support the views of these authors as to the origin of
totemism.
Men and A aim nl* in rti,-<tn-n/t; 213
while the beneficence of the Supreme Being thus evolved would inevitably result,
for the god of battles must seem beneficent to the victors, and among these people
only the victors survive. Again, this conception is one that undoubtedly makes
for righteousness, because it reflects the character of the people, who, within the
community and the tribe, are decent, humane, and honest folk.
We are conscious of presumption in venturing to adopt the view that the
conception of a beneficent Supreme Being may possibly be neither the end nor
the beginning of religion, neither the final result of an evolution, euhemeristic,
totemistic, or other, prolonged through countless ages and generations, nor part of
the stock-in-trade of primitive man mysteriously given, as Mr. Lang1 seems to wish
to make believe. Yet we are disposed to regard this conception as one that, amid
the perpetual flux of opinion and belief which obtains among peoples destitute of
written records, may be comparatively rapidly and easily arrived at under favour-
able conditions, such as seem to be afforded by tribes like the Kenyans and Kayans,
war-like, prosperous tribes subordinated to strong chiefs, and may as rapidly fall
into neglect with change of social conditions, and may then remain as a vestige
only to be discerned by curious research in the minds of a few individuals, as
among the Ibans or the Australian blacks, until another turn of Fortune's wheel,
perhaps the birth of some overmastering personality or a revival of national or
tribal vigour, gives it a new period of life and power.
We hope to give some account of the superstitions of these people in regard to
plants in a separate paper. Here we will only mention that none of the facts of
this kind known to us seem to make against the views we have taken of the mean-
ing and origin of some of the animal-cults.
1 The Making of Religion and Myth, Ritual and Religion, 2nd edition.
MEMORANDUM ON THE LANGUAGES OF THE PHILIPPINES.
BY WILLIAM E. W. MACKINLAY.
THE Philippines cannot be properly spoken of as Spanish-speaking territories.
Within the confines of the Magellanic Archipelago the language of its ancient
rulers has never been more than an exotic, spoken only by Spaniards and a
comparatively few educated natives. A much larger number of natives, especially
in the city of Manila, have acquired a smattering of Castilian, but by far the
greater majority of the inhabitants of the islands do not understand it at all.
Even within ten miles of Manila, natives can be found who do not speak a word
of it, although the city has been the centre of Spanish learning in the Orient for
more than three centuries.
The statement so often repeated in articles about the Philippines that there
are anywhere from two hundred to three hundred "languages" spoken in the
islands is so far from the truth that it refutes itself. The truth is that there are
eight tongues spoken by the civilized races of the country, and about sixty dialects
of the savage mountain tribes. A large number of these latter have never been
reduced to writing, and but few have received any scientific study whatever.
A dialect of Spanish is spoken in and around Zamboanga (Mindanao), and there
are two or three dialects spoken by small half-civilized tribes. Besides -the above
mentioned languages and dialects, there are Negrito dialects, so far almost
utterly unknown, spoken in the remotest mountains of many provinces.
By far the most cultured and advanced language of the Philippines is Tagalo,
spoken in the eight provinces of Manila, Cavite, Bataan, Bulacan, Morong, Laguna,
Batangas and Tayabas, and parts of Nueva Ecija, Mindoro, and Carnarines, and at
a few points of smaller importance. Like all the Philippine languages (Negrito
dialects excepted), Tagalo belongs to the widely spread Malay family, which with
its allied congeners of Polynesia and Micronesia, extends from Madagascar to
Hawaii and from New Zealand to Formosa, as well as to the far off Easter Island
west of Chili.
Compared with an Aryan language, Tagalo is deficient in many qualities
which have made European tongues the vehicle of civilization. It is deficient in
the expression of the verb " to be," and in the comparative and superlative of the
adjective, and has no grammatical gender. The plural of nouns and pronouns is
also very simple, the word mangd being prefixed to the word pluralized. The
article is also unvarying, as in English. In the conjugation of the verb it is also
WlLLIAM E. W. MACKINLAV. — McinoraiidumontheLanyuayesofthel'liilipinnes. 215
somewhat imperfect, as only a tew tenses are clearly distinguished, and the
moods are nebulous. The latter are the infinitive, imperative, indicative and
subjunctive. The tenses are the present, past, future, perfect, future perfect and
pluperfect. The past is expressed like the present, the sense being indicated by
the context. There are two voices, the active and the passive. The complexity
of the Tagalo verb, however, arises from the fact that there are seventeen classes
of verbs, each with its prefix for the active and passive voices. The first plural
personal pronoun "we," also has the peculiarity of having a double form. The
first includes both the speaker and the addressed, but the second excludes the
latter. Thus Anydtiny bdkay (Our house), includes both, but Any&miny l&hay
(Our house), excludes the party addressed. The article also has two forms, one
used with proper, and the other used with common nouns. The adverb greatly
resembles the verb in usage, and in form the adjective. The other forms of
speech do not greatly vary from those of European languages in their usage. A
striking feature of the language are the " ties " Gr, NG, Na, and Ay, which are
inserted between discordant words, and also serve to indicate the genitive in
the case of the three first, while the last is a substitute for the verb " to be."
Tagalo lacks the English F, Th, J, Sh, and Z, but has Ny, a peculiar guttural-
Second to Tagalo in importance is the Visaya language, which, however,
is divided into several districts, known as Cebuano, Boholano, Panayano, Halay.
and Halagueina, all mutually intelligible. The centre of the Visayan race is
at Iloilo, with a large subcentre at Cebu. The maritime tendencies of the
Visayans have carried their tongue far beyond its original limits, and it is
now spoken on the islands of Panay, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Ticao,
Romblon, Samar, and the districts of Butuan, Dapitan, Davao, Mati, Misamis,
and Surigao in Mindanao, as well as in a part of the island of Mindoro.
Visaya greatly resembles Tagalo, but is a more virile and expressive
tongue. It has also preserved more of the original vocabulary of the primitive
language, being less affected by contact with Spanish. It lias substantially
the same structure as the more northern speech, but is blunter as befits a
race of sailors. For example, the expression for "our house," using the
exclusive form, is Any earning balay ; Tagalo, Any timing bdhay. The
numerals in several languages of the islands at the close of this article will
more clearly show their differences and resemblances.
Bicol is the third most important language, and is spoken in the great
hemp-producing peninsula at the south-east extremity of Luzon, comprising
the provinces of Ambos Camarines, Albay, and Sorsogou, as well as in the
large island of Catanduanes. It is an intermediate tongue between Tagalo and
Visaya, and has preserved a large number of archaic words now disused in
those tongues. With the same general grammar, it differs much in vocabulary
from both in the everyday words of life, and the language as spoken in the
interior differs a little from the same as spoken in the seaport towns. Bicol
216 WILLIAM E. W. MAcKiNLAY. — Memorandum on the Languages oft)ie Philippines.
is also much less euphonious and of harder pronunciation than either of the
above mentioned. From both languages it can be said to differ as English
and Scottish do.
The next four languages, Ilocano, Cagayan, or Ibaneg, Pampango, and
Pangasimin, are spoken in the north-western part of Luzon ; from the south line
of Pampanga Province to the northern point of the island, along a strip of
seaboard from ten to twenty or more miles in breadth. This district includes the
Provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac, where Pampango is spoken ; Pangasinan and
a part of Zanibales, in which Pangasinan is used ; the northern part of Cagayan
(Cagayan) ; and Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte (Ilocano). Some parts of
Tarlac and Nueva Ecija also belong to the Pampanga area.
These languages closely resemble each other and are still more archaic in
vocabulary and syntax than the more southern tongues. Ilocano has been
reduced to writing since the early part of the seventeenth century, and this has
undoubtedly preserved it from change.
The eighth "civilised" tongue is Calamiano, spoken by the people of that
small group, which is situated between the islands of Mindoro and Palawan. It
is really a dialect of Tagbanua, the language of a great part of Palawan.
The savage tribes are found in three large groups, with another isolated group
in an outlying island (Negros), and one tribe in the islands of Mindoro and
Romblon. The first large aggregation is found in the mountains and more hilly
regions of the northern part of Luzon, the second occupies the greater part of
the little known Mindanao, and the third is in the islands of Palawan and
Calamianes. These tongues are little known, but are all of the Malay family.
Those of Luzon resemble very primitive Ilocano or Tagalo, while those of Mindanao
have more likeness to the dialects of Celebes and Borneo. Jolodno, the speech of
the Moros, is the best known of these languages, and is almost like the Malay of
Singapore. The great group of savage tribes in Northern Luzon is known
collectively to the Spaniards as Igorrote, and is as yet almost completely unknown
philologically.
The first great group, roughly speaking, occupies a large part of Luzon, north
of the Gulf of Lingayen and east of the Ilocanos. It also embraces part of the
Province of Zambales. The tongues spoken are Apayao, Banao, Catalangan,
Cataou, Caucanay, Dadaya, Egongot, Gaddau, Guinaan, Ibilao, Idayan, Ifuga,
Inabaloy, Isinay, Iraya, Itaves, Itetepan, Malauag, Tiguian, Tino, and Yogat. The
provinces embraced either in whole or in part by this linguistic region, are those of
Abra, Benguet, Bontoc, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya,
Principe, and Zambales, together with the districts of Amburayan, Binatangan and
Cayapa. In the Batanes Islands, north of this region, Batan is also spoken.
These tribes are very little affected by civilization, and the majority are yet
pagans.
The second great group encountered in the island of Mindanao and its
smaller dependencies of Jolo, Siasi, Taui-Taui, and Basilan, is constituted of the
WILLIAM K. W. MA< KIM, AY. — M<-iinii-«n<)uiii <></ the L« IU/MKJCS of thr Philippines. 217
tribes who use Ata, Bagobo, Bilan, Calagan, Guianga, Dulangan, Iliauo, Joloano,
Maguiudiuao, Malanao, Mandaya, Manobo, Mamanua, Samale's, Samal-laut, Sanguil,
Subano, Tagabili, Tagcalao, Tagbaua, and Tiruray. These peoples are pagans and
Mohammedans, with a sprinkling of Catholics. As has been noted above, some
parts of Mindanao are inhabited by Visayans, and the peninsula and town of
Zamboanga by semi-civilised natives, who alone among Filipinos have adopted
the language of their former rulers, Spanish. Buquidnon, which must not be
confounded with a language of Negros, is also spoken in Mindanao.
In the island of Negros, the hill tongues are known as Carolano and
Buquituon, both allied to the speech of the other tribes to the south.
Mauguian is spoken in Mindoro and Komblon, islands to the south-west of
Luzon, and a little further on are the islets known as the Calamianes, where
Coynoo and Agutaino yet linger.
Still further to the south-west lies the long and narrow Palawan or Paragua,
with its satellite of Basilan at its south-west point. Tagbanua, Tandolano, Batac
and Joloano are the dialects of these islands, which is more unexplored
linguistically than any other. Tagbanua is remarkable from the fact that the
ancient semi-syllabic alphabet used in ante-Spanish days, is used in its written
communications. It has sixteen characters, and to the writer's recollection greatly
resembles Siamese or Burmese writing. Batac is an exotic in the Philippines,
and is used by the descendants of quite recent immigrants from Sumatra,
which is believed by the leading native philologers to be the original home of all
the Malay race.
The eight leading languages are written in Roman letters, while Joloano and
many other dialects of Mindanao use the Arabic alphabet.
Among the leading workers in this field have been Professor Blumentritt, of
Austro-Hungary, Mr. de Los Eeyes of Manila, and many others, among them the
distinguished Frenchman, de la Couperie, who died in despair, because his work
was not, as he thought, appreciated just on the eve of success.
The foregoing is a brief rteume of the linguistic field in the Philippines, and
it is to be hoped that work and research in this line will go on, a credit to the
investigators and an aid to the officers and employes of the United States, under
whose banner this medley of races shall find peace, prosperity and true liberty.
218 WILLIAM E. W. MACKINLAY.— Memorandum on the Languages of the Philippines.
The first ten cardinals in Tagalo, Visaya, Bicol, Pampanga, Malay, Pangasinan,
Ilocano, Maguindanao, Ibanag (Cagayan) and Bagobo.
Tagalo.
Visaya.
Bicol.
Pampango.
Ibanag.
1
Isa.
Isa; Usci.
Saro.
Metung.
Adde.
2
Dalaua.
Daroa; Duha.
Dua.
Adua.
Dua.
3
Tatlo.
Tatlo; tola
Told
Athi.
Tallu.
4
Apat.
Apat; opat.
Apat.
Apat.
Appat.
5
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
6
Anim.
Anum; unum.
Anom.
Anam.
Annam.
7
Pita
Tito.
Pito.
Pitii.
Pita.
8
Ualo.
Ualo.
Ualo.
Ualu.
Ualu.
9
Siyam.
Siam.
Siain.
Siam.
Siam.
10
Sangpouo.
Napolo ; polo.
Sangpolo. Apulu.
Mafulu.
Malay.
Pangasinan.
Ilocano.
Maguindanao.
Bagobo.
1
Satu.
Saguey.
Meysa.
Isa.
Sab-bad.
2
Duwa.
Dua,
Dua,
Dua.
Dua.
3
Tiga.
Tallo.
Tallo.
Telu.
Tatlo.
4
Ampat.
Apat.
Uppat.
Apat.
Appat.
5
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
Lima.
6
Anam.
Anim.
Innem.
Anein.
Annam.
7
Tujuh.
Pito.
Pito.
Pitii.
Pit-to.
8
Delapan.
Ualo.
Ualo.
Ualu.
Ualo.
9
Sembilan.
Siam.
Siam.
Siau.
Sio.
10
Sapuluh.
Sampuo.
Sangapol-lo.
Sapulu.
Sapolo.
I fit- .i>tf/iroj><ilw/ic«l liix/i/it/f. I'ol. .V.Y.\"/, /'/>i/>- XI' I.
1'ANDAT (TYPE 10).
NIABOU (TYPE 2).
(«) (6)
PAKANG ILANG (TYPE l).
HAYU (TYPE 5). JI.MPUL (TYPE 4).
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XVI I.
PAKAYUX (TYPE e).
LAKGGAI TIXGGANG (TYPE 3).
PAUANG PEDAXG (TYPE 7).
LATOK (TYPE 8). UUKO (TYPE D).
( 219
A PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE SWORDS OF THE
SARAWAK TRIBES.
BY R. SHELFORD, M.A., C.M.Z.S.
[PRESENTED !£TH NOVEMBER, 1901. WITH PLATES XVI, XVII.]
THE great majority of Bornean swords found in the ethnographical collections of
European museums bear on their labels merely the vaguest and most insufficient
data as to place of origin, nature, function, etc., a matter of little surprise seeing
that practically no literature relating to these weapons exists. The following
paper, treating of the swords of the Sarawak tribes, seeks in part to remedy this.
I have drawn up brief diagnostic descriptions of all the varieties of swords from
Sarawak with which I am acquainted, have briefly classified them and given their
tribal distribution ; the synoptical key at the end of the paper, though perhaps as
artificial as such keys usually are, will, I hope, enable museum curators to identify
readily and correctly most of the specimens of Bornean swords in the collections
under their charge. The paper is the result of researches and inquiries extending
over a period of three years, and though I have no doubt that further researches
along the same lines will bring to light fresh information, I have no reason to
believe that the classification that I have adopted will be altered in any important
detail,1 at the same time it is capable of extension and must therefore be looked
on as provisional only. The illustrations are taken from specimens in my own
collection, but the specimens in the Sarawak Museum collection have, through the
mouths of reliable natives, yielded much valuable information, and I have also seen
many examples in the possession of various officers of the Sarawak service.
The kris, a double-edged dagger, essentially a Malay weapon, and the
kompilan, a long two-handed sword, used by the Ilanun pirates, who frequent the
coasts of many of the Malayan Islands, are not discussed here, although met with
in Borneo.
It should be noted that though some of the swords here described are intended
primarily for use in warfare, they may also serve as agricultural implements or as
carpentering tools or vice versd.
Terminology employed. — Parang is the Malay and Sea-Dyak word for these
weapons, and will be used in preference to the English word sword.
The blade of a parang measures from 50 to 100 centimetres in length ; it has a
back, an edge, and two sides. When held in the right hand with the back
1 A few swords from Dutch Borneo that I have seen since this paper was written do not
differ at all markedly from those from Sarawak.
220 R. SHELFOKD. — A Provisional Classification of tlic Sivords of the Sarawak Tribes.
upwards, that side on which the thumb is placed on the handle is the inner side.
The edge is anterior and the back is posterior ; any pattern which is nearer to the
one or the other is respectively anterior or posterior. The back may be straight
or with a concave curvature, it never has a convex curvature. The edge similarly
may be straight or with a convex curvature, it never has a concave curvature.
The blade may also have a slight outward curvature. The sides of the blade may
be flat or as in the parang Hang the inner side is concave and the outer convex in an
antero-posterior direction (in left-handed parang Hang these aspects are of course
reversed). The edge rarely reaches up to the handle, the intervening portion may
be termed the shoulder. The back and the edge may pass insensibly into the point
of the blade, but most frequently the back is much shorter than the edge, so that
the blade appears as if it had been obliquely truncated ; this truncate edge may be
termed the slope ; the angle and consequently the length of the slope vary
considerably in the different varieties of parangs. The handle, which is made
either of stag's horn, bone or wood, is always carved and frequently decorated with
tufts of dyed hair. The blade is inserted into a hollowed-out part of the handle
and secured by a stopping of stick-lac. That part of the handle which is held in
the hand is served with plaited rattan, wire, or metal rings, and is termed the
grip. The decorated part of the handle is not held in the hand, and is termed the
head.
The sheath is invariably composed of two grooved slats of wood roughly of the
shape of the blade, and bound together by plaited rattan or wire ; along the inner
side of the sheath there is generally lashed a bark pocket containing a small knife
with a long, angled handle.
The parang is worn strapped to the left hip, with the edge directed upwards.
The following is a list of the varieties of parangs known to me, with their
tribal distribution : —
1. Parang ilang ... ... ... /• Kayans, Kenyahs, Kajanians.
Kyan name, Malat or Mandau < Kanowits, Kalabits, Piinans.
Kenyan name, Baieng ... *• Ukits and allied tribes.
2. Niabor ... ... ... ... Sea-Dyaks.
3. LcLnggcii tinggang ... .. Sea-Dyaks.
4. Jimpul ... ... ... ... Sea-Dyaks.
5. Bayu ... ... ... ... Sea-Dyaks.
6. Ptikdytin ... ... ... ... Muruts.
7. Parang p%dany ... ... ... Malays, Milanos.
8. Ldtdk ... ... ... ... Malays. Milanos.
9. Buko ... Land-Dyaks.
10. Pdnddt ... ... ... ... Land-Dyaks.
1. Parang ilang. — This is the term applied by Malays and Sea-Dyaks to the
weapon of the Kayans and allied tribes mentioned above ; the meaning of the word
ilang I have not been able to ascertain. The blade of this weapon (Plate XVI,
R. SHELFORD. — A Provisional Clarification of the Sivords of the Sarawak Tribe*. 'I'l \
lower left), which varies in length from 50-70 centimetres, differs from that of all
others in being concave on the inner side and convex on the outer side in an
antero-posterior direction ; the blade also curves slightly outwards. At the greatest
breadth of the blade, the back ceases and there is a slope which varies much in
length. The edge of the blade ceases at about 8 centimetres from the handle,
resulting in the formation of a shoulder. A pattern generally occupies the shoulder
and runs along the posterior part of the blade on its outer aspect only till it reaches
the slope. The pattern may be either incised or fretted, or made up of silver and
brass hammered into the body of the blade, or a combination of all three of these
methods may be employed ; less frequently the blade is quite plain. The elements
of the patterns with which I am acquainted are as follows : — vdoh asu, a dragon
design ; ufai nipa, or snake design, being a continuous scroll pattern ; karan, short
incised lines, arranged in groups of two or three ; tnerkutau, brass or silver studs
hammered into the blade, sometimes completely perforating it ; lukut, a brass stud
enclosed in a brass circle, supposed to represent a valuable and ancient bead,
strings of which are worn by chiefs. All these elements may occur on one blade.
The slope of the blade is very variable, both in length, curvature and orna-
mentation, and by virtue of these differences, and of variations in pattern, the
natives subdivide the parang Hang into numerous varieties; the schemes of
classification of the various tribes do not coincide, and the names of identically
similar varieties interchange in the most bewildering manner, as one travels from
one district to another.
The following is the classification of the Kajamans of the Belaga district, Upper
Eejang river, Sarawak. The generic term song means end or termination, as e.g. : —
song irang — shoots of bamboo.
1. Song bila — a fret- work pattern on the slope.
2. Song ikang — hooks or projections on the slope.
3. Song bang — slope not fretted nor produced into hooks and projections
but perfectly plain, or excised into a series of short concave curves.
4. Song but — slope rounded and sometimes sharpened into a cutting edge.
5. Song batong — fret- work at intervals all along the blade.
6. Song belubong — an identical pattern on both sides of the blade.
Of the two parang Hang illustrated, that on the left (a) is by this classification
a song ikang, the other (5) is a song bang of simple type. The Peng Kayan (a tribe
of the Mahakkam river, Dutch Borneo) name for this however is song apong,
whilst the Leppu Tau Kenyahs of the Batang Kayan river, Dutch Borneo, give a
name to the more ornate type of song bang, which means swallow's wings.
The varieties song bila and song ikang are not always readily distinguishable.
In the Baram district the word bila seems to be used instead of song.
The Sarawak Museum has a fine series of these weapons, illustrating all the
above-noted variations.
The anterior edge of the shoulder is frequently provided with a pair of
hook-like projections (ikang), constituting a sort of rudimentary finger-guard, the
222 T\. SHELFORD. — A Provisional Classification of the Swords of the Sarawak Tribes.
hooks when present are part of a dragon design incised on the shoulder and
represent the horns of the dragon.
The handle is usually made of stag's horn, but occasionally of wood ; the
stag's antler is cut through at the burr, the beam and the brow tine are cut short ;
the cut ends are then hollowed out, and the blade of the parang is inserted into
the beam, and a long tuft of dyed goat's-hair (ujeh) is fastened with dammar in the
cut end of the burr, which is smoothed down, and a shorter tuft in that of the
brow tine ; both burr and brow tine are elaborately carved with a complicated
dragon and anthropomorphic design, and constitute the head of the handle. The
beam forms the grip of the handle and is served with plaited rattan or wire ; the
insertion of the blade into the handle is concealed by a thick ring of dammar, into
which is frequently stuck a silver coin or stud. The head is further decorated
with short tufts of hair inserted into small holes which are bored for the purpose.
Such a type of handle is shown in specimen (a). In the Mahakkam river another
type of handle is more frequently met with ; in this, the blade is inserted into the
smoothed-down burr, and the cut ends of the beam and of the brow tine form a
Y-shaped head, carved and decorated with hair : specimen (6). In a third type of
handle, confined also to Dutch Borneo, the blade is inserted into the beam, but the
burr and brow tine are so carved as to form a right-angled crutch.
The sheath, which corresponds roughly in shape to the blade, is made of two
grooved slabs of wood tightly bound together by four or five lashings of rattan or
wire : the rattan lashings are generally plaited in a very complicated manner, and
the term " Katong evok" meaning the twistings of a whirlpool, is applied to them ;
under the lashings are inserted tufts of hair generally red and white arranged
alternately (boh say). Between the first and second lashings on the outer side of
the sheath there is almost invariably a pointed plaque of wood, cut out from the
body of the sheath, or if of bone, lashed to the sheath ; this is known as the belilap,
and is either elaborately carved with the dragon design or decorated with hair ; a
strip of skin covered with hair passes under it round the sheath. The interspaces
between the other lashings are sometimes occupied by carvings, or carved pieces of
bone are let into the sheath. Sometimes the point of the sheath is closed by a
stop of bone, the sibong. The inner side of the sheath, which is quite plain, has a
bark pocket, the apis, attached to it ; the apis contains a small knife, the nyiu,
with a long handle ; to the outer side of the apis is frequently sewn a strip of
bead-work. Threaded through the apis and under the strip of skin encircling the
sheath is the sword-belt or blavit of plaited rattan covered with cloth or bead-work ;
one end of the blavit terminates in a loop, the other end is knotted to form a
toggle, the skabat. Sometimes the toggle is elaborately carved from a piece of
rhinoceros horn or from the casque of the solid-casqued hornbill Rhinoplax vigil.
2. Niabor. — This is the characteristic Sea-Dyak parang, the others mentioned
below are of quite recent origin and owe their shape to Kay an or Kenyan influences.
The blade of the niabor (Plate XVI, upper right) is generally about 60 centimetres
long, but a specimen in the Sarawak Museum measures 90 centimetres, The
R. SHELFORD. — A Provisional Classification of the Sivords of the Sfirmwk Tribes. 223
back and edge both have a pronounced anterior curvature and pass insensibly to
the point ; the blade is broadest near the point, and gradually tapers proximally
until the edge suddenly ceases at some distance from the handle ; midway between
this point and the insertion of the handle projects a large finger-guard, the kundieng,
a feature which is entirely diagnostic of this type of weapon. Distal of this
finger-guard, the anterior border of the blade is squarely emarginate, and the space
is known as the sangau; proximal of the finger-guard the blade is rounded or
polygonal in section, and in reality constitutes part of the handle ; this part of it is
known as the tamporian.
The blade is rarely ornamented, occasionally however a groove runs along the
posterior border on both sides, from the tamporian to near the point. The handle
is carved from stag's horn or wood; in the former case the same part of the
antler is used as in the parang Hang, and the blade is inserted into the cut end of
the beam ; the head of the handle is much flattened laterally, and the brow tine
is whittled away and forms a very acute angle with the beam ; the burr is carved
into a small knob. A phyllomorphic pattern is carved on the head of the handle.
The following are the names of the usual patterns : — Cantok resam (shoots of
Gleiclienia dichotoma), telingai (scorpion), entadok ka.ul (caterpillars interlocking).
The grip is served with rings of metal known as grunieng. No hair is ever
attached to the handle or sheath. The sheath calls for no special notice.
3. Langgai tinggang. — This, another Sea-Dyak parang (PI. XVII, upper r.), is
practically a niabor with the handle of a parang Hang. The term langgai tinggang,
meaning the longest tail-feather of a hornbill, is applied to this weapon by reason of
a broad groove which runs along the posterior part of the blade on each side, and
which is fancifully supposed to be feather-like in appearance ; this groove runs
across to the anterior border just below the rudimentary finger-guard. This finger-
guard is not a derivative of the kundieng of the niabor, but is a copy of the ikang
of the parang Hang, which, as already shown, constituted part of a dragon design ;
the Sea-Dyak term crowit or hooks shows that this has no connection with the
kundieng.^ Each side of the shoulder is incised with a phyllomorphic design, such
as those given on the preceding page. The sides of the broad groove running
along the blade may be bordered with a simple scroll pattern, entadok, or
caterpillar.
The handle of a langgai tinggang differs in nowise from that of a parang Hang.
The sheath is also similar except in shape.
4. Jimpul. — The jimpul is of quite recent origin, i.e., within the last thirty
years, and may be considered as a hybrid between the parang Hang and the langgai
tinggang. The blade (PL XVI, lower r.) has flat sides and both back and edge have
a strong anterior curvature, thus resembling the two preceding types of parangs.
The back and edge however do not pass insensibly to a point, but there is a short
1 I have, however, a drawing by Dr. Hiller, of Philadelphia, of a langgai tinggang with a
kundieng instead of crowit, but it is the only example of such a variation that has ever come to
my knowledge.
224 R SHELFOED. — A Provisional Classification of the Swords of the Sarawak Tribes.
and abrupt elope. The blade at the commencement of the slope is very broad, the
difference in breadth between this point and at a point near the handle being as
much as 2'5 centimetres. Hooks and projections (krowit) or a fret design occur
on the slope, and sometimes for a short distance along the back ; two or three grooves
run along the posterior part of the blade on each side, and each side of the shoulder
is incised with a phyllomorphic pattern. A rudimentary finger-guard (kroivit) of
the same nature as those of the parang Hang and langgai tinggang is generally
present; in the specimen illustrated the hooks constituting this finger-guard
constitute part of the phyllomorphic design (telingai) incised on the shoulder of the
blade, but this is unusual, for as a rule the finger-guard being slavishly copied
from a Kayan model as in the langgai tinggang, bears no sort of relation to the
design on the shoulder of the blade which is not copied from a Kayan model.
As the Sea-Dyaks have now taken to making the parang Hang themselves,
embellished with degraded copies of Kayan designs, it is not surprising to meet
with specimens of the jimpul similarly ornamented, but it should be remembered
that phyllomorphic designs are essentially the characteristic designs of the
Sea-Dyak men,1 and a foreign influence is to be suspected when a zoomorphic or
anthropomorphic design is encountered in the decoration of their parangs.
The handle of the jimpul needs no description, being a direct copy of the
parang Hang handle. The sheath similarly is copied from that of the parang
Hang.
5. Bayu. — The Bayu is also a Sea-Dyak parang of modern origin. It is a
modification of the type of parang Hang, known by the Kajamans as song but ;
in the song but (p. 221) the slope is rounded and frequently sharpened into a
cutting edge ; the inner side of the blade is, however, concave and unornamented
the outer side is convex and ornamented with a pattern along the posterior border.
The bayu (PI. XVI, lower r.) is sharpened along the back as far as the shoulder, so
that the blade in section is oval, the pattern is identical on both outer and inner
aspects and runs down the centre of the blade, not along the posterior border only.
In the specimen illustrated, the ornamentation of the blade consists of two broad
and two narrow grooves running from the shoulder nearly to the point, and on
the shoulder of incised lines and brass studs. The edge is nearly straight, but the
sharpened back has a slight convex curvature near the point, and the blade is here
broader than at any other point.
The handle and sheath are of the usual parang Hang type.
The following are the Sea-Dyak terms for the various parts of a parang : —
Handle, ikil ; ring of dammar concealing insertion of blade, balut ; finger-guard,
krowit ; incised lines on blade (Kyan, karan), kowal ; triangular panel on outer side
of sheath (Kyan, belilap), tandup ; bone stop at end of sheath, sakum ; lashings of
sheath, koivit ; hair, jabor ; belt, supei.
1 The women weave zoomorphic designs into their cloth, but the men do not even know
the names of the patterns, much less how to reproduce them.
R SHRLFOKD. — A Provisional Classification of the Swords of the Sarawak Tribes. 225
6. Pakayun. — This is the very characteristic parang of the Muruts, a tribe
inhabiting parts of Northern Borneo. The long, curved, cutlass-like blade
(PI. XVII, upper 1.) measures 60-65 centimetres1 in length and about 3 centi-
metres in breadth ; it is of almost uniform diameter throughout. The back is
slightly shorter than the edge, so that there is a short slope. The back near its
termination is occasionally bevelled for a short distance. The blade is never
ornamented. The handle is invariably made of wood, and the head is peculiar and
distinctive in shape. It may be compared with the Y-shaped handle of stag's horn
of the Mahakkam river parang Hang; the blade is inserted into the stalk of the
Y, corresponding to the burr of the antler, and the limbs of the Y, corresponding
to the beam and brow tines of the antler, and forming the head of the handle, are
curved forwards (i.e., downwards, if the parang is held in the natural way with
the back of the blade uppermost) ; the space between the limbs of the Y is filled
in with a carving which may extend, as in the specimen exhibited, far beyond the
ends of the limbs of the Y. The handle of the specimen illustrated is of rather an
ornate nature, more usually the carving is simpler and less extensive. The grip of
the handle is supplied by a cylinder of brass expanding at the insertion of the
blade into a circular lip, the umbo, which serves as a finger-guard. This cylinder
rarely extends up to the point of divarication of the limbs of the Y, and the
interspace is covered by plaited rattan.
The sheath as usual is made of two slats of wood bound together by rattan,
wire, or strips of tin ; the spaces between these bindings are occupied on the outer
side by geometrical designs. To the inner side is attached a bark pocket decorated
with hair.
7. Parang pedang. — The parang pedang or pcdang is used by the Malays and
Milanos (a coastal tribe that has embraced Islam), chiefly for such purposes as
the felling of jungle or the splitting-up of the logs of the sago palm. The blade
(PL XVII, lower 1.), which measures in length about 60 centimetres,1 is very
strongly curved, very broad in the distal third, measuring as much as 6*5
centimetres, and tapering rapidly to the point of insertion into the handle. The
back passes insensibly to the point so that there is no slope, and the edge runs
up almost to the handle, so that a shoulder is not distinguishable. The blade is
quite free from ornamentation. The handle, the shape of which is characteristic
of this and of the two parangs described below, is invariably made of wood.
The head of the handle is formed by a forwardly directed knob; the under
surface of the knob is concavely curved, and runs into the grip ; the upper
surface is convexly curved, and is transversely grooved, so that a varied moulding
is produced ; the sides of the knob are flattened. The grip is served with plaited
rattan. The sheath is quite simple in character.
8. Latok. — Used chiefly by Malays and Milanos, though introduced into other
tribes comparatively recently.
1 These measurements refer to llie specimens figured, which are all deposited at present in
the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford.
VOL. XXXI, Q
226 R. SHELFORP. — A Provisioned Classification of the Swords of the Sarawak Tribes.
The chief characteristic of this parang is the open angle which the shoulder
of the blade and the handle form with the rest of the blade. In the specimen
illustrated (PI. XVII, lower r.), the blade measures from its tip to the distal point
of the shoulder 52 centimetres, and the length of the shoulder is 6 centimetres.
The greatest breadth, 5'5 centimetres, is near the point, the smallest 2'5 centimetres
at the angle of the shoulder. The back is a trifle shorter than the edge, and runs
in a very steep and curved slope to the point ; the back is very thick so that in its
middle the blade is wedge-shaped in section. The shoulder is cut square, but may
be polygonal in section or even rounded ; in the Milano sadap, a variety of latolc,
the shoulder is octagonal in section. The handle is of the same type as in the
parang pedang, i.e., the head is formed by a forwardly projecting knob of wood,
and the upper border of this knob is " moulded " by transverse grooves. The grip
is usually served by wire or plaited rattan, but sometimes, as in the specimen
illustrated, by silver rings elaborately decorated with geometrical and phyllo-
morphic designs worked in repousstf.
The sheath, which is quite straight, does not enclose the angled shoulder ; the
end is usually cut square.
The parang, which is used largely for agricultural purposes, is grasped by the
handle and shoulder of the blade in both hands, and is then a highly effective
chopping implement.
9. Bulco. — This is the parang used by the Land-Dyaks ; it differs principally
from the latoJc, by its smaller size and elaborately carved handle. The blade
(PI. XVII, lower r.) measures from tip to distal point of shoulder about 45 centi-
metres, the shoulder is 7 centimetres long and rectangular in section ; the greatest
breadth of the blade is 4 to 4'5 centimetres ; otherwise the blade is exactly
similar to the latok. The handle is of the type described for the two preceding
parangs, but the head is elaborately carved in deep relief : the pattern is supposed
to represent the leaves of a wild mango, graium. The handle of the specimen
exhibited is characteristic of the Betah Land-Dyaks of the Quop river, a branch
of the Sarawak river ; the Bennah of the head- waters of the Sarawak river make
a much smaller handle, the Sempok a much larger handle, whilst the Pinyawa
of the Samarahan river do not carve the head of the handle at all, and shave down
the upper border of the projecting knob till in side view the head appears
triangular. The grip is served with rattan.
The sheath is straight and does not enclose the angled shoulder ; the mouth
of the sheath is carved in deep relief with a phyllomorphic design, and the end of
the sheath is perforated with small holes into which are fixed, by wedges of wood,
tufts of hair. The two slats of wood composing the sheath are bound together by
loops of plaited rattan — ~burad ; lurad patung is a 5-ply loop, burad hiring a 7-ply
loop, lurad tipiris a 9-ply loop, burad brad bodad a 11-, 13-, 15-, or 19-ply loop.
The belt known as taris, is made of the lining of the sheathing leaves of a palm.
10. Pandat. — The pandat is the war parang of the Land-Dyaks ; it is never
used in agriculture or handicrafts as is the buko. It is characterised (PI. XVI,
K. SHELFOBP. — A Provisional Classification of tlie Sword srf the Sarav:ak Tnlc*. 227
upper 1.) by the lack of a proper handle, the elongate and angled shoulder serving
the purpose : a hole is bored through the shoulder of the blade in an antero-
posterior direction nearly in the middle, and through this is inserted a short iron
bar, the sckak, forming a cross-piece; the shoulder terminates in a sharp point,
capped by a piece of horn ; the surface of the shoulder, which is rectangular in
section, is covered with tin-foil or with brass, and some hair is attached to the
back. The .portion of the shoulder proximal of the sekak is grasped, the forefinger
passing over the anterior half of the sekak. The back of the blade in the specimen
exhibited is longer than the edge, and the oblique end so formed is cut with a
V-shaped notch forming a re-entering angle ; this arrangement is characteristic of
the Sidin Land-Dyaks; sometimes the blade and edge are of equal length, in
which case the limbs of the re-entering angle are equal in length ; or the limbs of
the re-entering angle may be produced into short hooks or projections, and brass
studs driven into the blade near its termination ; this arrangement is characteristic
of the Bennah Land-Dyaks. The sheath is straight and does not enclose the angled
shoulder; its outer aspect is decorated with grooves in low relief forming
geometrical designs, and with phyllomorphic designs ; the designs may or may not
be filled up with tin-foil; the phyllomorphic design at the end of the sheath
occurs on both sides.
SYNOPTICAL KEY OF Parangs.
DESCKIPTION.
NAME.
PLATE.
A.
Sides of blade not flat ...
Parang Hang
XVI, lower 1.
B.
Sides of blade flat.
a. Blade double-edged
Bayu.
XVI, lower r.
b. Blade not double-edged nor angled.
a'. Blade without slope.
a". Handle not ornamented with a
Parang pedang
XVII, lower 1.
design.
b". Handle elaborately ornamented.
a'". Blade with prominent finger-
Niabor.
XVI, upper r.
guard.
b.'" Blade without prominent
Langgai
finger-guard.
tinggang.
XVII, upper r.
b'. Blade with slope.
a". Blade long and narrow ...
Pakaynn.
XVII, upper 1.
b". Blade broader
Jimpul.
XVI, lower r.
C.
Blade angled.
a'. A wooden handle.
a". Greatest breadth of blade exceeding
Latok.
XVII, lower r.
5cm.
b". Greatest breadth of blade not
Buko.
XVII, lower r.
exceeding 5 cm.
b'. No handle ...
Panda t.
XVI, upper 1.
228 I>. SHKLFOKD. — A Provisional Classification of t he Swords of the-Sarawak Tribes.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. H. BALFOUH said: — Anthropologists will feel much indebted to Mr. Shelford
for having laid down this classification of Bornean swords. In addition to the
interest attaching to the subject, there will be practical application for his
classification, since the curators of museums will now be able to label and
describe correctly the weapons from this region. Too often one sees in museums
such labels as " Dyak sword from Borneo " attached to specimens as the only
information offered to the public, and too frequently the weapon is neither a Dyak
one nor a sword, and moreover Borneo is an extensive region in which marked local
distinctions are apparent, which should be specified. It is not always the fault
of the curator, who very frequently has none but the vaguest information sent
to him. Mr. Shelford's scientific classification will, I am sure, be welcomed by
all who aim at the proper systematic arrangement of collections comprising the
particular weapons and tools with which he deals. I should like to ask
Mr. Shelford to what extent the parang Hang is used as a weapon, and what
are the peculiar cuts which render this unique form of blade efficient. It seems
as though a direct cut at right angles to a surface would not be very effective,
and a diagonal cut would tend to glance off if the concave surface of the blade
were towards the object slashed at. On the other hand, it would seem that
such a cut with the concave side towards the object would be dangerous and
effective, as the tendency of the blade would be to bury itself deeply in this
case. Similarly, I should like to be informed as to the correct use of the very
awkward-looking latok and pandat. For a downward cut these appear to be
highly inefficient, as the balance seems to be all wrong, throwing a great strain
upon the wrist. They are well balanced for an upward cut, but this would
perhaps not be a very effective form of attack. In regard to the forms of
decoration, I should wish to ask Mr. Shelford whether it can be ascertained to
what extent the patterns were originally intended to represent, the objects whose
name is associated with the designs, or, on the other hand, whether those names
have been given to the patterns merely because of a fancied resemblance to
natural objects arrived at accidentally in the process of making variations upon
existing designs, which in the first instance were not intended to represent those
objects. Patterns may acquire names in either manner, and it is important to
record when possible the manner in which a particular name has become
associated with a given pattern.
Mr. SHELFORD replied that the parang Hang is used with a glancing cut with
the concave surface towards the object, and makes in this manner a deep and
effective cut. The latok and pandat are not used for an upward cut, but for a
downward one, in which both hands are used. It is impossible to determine for
certain whether the names of the patterns are derived from an original attempt
to represent the objects whose names they bear now, or whether the names have
been given in consequence of real or fancied resemblances arrived at accidentally
during the process of varying existing patterns,
( 220 )
THE COLOUR VISION OF THE NATIVES OF UPPER EGYPT.
BY W. H. R. RIVERS, M.D.
[PRESENTED 25TH JUNE, 1901.]
THE starting point of the work to be described in this paper was an investigation
carried out by Mr. D. Randall-Maclver in the winter of 1899-1900. Fifty natives
of Upper Egypt were tested by Holmgren's method. Wools were used, to each of
which a numbered label had been attached, so that a record could be kept of those
chosen. A system of recording was adopted by means of which not only the wools
actually matched, but also those compared even transiently with the test-wool
were noted. Thus, a record would read as follows : —
r
Red test, p. 102, pp. 104, m. 20, 2, 16, pp. 9, 102.
This would mean that the native under examination had first picked up, and
transiently compared with the test, the wool numbered 102 ; he had then
deliberately compared No. 104 with the test but had rejected it as not matching ;
he had then matched three wools numbered 20, 2 and 16 respectively, and had
finally compared and rejected the two wools numbered 9 and 102.
By means of a record of this kind, I was able to reproduce in England in
detail the behaviour of natives who had been tested by Mr. Randall-Maclver in
Egypt.
The same seven test-wools were used as in my work in Torres Straits1 and
elsewhere, viz., bright red, bright green, Holmgren's pink test, Holmgren's pale
green test, yellow, blue and violet, usually in the order named.
On going through Mr. Randall-Maclver's records, it was obvious that many of
the natives were perfectly normal while others showed exactly the same kind
of behaviour which I had found in Torres Straits, viz., they tended to confuse
green with blue and blue with violet, and Holmgren's pale green test was matched
or compared, not only with yellowish-green or bluish wools of the same degree of
saturation, but occasionally even with faintly pinkish wools. They tended to
match wools according to their similarity in saturation rather than according to
their similarity in colour- tone.
Among the fifty natives there were two or three individuals who appeared
almost certainly to be examples of the ordinary form of red-green blindness, their
matches and comparisons being typical of this condition, or of considerable
weakness of the red-green sense. There were a number of other natives who,
1 Rep. Camb* Anthrop. Expedition to Torres Straitt, vol. ii, p. 49, 1901.
230 W. H. K. KIVEKS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt.
if they had been Europeans, would almost certainly have been regarded as
examples of weakness of the red-green sense. These individuals matched or
compared pink, violet and purple wools, and they also put brown wools with the
bright red test. They did not, however, confuse pink and blue wools nor did they
ever confuse red and green, and, taking their matches and comparisons as a whole
they did not seem to me to be of the kind made by people with defective red-green
sense. It seemed to me possible that the mistakes of these people might have
been due to an exaggeration of a tendency of which I had observed traces in Torres
Straits and elsewhere ; a tendency to put together wools to which the same name
would be applied. It seemed desirable to supplement Holmgren's method by other
tests for colour blindness and also to study the colour-matches made by these
people side by side with an investigation of the colour-nomenclature.
By the kindness of Mr. Eandall-Maclver and the late Mr. Anthony Wilkin, I
was enabled to do this in December, 1900, and January, 1901, at El Amrah close
to Abydos in Upper Egypt. The natives examined were all peasants of Upper
Egypt employed in the excavations in which Mr. Eandall-Maclver and Mr. Wilkin
were engaged. They nearly all came from the villages of Quft, Ballas and Sheikh
Ali, a few natives of the village of El Amrah being also examined. They were
typical fellahin from the same district of Upper Egypt and were fairly homo-
geneous, though a few probably had some strain of Sudani blood.
I first tested the natives with Holmgren's wools. I then obtained the names
for colours in various ways. This was followed by the test for colour-blindness
which has been recently recommended by Nagel.1 This consists of cards on which
are printed circles of dots in various colours, especially chosen to deceive the
colour-blind. The methods recommended by ISTagel were somewhat too complicated
to allow me to use them with these people, and I was obliged to be content with
asking the names of the variously coloured dots.
I then used Lovibond's Tintometer, which I have found to be a valuable means
of detecting colour-blindness, and I also used this instrument to determine the
thresholds for red, yellow and blue as in my work in Torres Straits.3
In examination of the colour sense I am always careful to test with
Holmgren's wools before dealing with the names of colours, in order that the
influence of language on the process of matching may be minimized as much as
possible, but for purposes of exposition it will be convenient to begin with an
account of the language employed for colour.
Colour Nomenclature.
I obtained the names of thirteen coloured, black and white papers sold by
Kothe of Leipzig, supplemented by dark and light grey papers and six brown
papers. I also asked the names of various wools, especially in the search for names
1 Arch, of Ophthalmology, vol. xxi, p. 154, 1900.
2 Op. cit., p. 70.
W. H. ]{. RIVERS.— The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt. 231
for brown, and I occasionally inquired the names of the colours of natural objects,
articles of clothing, etc.
My thanks are due for much help in this part of my work to Mr. Randall-
Maclver and to Mr. J. E. Quibell. Prof. A. A. Bevan has also kindly looked
through my list of colour names, and I am indebted to him for several suggestions.
I have adopted with one exception the method of writing the Arabic words
which is used in Vollers' Grammar of the Modern Egyptian dialect of Arabic,
translated by Mr. F. C. Burkitt. The exception is in the use of the letter Qaf, for
which Vollers uses the sign >>. As pronounced by the natives with whom I had
to do, this consonant was like a very hard " g," and I have expressed it by the
letter " q."
On asking the names of the various coloured papers and wools, I was very
frequently given the names of garments or materials, such as karir, silk ; y&kh,
cloth ; 'abaiya, cloak ; qomdsh, cloth ; tdb, women's dress ; baftd, linen cloth ; quftdn,
gown ; sederi, waistcoat-like garment ; libda, felt.
Often these words were given alone, but they were also frequently combined
with colour names, the papers or wools being called harir ahmar, y&kh iswid,
'abaiye safra, tdb abjad, bafta samra, quftdn akhdar, etc.
In addition to the recognized terms for colour of the Arabic language,
numerous other words were used. The former may be given first.
Ahmar, fern, hamra, was used for red and for colours containing a red
component, thus it was used for all shades of red and purple, and occasionally for
orange and violet. In the case of the latter colours, it was sometimes qualified as
in the expressions hamra mush hamra qaivi (not very red), hamra bu safar (red
with yellow), ahmar abjad shwfya (a slightly white red), ahmar fatah (light red)
iu the case of orange and hamra abjad (white red) and la'bani ahmar shwfyd
(slightly milk red or blue red) in the case of violet. Ahmar or ahmar shwtya were
also used for reddish browns. Ahmar was never used for colours which had not
an element of red in them.
Asfar, safra, was used somewhat less definitely. Yellow was nearly always
called by this name which was also often used for orange. Asfar was also used for
green by one or two individuals who were certainly not colour-blind. It was very
frequently used for brown either alone or in such forms as asfar s/iwfya, nuss asfar
(half yellow) and asfar mush ketir (not very yellow). It was also often used for
faint reds, thus, in Card III of Nagel's test, about half the individuals called the
more saturated pink hamra, and the less saturated safra ; in these cases I covered
up the card so that only one of the less saturated discs could be seen and most
then called this disc hamra, but when a less saturated pink was seen together with
a more saturated disc of the same colour, there was a very strong tendency to call
the former safra. The same happened with a few individuals in the case of
Card XII. Asfar was also used for Holmgren's pale green test wool. There
seemed to be a tendency to use the word asfar as a term for light, unsaturated
colours, especially in contrast to red.
232 W. H. K. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt.
Akhdar, khadra, was used less definitely than asfar. It was the common
term applied to green of all shades. It was used for Eothe's blue-green paper by
about half the individuals questioned, and it was very often applied to blue and
occasionally to indigo. It was also used several times for browns which had no
element of green in them, and by a few individuals for dull black and dark grey.
There seemed to be a distinct tendency to use this word for all darkish colours
other than red and yellow.
Azraq, zarqa, was used most often for black. Eothe's indigo and violet
papers were occasionally given this name, which was never applied to the light
blue paper or to a blue wool. Blue-green was only once called azraq, but this word
was used by six individuals for brown. With Nagel's cards azraq was used for
the darkest dots and seems to have been regarded as a term for black and for very
dark colours. Black was once called azraq fami, charcoal blue or charcoal black.
Iswid,1 sdda, was used for black, dark grey, dark brown, indigo, and violet, and
occasionally for fairly light blues. By one individual Eothe's indigo paper was
called soda khdlis (perfect black). From the way in which they were employed
by the people in question, this word and azraq might be regarded as synonyms.
It almost seemed as if azraq were used for darker colours and shades than
iswid, for in Nagel's Card IX, some individuals called the darker dots " azraq "
and the lighter dots "iswid."
Abjad, Mda, was only used for white, light grey, and for very light colours.
It was often used for Holmgren's light green test wool, and still more often for
the violet test wool. Light browns were also given this name.
Asmar, samra, occurred very rarely. One man called blue, " asmar" and
three gave this name to dark grey or black. It was not used for brown by a
single individual.
In addition to the above colour terms, a large number of others were used
which were formed by adding " i " to the names of various objects. I will give
these as nearly as possible in the order of the frequency with which they occurred.
Kohali, derived from Kohl, the antimony dye with which the eyes are painted,
was very commonly used for black, indigo, violet, and also for dark grey and dark
brown. It was used in exactly the same way as iswid and azraq. Ikhal, applied
to the same colours is, no doubt, another form of the same word.
Ldbdni,2 derived from laban, milk, was the word most often applied to blue.
It was used by about half the people tested for blue-green and occasionally for
green. It was also applied to both indigo and violet and less frequently to
brown and grey. It was twice used for pink by individuals who were not colour-
blind. It was often used for the blue, grey, and light green dots in Nagel's cards
lyhbash, or more commonly ghdbshl, was very frequently used for grey and for
light colours, especially for those of Nagel's cards.
1 This word was pronounced very diversely. I heard it called isu-id, iswad, aswad, aswid,
aswad. The feminine was also called sddi, quite as often as s6da.
2 This word was perhaps more often pronounced lebeni, liMni, or il
W. H. II. KiVKUs. — The Colour Vision of tlie Natives of Upper Eyypt. 233
Igkbar and gkabri, derived from ghubr, dust, were also frequently used m the
same way.
EtrdU, derived from lurdb, dust, was given for grey, black, and brown, and
rarely for blue and blue-green.
Bunni, derived from bunn, coffee bean, was often used for brown. It was also
applied to grey and violet.
Safi or sdfi, meaning clear or transparent, was occasionally given for blue,
green, and grey, and once for brown. It was also used to qualify other words as
labiini ?afi for blue-green.
Samdwi,1 derived from samd, sky, was used by a few men for light blue and
once for indigo. Brown was once called samdwi ghdmid or 'amiq, 'amiq (dark
sky colour).
'Asali, from 'asal, honey, was rarely used for orange, brown, and pink.
Grhusli (? derivation) was used occasionally for red, orange, and violet.
Qahiui, from qakwd, coffee, was used occasionally for red, orange, and yellow.
It was not applied to brown.
TardbisM, from tarbijisJi, fez cap, was used occasionally for red, sometimes
alone and sometimes combined with ahmar. It was once applied to grey.
Manaivishi was used by a few individuals for both pink and blue.
Khoshaq was used occasionally for brown and once or twice for pink.
Rusd?i, from rusds, lead, was used for brown and grey and once for green.
Hadidi, from hadid, iron, was used once for grey.
Zibdi, from zibda, butter, was used twice for grey.
Qulali, from qidla, pi. gidal, earthen waterbottle, was used for yellow.
Ramli, from raml, sand, was once used for brown.
Other words were occasionally used which may be corruptions of foreign
words ; thus, brown was once called smanti, probably from cement, and grey was
once called shagelat, possibly chocolate. Yellow was once called karantina asfar,
quarantine yellow, by a man who had worked on the Suez Canal. "White and
black were occasionally qualified by Madrasi and the words Malakan or Manakan
(American) were occasionally used, as when a grey paper was called Manakan
asmar. Two men called blue stni, Chinese.
In the language employed for colour by these peasants of Upper Egypt, we
find exactly the same features as those which characterize primitive colour
nomenclature in other parts of the world. There was a very definite word for red,
ahmar, which was not only applied to objects which we should definitely distinguish
as red, but also to colours such as orange, purple, violet, and brown, which contain
a red element. There was a somewhat less definite term for yellow, a?far, which
was also used for orange and brown and was occasionally applied to green and
to faint red. The word for green, akhdar, was still less definite, being very
often applied to blue, violet, grey, and brown. There was no definite word
1 Magnus states (Untersuch. ii. d. Farbensinn d. Naturvolker) that this word has been
borrowed fiom Arabic by the Berbers, who use it as a term for blue.
234 W. H. R. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt.
for blue. The word, azraq, usually regarded as the Arabic term for blue, was
never used by these people for light blue and was applied by them more frequently
to black than to an indigo blue.1 This word and the proper Arabic term for black,
iswid, were used indiscriminately for black, blue, and violet, and also for dark
brown. Other words as kohali, ighbar, and etrdbi, were used both for black and
blue or for grey and blue. The nearest approach to a word for blue was labdni
milk colour, which was, however, often used also for green, grey, and brown. The
word samdwi, derived from the colour of the sky, was only used by two or three
individuals and was also used for brown.
The decreasing definiteness in the nomenclature for colour as one goes from
red through yellow and green to blue, was as marked in these peasants of Upper
Egypt as it is in the Papuans of Torres Straits and in so many other savage and
semi-civilized races.
Another feature of the Egyptian language for colour is the absence of a word
for brown. The proper Arabic term for brown, asmar, was never once used for
this colour, though occasionally applied to blue and grey. It is interesting that
Mile, de Claury2 found that the natives of Algeria seemed also to be unacquainted
with " asmar " as a word for brown and applied to brown objects the words for
black or yellow.
As I have found in other languages, there was more variety in the terms
applied to brown than to any other colour, over twenty different terms being
given to brown papers and wools. The word most commonly used was ahmar.
Asfar had the second place. The word which came third in order of frequency
was bunni, coffee-berry colour. This word is given as meaning brown in Voller's
Glossary, and is certainly the nearest approach to a word for brown among the
people with whom I had to do, but it was very far from being generally used as a
term for brown in the way that ahmar was used for red and asfar for yellow, and
only by one man was it used with any consistency for all browns, most people
calling one brown bunni, another ahmar, a third iswid, and so on. Bunni was also
applied to grey and violet as well as to brown, and cannot be regarded as a
distinctive name for the last colour.
A feature of which I have observed indications in other languages, came out in
a very marked way in the nomenclature of these people, viz., the tendency to use
words denoting differences of colour-tone for differences of shade, i.e., of luminosity.
There was a tendency to use aJchdar not only for green, but also for all colours
(except red and yellow) of a certain degree of darkness. There was a similar
tendency to use azraq and iswid for all very dark colours.3.
1 It is probable that " Bahr el azraq " should properly be translated " the dark Nile," and
that when we speak of " the Blue Nile," we are employing a term which is due to the tendency
to confuse blue and dark in Arabic colour nomenclature.
2 Bull, de la Soc. dAnthropol. de Pai-is, t. ix, p. 698, 1886.
3 This tendency is shown in the epithets commonly applied to donkeys. Thus very dark
donkeys may be called " azraq," while lighter donkeys are spoken of as " akhdar:'
AV. II. 1{. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Eyypt. 235
The tendency to use names for different colours to denote differences of
brightness was most marked with Nagel's cards. In card No. V, there are three
dots of the same greenish colour-tone which differ from one another in brightness,
giving three shades of one colour. These three dots were very commonly
denoted by three different words as la'bani, akhdar, iswid, or ighbash, akhdar, azrag.
In card No. Ill, very many individuals called the more saturated pink, ahmar,
and the less saturated, asfar, although most, when shown the latter alone,
recognized it also as ahmar. Nagel's test is especially adapted to bring out this
feature of colour nomenclature, and it is possible that I have found this tendency
more marked in the Arabic of the Egyptian peasant than in other languages
because I was using this test for the first time.
The existence of this tendency to use names of different colours to denote
differences of shade is of considerable interest in connection with the colour
nomenclature of ancient literature. Gladstone1 and others have pointed out that
Homer used colour-names, or words which became later colour-names, to denote
differences of brightness, and supposed in consequence that the colour sense of
Homer was undeveloped, but that he had a highly developed degree of sensibility
for difference of brightness. The colour nomenclature of the fellahin of Upper
Egypt appears to show exactly the same kind of peculiarity as that noted by
Gladstone in Homer, a peculiarity which is far from being associated in them
with absence of the colour sense.
Examination for Colour Blindness.
I examined forty-three men and boys at El Anirah. Some of them were abso-
lutely normal in their behaviour with Holmgren's wools. Others made the same
kind of matches with which I had become familiar in Torres Straits and elsewhere,
i.e., they behaved normally with the red, pink, and yellow test-wools, but compared
green with blue, and blue with violet. With Holmgren's pale green test-wool
they were inclined to put wools of any colour, even pink, if very faintly coloured,
i.e., they tended to match according to saturation rather than according to colour
tone, and the same tendency was found in the matches made with a pale violet
test- wool. Owing to the fact that I first met with this mode of matching in
Torres Straits, I am accustomed to speak of it as the Torres Straits type.
Two men were definite examples of the common form of colour blindness.
One, Ali Ibrahim, began by matching green wools with the red test. He matched
Holmgren's pink test with blue and violet; he matched yellow with greenish
yellows, blue with greenish blues and violets, and violet with blue and pink
wools. On repeating the tests, the same kind of errors were made. He called
Kothe's yellow-green paper hamra, the red test wool safra, and green and yellow
wools hamra. In Nagel's test-cards, he consistently called the pink dots kohali,
and the yellow dots hamra. He called the T5 red glass of Lovibond's Tintometer
khadra, the TO red glass ?afra, and the TO blue glass hamra.
1 Studioi un Homer and the Homeric Age 1658, vol. iii, p. 457.
236 W. H. E. EIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt.
Another man, Ali Ayab, matched red with green, green with brown, pink with
blue and violet, Holmgren's green with pink, blue with purple and violet with
pink. He made characteristic mistakes in naming the colour of papers, wools,
Nagel's test dots, and the tintometer glasses.
Nine other individuals resembled many of those tested by Mr. Eandall-
Maclver, and made matches or comparisons which, if made by a European, would
strongly suggest defectiveness of the colour sense.
Three of these, Mohammed Smain Birias, Smain Hassan and Ahmed Bukr,
definitely matched the pink test with violet or purple wools and two of them also
matched red and brown. Their other matches were, however, good or of the
Torres Straits type, and were not of the kind made by red-green blind individuals.
They were able to name all the pink dots of Nagel's test-cards correctly, and none
of the names used were suggestive of red-green blindness. They were able to
distinguish the glasses of the tintometer readily, the thresholds for red being '40,
40, and '20 respectively as compared with 1/20, T20, and -80, the thresholds for blue.1
Five others did not actually match the pink test with violet wools but only
compared the two colours. One of them also compared violet and brown. Their
other matches were of the Torres Straits type, and their behaviour with Nagel's
test and the tintometer was absolutely normal.
One other individual, Ali Hassan, was more doubtful. His actual matches
were normal, but he compared the pink test with the blue and violet wools in a
very suspicious manner. He was, however, able to name Nagel's dots correctly. T
put his threshold for red somewhat high, viz. '50, but he almost passed at '30
(7 times in 10). He was one of those who had been tested a year previously
by Mr. Eandall-Maclver, and from the results of this examination I had put him
down as probably having weakness of the red-green sense.
There are several possibilities in connection with these nine individuals. It is
possible that they were in some slight degree colour-blind. This seems, however, to
me very unlikely ; they were able to recognize correctly the colours of the dots in
Nagel's test, colours especially chosen to deceive the colour-blind. Further, they
were able to recognize very faint glasses in the tintometer, far below the limit at
which Europeans with weakness of the colour sense go wrong. I have found that
this test is a very delicate means of detecting weakness of the red-green sense ;
individuals who are able to match Holmgren's wools and to pass Nagel's test,
fail to distinguish the red from the blue glasses of the tintometer at certain
intensities depending on the degree of weakness of colour vision.
Another possibility is that the defective matches and comparisons were due
to the influence of language. The wools they tended especially to confuse were
red with brown and pink with violet. They also occasionally matched pink and
violet with brown. There is no doubt that all these wools were often given the
same name, viz., ahmar, not only by the individuals in question but by others
1 See p. 241.
W. H. R. RIVERS. — Tl«> Colour Vision of flic Xntives rf Upper Egypt. 237
whose matches were in no way suspicious, and I believe that the fact that these
colours were confused was largely due to the influence of language, to the tendency
to put together wools which the people would be in the habit of associating together
on the ground of similarity of nomenclature.
In working elsewhere, I have met with a similar tendency to put together
wools which would receive the same name. Thus in Torres Straits, as I have
already mentioned, men would often match wools of any colour, but of faint
saturation, with Holmgren's pale green test, and on these occasions I have
heard them saying to themselves their word for "white" as they picked up
the wools. In order to diminish the influence of language as much as possible,
it is always my custom to examine with Holmgren's wools before entering
on the investigation of the colour vocabulary, and I always scrupulously
avoid mentioning the names of colours while explaining the test; but in spite
of all precautions, it is impossible to prevent people from thinking of the
names of the colours they are choosing and from being influenced thereby.
There is another reason why pink and violet should tend to be matched more
readily by these people than by Europeans. I have shown1 that there is reason
to believe that some races have a certain degree of insensibility to blue, and I
shall presently endeavour to show that these natives of Upper Egypt have a
similar degree of insensitiveness to this colour. Each of the colours, pink and
violet, contain both red and blue. They are confused by individuals with weakness
of the red-green sense, because being insensitive to the red element in each, these
individuals only see the blue component of each colour. In red-green blindness,
the two wools probably appear as two shades or tints of blue. It is obvious that
insensitiveness to blue would produce the same tendency to confusion. Both
colours would appear more red, and would resemble one another more closely than
to the normal eye, and I think it probable that this is a subsidiary factor, or
possibly as important a factor as the influence of language, in leading these people
to confuse pink and violet.
Whatever may be the true explanation of these defective matches, there is
one practical conclusion about which there can be no doubt, viz., that Holmgren's
wool test may, in the case of some races at any rate, be wholly insufficient as a
means of diagnosing colour blindness. There is little doubt that among ourselves
the test sometimes fails to detect the slighter degrees of colour blindness. In
savage or semi-civilized races, I believe that Holmgren's test will probably always
enable one to detect colour blindness when it exists, chiefly because the con-
comitant iiisensitiveness to (or lack of interest in) blue, which is so frequently
found in such races, increases the difficulty of matching.
The defect of Holmgren's test, as an ethnographical method, is firstly that a
confusion of colours which in a European certainly means insensitiveness to red,
may in other races be due to insensitiveness to (or lack of interest in) blue
1 Jtep. Camb. Aiithrop. Rvp., vol. ii, p. 73.
23fl W. H. R. RIVEKS.— The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt
Secondly, the peculiar defects which characterize the language for colour in nearly
all savage and semi-civilized races may be of influence in the process of matching,
and may lead to confusions in this process which are in Europeans characteristic
of colour blindness.
In addition to the forty-three individuals examined at El Amrah, I was also
able, by the kindness of Professor Flinders Petrie and Mr. Mace, to examine at El
Arabah ten men who had been tested a year previously by Mr. Randall-Mad ver,
and had been found to be suspicious. Two of these men were certainly colour blind.
One, Erfai, matched red with browns and greens, pink with violets and blues,
Holmgren's green test with brownish and pinkish wools, and blue with pink and
violets. He called most of the red dots in Nagel's test aJchdar, and called the
darker dots of any colour ahmar.
The other, Hamdan Yusuf, made matches which were perfectly characteristic
of colour blindness of the ordinary form, but succeeded in naming most of Nagel's
dots correctly, though he called one pink azraq and another safra.
A third man, Smain ab Amad, made matches which were in the highest degree
suggestive of red-green blindness. He began by matching reds and greens, but I
came to the conclusion that he did not properly understand what he had to do,
and on a later trial he matched red correctly. He confused pink, however, with
blue and blue-green. He matched Holmgren's green test with both yellow and
blueish wools, and matched a blue wool with violet and brown. The latter
confusion is not in any way characteristic of red-green blindness, but is of the
kind that might be due to the influence of language. He called a pink wool
labani, but was able to name all the dots of Xagel's cards correctly. I was not able
to test him with the tintometer, and in the absence of this test I was quite unable
to make up my mind whether he was colour blind or whether his defective
matches were due, partly to the influence of language, partly to misunderstanding
of the method. Six of the others made the same kind of matches which I have
already fully considered in connection with the people tested at El Amrah. They
confused red with brown or pink with violet, or both, and I believe that their
confusions were due to the causes I have already considered. One of them,
Abadeh Musi, was rather more suspicious than the rest, picking up and comparing
a blue wool with the pink test and a pink wool with the blue test, but lie only
definitely matched pink with violet, and was able to name papers, wools and
Nagel's dots perfectly correctly.
The remaining two men tested at El Arabah were normal.
The people examined were too few in number to allow one to say anything
definite as to the percentage of colour-blind individuals. At El Amrah I tested
forty-three individuals, of whom two were certainly colour blind. Of the fifty
individuals, tested by Mr. Randall-Maclver, two were certainly colour blind, while
others had possibly some weakness of the red-green sense. Altogether eighty
natives of Upper Egypt were tested by Mr. Randall-Maclver and myself, of whom
twenty-two were tested by both of us. Of these eighty individuals, four were
W. H. R. RIVERS.— Thr Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt. 239
certainly colour blind while others were doubtful. This proportion of 5 per cent.
is larger than that existing in most European populations, viz., about 4 per cent.,
and if one takes into account the doubtful individuals, the results seem to indicate
that there is a somewhat larger percentage of colour blindness in Upper Egypt
than in European races. I have elsewhere1 shown that colour blindness may be
absent, or almost absent, in some races while in others it may apparently be more
frequent than in Europe, and I have suggested that the existence or absence of
colour blindness may possibly be a guide to ethnic affinities. If future researches
show that colour blindness is relatively common in the race of Upper Egypt, one
will have advanced one step further in the study of this problem.3 I am not
aware of any other researches on the colour vision of Egyptian races, though a
number of observations have been recorded on Nubians.3 Rabl-lluckhard4 quotes
de la Renoudiere as having examined six hundred and ninety-three Algerian
adults of whom 34 per cent, were colour blind. This observer only tested by
asking the names of colours, and his results must therefore be accepted with
caution.
Colour Thresholds.
I used Lovibond's Tintometer to determine the thresholds for red, yellow aud
blue, as I had previously done in Murray Island.5 This apparatus consists of a
long box at the end of which are two apertures either of which may be given any
degree of coloration by placing before it one of three series of glasses very
delicately graded in the three colours, red, yellow and blue. The method was
exactly the same as that employed in Murray Island, with one exception, viz., that
I began by showing the natives glasses of a high degree of coloration. In this
way one began by giving them a good idea of the colours for which they
were to look and the strengths of the glasses were then diminished till the
colours could no longer be recognized. The threshold was determined when
the colour of a glass was correctly recognized four times in five, though very often
ten observations were made with the final glass, in which case two mistakes were
allowed.
I give the record of one man, Ahmed Aissa, to illustrate the procedure. This
man recognized -20 red four times in five, but was only right seven times in ten
observations with the '15 glass. He was right every time with '30 yellow, but was
quite unable to recognize the '20 glass of this colour. The blue glass 1-0 he called
iswid (black) three times, akhdar (green) once, and the fifth time did not recognize
that there was any colour on the side in which the glass had been put, but called
1 Op. tit., p. 94.
* It is, perhaps, worth mention in this connection that colour blindness has been found to
be somewhat more common among Jews than among the general population of Europe. See
Trans. Ophthalmol. Soc., vol. i, p. 191, 1881.
* Zeitsch. f. JSthnoL, Bd. xand xi.
« Ibid., Bd. XII, S. 210, 1880.
» Op. cit.t p. 70.
240 W. H. R. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Eyypt.
the opposite hole abjad (white). Since pronounced blues were often called both
iswid and akhdar, I passed these answers and proceeded to test with '80, which he
recognized as Itibtini four times in five observations. The '60 glass he twice called
white and the '70 glass was also called abjad (white) five times in ten observations,
and I therefore put down his threshold at '80. If I had rejected isivid and akhdar
Ahmed Aissa.
Red.
Yellow.
Blue.
I'O ahmar
I'O asfar
1-00 labcini
•50 „
'50 akhdar
•50 abjad
•50 „
'50 labcini
•TO ikhal
•40 „
-60 akhdar
•70 abjad
•40 „
•60 „
1-0 abjad (W)
•30 abjad
•50 asfar
1*0 isivid
•40 ahmar
•50 „
1-0
•40 „
•50 „
i-o „
•30 „
'40 ,,
I'O akhdar
•30 „
•40 „
•80 labani
•30 „
•40 „
•80 abjad
•30 „
•40 „
•80 labiini
•20 abjad
•30 „
'80 „
•20 ahmar
•30 „
•80 „
•20 „
•30 „
•60 „
•20 „
•30 „
•60 abjad
•90
_w „
,O{\
•oU „
•60 isivid
•15 „
•20 abjad
•60 „
•15 „
•20 asfar
•60 abjad
•15 abjad
•20 ahmar
'70 Idbani
•15 ahmar
•20 abjad
•70 abjad
•15 „
•70 labani
•15 abjad
•70 „
•15 ahmar
'70 abjad
•15 „
•70 „
•15 „
•70 akhdar
•15 abjad
•70 labani
•70 abjad
•70 „
Red -20.
Yellow -30.
Blue '80.
W. H. 1{. KIVKKS.— T/ir Colour Vision of //" .Y"//?-« of tfyprr Egypt. 241
as correct names for blue, I should liave hud t<> put the thresholds of these people
f<>r Mile very much higher than I have done. In Table I, therefore, the figures
given indicate the glass next above that which was called white more often than
once in five observations. There was a general tendency to call the stronger blue
TAHLE I.
NAME,
Rod.
Yellow.
Blue.
Mahmud Mohammed ...
10
10
60
Mohammed Khudir ...
60
40
150
Mohammed Smain Birias
Ahmed Aissa ...
40
20
30
30
120
80
Mohammed Aissa
20
30
120
Mohammed Ahmed ...
10
10
30
Abdullah abd el Muli ...
10
20
30
Mohammed abd el Muli
15
10
20
Mursi abd el Muli
Sadik
15
40
10
30
20
80
Mohammed Hassan ...
Hassan Yusuf ...
10
10
20
20
150
30
Hassan Abderahim
40
30
90
Mohammed Hamed ...
Ali Agiadi
40
40
30
30
90
120
Ahmed Bukr ...
20
20
80
Ali Hassan
50
15
80
Mohammed abu Selim
10
5
60
Mohammed Ali
40
40
100
Mohammed Said
30
50
90
Ibrahim Ibrahim
40
40
50
Mohammed Musi
60
50
200
Mohammed Hamed
40
20
120
Mohammed Earn dan
20
15
60
Abdullah Mohammed ...
Smain Hassan ...
15
40
30
40
70
120
Average ...
28-65
25-96
85-4
Maximum ...
60
50
200
Minimum
M.V
10
14-42
5
10-5
20
34-26
M.V.
•503
•404
•401
A.
VOL. XXX f.
242 W. H. IJ. HIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper Egypt.
glasses iswid or kohall, and to call the fainter glasses labani. The extreme
iiulefiniteness of nomenclature for blue makes it very difficult to know how
much importance to attach to these observations, but I think one is justified in
supposing that when a glass was called white by these people, the colour was not
recognized.
In Table I, I have omitted the decimal points before the numbers of the
glasses, so that a threshold of 10 means that the man in question could distinguish
10 according to Lovibond's graduation.
It will be seen from this table that, on the average, yellow was recognized
at a slightly lower strength than red. The difference is very slight, but is
present in both maximum and minimum, as well as in the average. Blue had
to be much more intense than either red or yellow in order to be recognized.
I have already said that I only rejected the answers for this colour, either when
they failed to recognize that there was any glass at all in the instrument, or
when they called the glass abjad. If I had also regarded the names iswid and
kohali (black) as incorrect, the thresholds for this colour would have been very
much higher.
The figures in the last line but one give the mean variations of the results
for the different individuals from the average result. The figures show that the
twenty-six individuals examined differed from each other least in the case of
yellow, the colour for which they were most sensitive, and differed most in the
case of blue, the colour for which they were least sensitive.
The mean variation may be taken as an index of the degree of variability
of the individuals of a group, and in this case it is probably most satisfactory
to take the mean variation in relation to the average, and in the last line I
M.V.
have given the figures representing this relation,
A.
In the case of red,
the mean variation was rather more than half the average, in the case of yellow
and blue rather more than 40 per cent, of the average.
In the following comparative table I have given the results for the twenty-
six natives of Upper Egypt together with those for eighteen natives of Murray
Island in Torres Straits and eighteen English men and boys, all being tested by
the same instrument in the same manner : —
TABLE II.
COMPARATIVE RESULTS.
!?.!,.«
~DnA
M-IT
M.V.
A/T ~vr
M.V.
i 'i 11..
M\7
M.V.
Ked.
. V.
A.
Yellow.
A.
A.
Egyptian
28-6
14-42
•503
26-0
10-5
•404
85-4
34-3
•401
Murray Island
17-6
7-66
•435
26-5
9-71
•366
60-0
16-5
•275
English
31-7
22'5
710
20'5
8-11
•395
36'4
15'1
•415
W. H. R. KIVERS. — TJic Colour Vision of the Native* oj Ujrper Egypt. 243
It will be seen from this comparative table that the felldhin of Upper
Egypt resembled the English observers in being less sensitive to red than to
yellow. They differed from the Murray Islanders in this respect, but agreed
with these people in their marked insensitiveriess to blue. The Egyptians
seem to occupy an intermediate position between the Englishmen and the
Papuans, resembling the former in one respect and the latter in another.
The behaviour as regards red acquires some significance in connection with the
fact that the cases of marked insensitiveness to red (red-green blindness or
red-green weakness) which occur in both England and Egypt were absent in
Torres Straits.1 The existence of colour-blindness in both Egyptians and
Englishmen appears to be accompanied by a certain degree of general insensitive-
ness to red as compared with Papuans.
The Egyptian and Murray Island records for blue are not exactly comparable
in one respect. The Murray Islanders had no native word for blue, but they
had adopted the English word in the form of bulitbtilii, and most of the natives
used this word consistently for blue. These people had a word which they
used definitely and consistently for blue, and therefore one had every reason to
believe that when they saw blue in the tintometer they were able to express
the fact.
The use of a " loan " word for blue has made the colour vocabulary of the
Murray Islander distinctly superior to that of the Egyptian peasant, and the
fact that so many designations were given to blue by the latter makes it very
difficult to assign a proper value to their results. I have assumed that these
people failed to see the colour when they called it white, but I fully recognize
that this assumption does not rest on a very secure basis, and that the results may
possibly have been due to lack of interest in, rather than to true insensitiveness to
blue. Still the fact remains that i\iQ felldhin of Upper Egypt and the Papuans of
Murray Island, who have closely similar defects of colour language, also behave
in the same way when tested with the tintometer and call a blue glass " white "
which to the European eye is strongly coloured, while they tire able to give
suitable names to red and yellow glasses of about the same degree of coloration,
or even lower degrees of coloration, than thuse at which English observers
recognize these colours.
The behaviour of the natives of Upper Egypt, both with Holmgren's wools
and with the tintometer, illustrates very well the difficulties which defective
colour nomenclature introduces into the objective examination of the colour
sense. The observations, however, as a whole point with considerable probability
to the existence of a certain degree of defective sensibility to blue as compared
with red and yellow and tend to confirm the conclusions at which I have arrived
from observations elsewhere, that defective nomenclature for blue may bo
associated with a certain degree of defective sensibility for this colour.
1 No case was found in lf>0 individuals.
244 W. H. 1J. HiVEUs. — The Colour Vision of tlw Native* of Upper Eyypt.
The defective nomenclature for colour employed by these peasants of Upper
Egypt is of considerable interest in relation to the problem of the connection
between colour language and colour sense. I have elsewhere1 pointed out
that any defect of colour sense which has so far been found in savage and
semi-civilized races can only partially explain the great defects of colour
nomenclature which are found so widely throughout the world. These defects,
especially in the nomenclature for green and blue, are found not only in the
languages of savage and barbarous people, but in some of the languages spoken
in civilized countries.
One of the factors which has been brought forward to explain the defective
nomenclature for blue is the absence of blue pigments and of blue objects of
interest among many races, and it is probable that this is one of the causes which
have contributed to produce the defect. In the case of these Egyptian peasants
we have, however, to do with people who are well acquainted with blue objects,
and who were often, at the time that I examined them, wearing blue clothes.
Further, they are the inhabitants of a country in the ancient history of which
blue occupied the most prominent position in decorative art, and yet among
these people one finds exactly the same defects of colour nomenclature which
are found among the lowest savages and in races totally unacquainted with blue
pigments.
In the case of these Egyptian peasants we have also an example of people
speaking a language in which there is a recognized term for blue, and yet this
term is used by them indiscriminately for both dark blue and black. I have not
had the opportunity of discovering whether defects of language similar to those
which I have described would be found among educated Egyptians. It is
probable that such defects may survive among the peasants of a country long after
they have disappeared from the speech of the more cultivated classes, and
Kirchhoff gives a very good illustration of this from Germany,2 where in some
parts there is still evidence of the confusion between violet and brown which
is very common in more primitive races. It is among the peasants of a civili/ed
country that one should look for the features of colour language which I have
described.
In the ancient language of Egypt it is said that there were definite words
for both green and blue, and the decorative art of ancient Egypt can leave no
doubt in the mind of anyone that there was a comparatively high degree of
development of the colour sense corresponding to this high degree of development
of colour nomenclature. The Egyptian peasant may have lost this highly
developed colour vocabulary, and possibly to some extent also may have
degenerated in his colour sense. It is, on the other hand, possible, and there
seem to be other reasons in favour of the possibility, that the various civilizations
Popular Science Monthly, vol. lix, p. 44, 1901.
Das Ausland, S. 54G, 1883.
\V. H. R. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of tlir Natirc* of Upper Efiypt. 245
of Egypt may have passed over the heads of the felldhin without affecting their
mental development in any marked degree, and that they continue to have the
same primitive ideas of colour which their ancestors had several thousand years
ago, just as they continue to use the shdd'Af to irrigate their fields. It is
possible that when the native of Egypt began to use the Arabic language he
carried over into this the same features which characterized his previous ton^m-,
whatever that may have been.
DISCUSSION.1
Professor SULLY, after paying a tribute to the interesting and valuable line
of work undertaken by Dr. Rivers, suggested that in testing the colour sense of
savages the element of uncertainty introduced by nomenclature might bo
eliminated by the use of a supplementary method. Young children might be
selected, and a definite tint, e.g., a blue, set before them as a standard tint, and
carefully observed and named. Then the tinted glasses might be employed,
and the point determined at which the child was able to recognize the colour
as the same as the standard tint. This last should be kept before the child and
be referred to if necessary. He would have been glad to hear from Dr. Rivers
whether the savages examined by him employed different names for bright and
dark shades of the same colour. From his observations of children, and from the
reasonable hypothesis that colour discrimination developed in the race out of
discrimination of light intensities, lie should expect to find that this was a
characteristic of the nomenclatures of savage races.
Mr. McDouGALL : Dr. Rivers' very interesting observations seem to fall
into line with and indeed to form by far the most important part of a considerable
mass of evidence drawn from very various sources. From this mass of evidence
some authors have drawn the conclusion that our capacity of experiencing the
sensation of blue is a comparatively modern accomplishment, that it has been
much more recently acquired than the sensations given by the light of the other
end of the spectrum. Dr. Rivers seems inclined to accept this conclusion as
in some degree true. I happen to be interested in maintaining a different view
of the course of evolution of our colour sense, and I wish therefore to point out
that all the evidence from which this conclusion has been drawn is possibly
capable of bearing a different interpretation. If we compare our colour sensations
introspectively, I think most of us will admit that there attaches to the warm
colours a more emotional interest, a greater affective value, than to the cold tones.
Both Mr. Havelock Ellis and the late Mr. Grant Allen have brought together from
various sources, largely from the examination of works of art, conclusive evidence
of this greater emotional or aesthetic value of the warm colours. I would suggest
that in this fact we may perhaps have the key to the true explanation of the
apparent indifference of primitive folk to blue tones and their lack of names for
them, and possibly even to the results of Dr. Rivers' exact observations. Savage
and primitive men will naturally give their attention to the more emotional
1 Some of the points raised in the discussion refer to iv marks on the general problem of
the colour sense with which Dr. Rivera concluded his paper.
240 W. H. R. RIVERS. — The Colour Vision of the Natives of Upper
colours, neglecting others, and so will educate their sense of red, while neglecting
their sense of blue. We know that their pigments are mostly reds and yellows,
and so were Sir Joshua Reynolds'. I do not think, however, that the less affective
value of blue is a valid ground for regarding the sense for blue as a more recent
growth. The converse might, perhaps, be argued with greater force from analogy
with other senses. Thus it seems fairly certain that the hearing of noises is a
more primitive faculty than the appreciation of tones, that simple touch is older
than the sense of temperature, and so on. My own work on colour vision has
led me to suggest the view that primitive vision corresponded to our sense of
grey, that our senses for blue and yellow became differentiated as the affections
produced by the light of the two ends of the spectrum, and that at a later period
the senses of red and green became differentiated in a similar way from the sense
of yellow. The facts of colour blindness and the distribution of colour sense in
the periphery of the retina (as generally accepted) fit well with this scheme of
development. The evidence from children is very mixed, but Professor Baldwin,
whose results are at least as trustworthy as any others, and refer to a child of
only nine months old (an age earlier than others have attempted to deal with),
finds that red, blue, and white seemed to be almost equally attractive, while green
was very much less so. The chief objection to this scheme seems to be evidence
of the kind that Dr. Rivers has brought forward this evening, and it was for this
reason that I wished to point out a possible mode of escape from the conclusion
that he seems inclined to accept.
Dr. C. S. MYERS offered a further example of the independence of defective
nomenclature and sensation gathered from his experiments upon the sense of
taste among the Murray Islanders. These people possessed names for sweet,
acid, and salt tastes, but evidently knew no word to describe the bitterness of
quinine, while their extreme dislike of it was no less obvious.
Dr. EDRIDGE-GREEN said that, in his opinion, the only reliable method for
scientific purposes of ascertaining the colour perception of an individual was the
spectroscope, and he would like to know whether Dr. Rivers had employed this
method. He had pointed out the defects of the Holmgren test in a paper read
before the Royal Society more than ten years ago, and that Society appointed a
committee who recommended this test, though at the present time the defects
of the test were well known and acknowledged even by those who had previously
supported it most strongly. In addition to the fact that a large number of
normal sighted persons had been rejected by the test (over 38 per cent, one year
and 42 per cent, another of those who appealed from the decision of the Board
of Trade examiners were found to be normal sighted), six distinct varieties of
colour blindness might escape detection. Three of these six varieties were
dangerously colour blind. Extraordinary as it might seem the test was still the
official one of the Board of Trade, but few would credit, unless they had tried,
how difficult it was to convince men of a perfectly obvious and easily ascertained
fact, when that fact was opposed to their preconceived notions.
Mr. W. H. WINCH : Dr. Rivers' investigations from the linguistic side and
his more objective tests seem to give harmonious results. But it has often been
objected that investigations from the linguistic side do not necessarily throw light
upon colour sensibility, since it is asserted —
W. H. II. RIVKKS. — Tlie Colour Vision of tJif Native* oj Uppn- E'jypt. 247
1. The sensibility may be there, though the name may not be known to the
language ,
2. Names may be wrongly applied, even though there is a sensible distinction
between the colours named.
Admitting to a limited extent the force of these objections, it seems
advisable to endeavour to remove, or at least minimise, the language difficulty
by taking a large number of cases in which there is no doubt that the names of
the various colours have every chance of being equally known from every point
of view, except that of developing sensibility. If in these cases there seems a
growth and order of development in colour appreciation, it would appear hardly
possible to explain it by defect of language. I have examined a large number of
children in infant schools, and hope, as opportunity arises, to test many more,
using the coloured balls and beads which are used in the infant schools of the
London School Board. The colour names for these are taught equally, but
experiment shows that the following, taking a general result from a large number
of cases, is the order of development : — white, black (equal), red, blue, green,
yellow.
248 )
•
THE RACES. OF EARLY EGYPT.
BY W. M. FLINDERS PETPJE, D.C.L., Edwards Professor of Egyptology at
University College, London.
[WITH PLATES XVlII-XX.j
As very various opinions have been expressed lately about the type of the early
Egyptians, it is desirable to place together the best data that we yet have for
observation. In two respects this subject may yet be amplified : (1) it is hoped
that more material of the early dynasties may be forthcoming from the clearance
of the early temple site of Abydos, which it is intended shall be done in the
next three years ; and (2) the comparisons with the types figured on the Egyptian
monuments of later ages, with localities stated, may help in connecting the early
races with those known otherwise. To undertake stage (2) while stage (1) is
yet unaccomplished would be in some cases premature ; but to postpone all
observation of the variety of race till stage (1) is fulfilled would hinder knowledge.
We have enough now to make a first classification, and that is what is brought
forward here.
We must disabuse our minds of the prevalent feeling that stepping back
a few thousand years will lead us to a simpler condition of races, and that at
the present beginning of our information we deal with " purer " races than those
around us in the present day. On the contrary, before man was tied down to
the permanent possessions of domestication and agriculture he probably roamed
and mingled more widely than in historic times. We must expect to deal with
mixture of origin as much in 5000 B.C. as in 1900 A.D.
It is unfortunate that the appreciation of portraiture is so blunted at present.
The ancient artists showed a keener discrimination than is to be found in most
people of intelligence now. Nothing is commoner when differences of features
are pointed out to educated people than to see a blank look of distaste, followed
by the honest remark that " they all look very much alike, and I can't see where
you find the difference." That these differences are not mere accidents of work
is shown by the same hand on the same stone, carefully figuring marked
differences in one part, and an exact identity of type in another part. It really
needs a training of the eye and judgment to make any use of the figures, or to
give any opinion worth hearing about them. No one can be an authority on
Journal of (he Anthropological Institute, J'ol. XXXI, Plate XVIII.
10
nil KACES OF EARLY EGYPT. i. THE AQUII/' ' TYPE (1-10.)
v '
./.,/ null nt lltf A,lllti-t>i>iili>;ii,;il /I/.V//7- V \ /, /'/,,/ \ / \
iii. THE 1'OINTKH NOSE TYPE (13-1.")).
*•--« -•- i 6 -
17
r
iv. THK TILTKIi M)SK TYPE (Hi-l!»).
21
V. TIIK rolJ\VAi;i> r.KAl;i> TVl'F •
Journal of tie Anthropological ///*//////<-. /'«/. .VVV/. /'/,//-- \ \
vi. THE STRAIttHT-BKlDGED TYPE OF THE DYNASTIC RACE (23-27).
30
Vil. THE MIXKH HACK OF THE FOURTH DYNUSTY (28-30).
W. M. FLTNPEUS PF.TIUK. — The Itaces of Early fr/>//>t. -Hi
modern pictures and historical portraits without insight and experience ; and
ancient art and portraiture need at least as much preparation, as they are further
from our common knowledge.
SOURCES. — The material for our observations on the early races has all come
to light in the last few years. Of the prehistoric age there are several rude
figures (see Ncit/cuJn, lix: Ix, '21 ; Ixiv, 81 ; and here Figs. 1 to 5) which all agree
in a general type. There are also figures of a very different and steatopygous
form (Nftqada, vi); this probably became mixed with the other type. Of the
earliest dynastic times there are the invaluable slate carvings, of which retouched
photographs were published in Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxx, Pis. B, C, D. There
are also the ivory carvings, stone figures, and sculptured mace heads from
Hierakonpolis (see H-imikonpolis, Pis. I, III, V-XII, XV, XXI, XXVI, A, B, C,
XXIX, XXXIX). Of the first, dynasty there are the ivory-carvings from Abydos
(Roy,d Tomlx, vol. i, Pis. XII, XIV; vol. ii, Pis. Ill, A, IV). With later times
we do not attempt to deal at present ; though it would be highly desirable to
have a complete corpus of photographs of every head of importance throughout
Egyptian history. The references to the figures here given is as follows : — 1 to 4, in
University College, London ; 5, Naqacla, lix, 5 ; 6, Jfierakonpolis, vi, 4 ; 7 to 9,
Racial Portraits', 10, Hierakonpolis, vi, 1 ; 11, Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxx, D ; 12,
Journ. Anthrop. lust., xxx, C ; 13, Royal Totiibs, vol. ii, PI. IV, 5 ; 14, HisraJcoripoti*,
xxviA; 15, Ro iial Tombs, vol. ii, III A, 2 ; 16, Hierakonpolis, xxix ; 17, Journ.
Anthrop. Inst., xxx, B ; 18, Hierakonpolis, xxix ; 19, Hierakonpolis, xxvi, C ; 20 to
22, Hierakonpolis, xxix ; 23, Hierakonpolis, xxvi, C ; 24 to 27, Hierakonpolis, xxix ;
28, Petrie, History, i, Fig. 20 ; 29, Petrie, History, i, Fig. 33 ; 30, Racial Portraits.
These are only stated to show the position of the originals ; in many cases the
actual heads shown here are taken from casts.
DATES. — It is essential to observe the relative ages of the various heads, as
the condition of the peoples represented was changing from hostility to captivity,
and lastly to union with the spreading government of Egypt. The system of
sequence dates (described Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxix, 295, and Diospolis, 4-12)
is best suited for this, as there will be but one number to observe. But this
system must be extended into the early history ; and happily the junction of the
sequence numbers 30-80 with the history is now fixed ; the cylinder jars of King
Ka are of the form dated S.D. 78, and those of King Mena are of S.D. 80. Xar-mer
therefore between Ka and Mena must be dated S.D. 79. The order of the carved
slates (see Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxx, B, C, D) has not yet been studied ; but
from the art, and its connection with that of the first dynasty, I believe the order
should be (referring to Pis. B, C, D, above) : —
IV. Louvre fragment, wiry, over-detailed style 75
V. Gizeh fragment, similar 7G
II. Louvre and British Museum, more free and active... 77
VI. British Museum and Oxford, fine style arising ... 78
I. Gizeh, elaboration of anatomy ... ... ... 79
250 W. M. FLINPEHS PETRIE. — The Raw* of Ear/?/ JZt/ypt.
Purely provisionally, in order to distinguish the sequence quickly, I shall give
these the sequence dates last named, 75 to 79, though very likely they may really
all belong to 78-79.
The sequence dates of the prehistoric heads are probably about as follows : —
No. 2, S.D. 40, and Nos. 3, 4, s.D. 43, judging from similar examples already dated ;
and No. 5 is about 52. No. 6 was from the great find of ivory at Hierakonpolis,
S.D. 79. Nos. 7, 8, 9 are from sculptures of the nineteenth dynasty ; No. 10 is
probably of s.D. 79.
THE EACES. — In dividing the various types as follows it must not be supposed
that they are all separate peoples ; some may well be mixtures of others, but the
first step is to classify the forms.
1. The aquiline type. — Setting aside the steatopygous race, which is only
found modelled in the earliest known graves, and which appears to have been
early extinct as a separate people in Egypt, there is but one type seen in all the
prehistoric figures. Some examples of it are given, Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ; and others
in slate, paste, ivory, etc., are only poorer variants. All come from Upper Egypt.
The characteristics of this type are the high domed head and pointed beard, the
profile being too slight to give much indication. Though this inartistic people
did not leave any fine images, yet luckily their artistic conquerors made some
excellent ivory carvings, one of which (Fig. 6) is clearly of a man of the usual
prehistoric type. There is the same high domed head and pointed beard, with
a long nose, which is clearly indicated in the prehistoric head, Fig. 2. The growth
of the beard and the high head both mark off these examples from all the other
types in Figs. 11 to 30.
Now it so happens that this, type is very well known already on later
Egyptian monuments. The precise resemblance of Figure 6 to Figures 7 and 8 is
beyond question ; and the latter represent (7) the Tahennu and (8) the western
race in general. For popular convenience we may call them Libyans, a term
which covers many allied races. The closely similar physiognomy of the Amorites,
Figure 9, points to a common origin ; and as these Amorites were a fair people (by
the remains of colour on the monuments) they join well with the fair Libyan race.
So far, from physiognomy we reach the simple conclusion that North Africa,
Egypt, and Syria were occupied by allied tribes of a European character. The
head, Figure 10, is apparently of the same race crossed with negro, which has made
the hair curly, the lips weak, the beard short, and the outline less orthognathous.
Beside this strong resemblance of type, and the presumption that a race that
was on each side of Egypt probably occupied that land at one time, there are
still remaining, especially in the pottery and decoration, very strong cultural
resemblances between the prehistoric Egyptian and the present Kabyle of Algiers.
These have been already detailed by me in Nayada, p. 63, and are so generally
accepted that we need not re-state the case here.
But lately it has been asserted emphatically that the prehistoric Egyptians
were not Libyans, on the ground of asserted differences in the cephalic, the
\V. M. KUNDF.IIS 1'F.TIMK. — Tllf Jlcicru nf Earl/I E<H/i>t.
alveolar, and the nasal index. As this is based on the comparison of two peoples
who are over 1,500 miles apart, and with over 7,000 years interval between them, one
in mountains, the other in a plain ; one by living heads, the other by dead skulls,
it is clear that many unstudied data are involved. The fixity of cranial characters
is yet quite unknown, and all we can do is to compare a few cases. The alveolar
index it is however agreed is similar, both prehistoric Egyptians and modern
Kabyles1 being orthognathous. The nasal index is quite ambiguous, the values
being : —
Nasal In.
Years ago.
Prehistoric Egyptian
540
7,000
Algerian skulls
490
2,000 ?
Living Kabyles
680
0
Thus the Egyptian is between the ancient and modern Algerian. The sole
question left therefore is that of the cephalic index. This ranges thus: —
Prehistoric Egyptian
Algerian (Dolmens and Biskra)
Living Kabyles
Ceph. In.
720
740
770
Years ago.
7,000
2,000
0
Here is at once a suggestion of change in Algeria alone. The index has
shifted 15 per 1,000 years (from 740 to 770); and the difference of 4 per
1,000 years (from 720 to 740) between Egypt and Algiers is only a quarter of the
rate of change shown in Algiers itself.
Is this change comparable with that in other lands, apart from any serious
change of race ? In Middle Italy we have a fair case, in one region, not much
disturbed by invasions so far south. From Flower's Catalogue we find : —
Ceph. In.
Years ago.
Aquinum
790
2,000
Middle Italy, general
794
2,000
Middle Italy, modern
802
0
Here there is a change of 5 per 1,000 years, as determined entirely by skulls or
a greater rate of change than that between Egyptian and Algerian skulls.
But when we compare skulls and living persons we find much larger differences,
which suggest that measurements on the living are not comparable with those on
skulls. For instance —
1 The word Berber should !•<• avoided, as it is used for totally different races, the Kabyle
and the Nubian, fair and black.
W. M. FLINDERS PETHIE. — The Raws of Early Egypt.
Skulls.
Difference. Living.
Anglo-Saxon, 1,200 years
old.
7r>o
40
790
South England.
Whitechapel, 200 years
old.
747
47
794
South-east England.
Modern English, all
Ancient Algerian
770
740
21
P.O
791
770
All England.
Living Kabyles.
Here we see that the difference of ancient and living Algeria is of the same
character as that between skulls and living heads in other instances at home, even
where there is no lapse of time. Hence the only difference we need consider as
regards the Egyptians is that between the prehistoric Egyptian and ancient
Algerian ; a change of only 20, or 4 per 1,000 years, which is far within the scope
of likely variation in any one race. Moreover no one has ever asserted that the
two races were united by direct descent, but only that they were akin. The
differences produced by amalgamation with other peoples, by the lapse of 7,000
years, by the life in a hot plain and on cold mountains, by the distance as much
as from England to the Crimea ; — all these will well account for a difference of 20
when the human range of racial averages is as much as 170.
On one other point of the Libyan connection a mistaken statement has been
made, owing to trusting entirely to a modern transliteration of Egyptian. The
royal bee in Egyptian had the phonetic value written with the leg Z>, the reed
which the Greeks transliterated a, as in .4 men and -4nubis, and the drill-cap t,
reading bat, or byti as some prefer it. The resemblance of this royal title lat in
ancient Egypt,' to the Libyan kattos, a king, as stated by Greeks, is as close as could
be expected. To deny thai, the Greek value of the reed sign might be «, is
impossible when we see the examples that I name above.
I fail to see that craniometry has any serious evidence to bring against the
connection of the prehistoric people of Upper Egypt with those of ancient (or
even modern) Algiers. It is only when ignoring all the many causes of variation
that the amount of difference seems of importance. But the physiognomy gives
a decisive proof of connection between prehistoric Egypt and ancient Libya, and
thus anthropology fully supports the many evidences which archaeology has given
for a close connection between Egypt and Libya.
We now turn to the other types found on the early monuments.
2. TJie plaited-lieard type. — See Figures 11, 12. This is extremely different
from the prehistoric aquiline type. The characteristics are close curly hair, a
plaited hanging beard, thick straight nose rounded at the end, rather thick lips,
and receding chin. The examples are only on the carved slates, dating about
75 and 78 S.T). ; both are conquered peoples. On one slate they are seen to be
circumcised, on the other a sheath is worn with a belt, but no other clothing
W. M. r'uxiiKirs I'KTUIK.— T/i< /«'<"v.s »/* /;,</•/// EH ///>/. 253
;i])])t>;irs. Occurring so early, they seem to be not far from Upper Egypt; but no
such people recur on later monuments. They may then have been an invading
race from a distance, which was exterminated in Egypt; or possibly they may
belong to the Ked Sea coast. The nearest instance of this type is that of the
deity and worshipper on the relief at Ibrlx.
3. The pointed-nose type. — See Figs. 13, 14, 15. This is a well-marked
type, with a large slender uose sharply pointed, a somewhat projecting beard,
and the hair tied up in a thick pigtail from the crown of the head in Figs. 13, 14,
showing that the hair was long and lank. In two cases the figures wear a loin
cloth, and .in the other case a long spotted robe from the neck to the calf of the
leg. A figure with the same peculiar robe appears as conqueror on Slate VI
(J.A.I, xxx, PI. D) date 78 ; the robe then being trimmed with an edging all round.
A similarly robed figure, nearly life size, in limestone, was found at Hierakonpolis
(not yet published). The huts of these people are shown on an ivory slip (Royal
Tombs, ii iv, 11 ; see p. 22) as being circular, made of reeds or stems bound
together, with a dome top of interlacing palm branches (?). In no case do they
appear as captives, so they must have been early united to the conquering tribe ;
but yet they were tributaries, Fig. 13 bearing a branch and bowing, Fig. 14 bearing
a stone vase and a palm spathe (?), Fig. 15 bearing also a vase. From the
substantial long robe we must suppose that they came from a colder and elevated
land ; the highlands of the eastern desert (Gebel Dokhan, Gebel Ataka, etc.) are
the nearest such region, and the tribute of stone vases, and early union with the
conquerors who came from the Red Sea, agree with this placing.
4. The tilted-nose type. — See Figs. 16, 17, 18, 19. The characteristics arc a
short thick nose, projecting and sloped upward below ; the chin short and rather
receding; the brow well marked. The hair is wavy (Figs. 16, 19), like the
prehistoric and later Egyptians, or curly as in Figs. 17, 18. Figs. 16 and 19
wear a belt and tie in front ; 17 a kilt with an animal's tail hanging behind ;
18 a waist-cloth and sheath ; the slain figures on the slate are shown as circum-
cised. The weapons used by this type are spear, bow and arrows, double axe,
throw-stick, and mace ; they also used the lasso (J.A.I, xxx, PI. B). They carry the
hawk standard and the eastern standard. The title or name of Fig. 16 appears
above him as ua she, which may probably mean " chief of the lake," i.e., Fayum
district. These people appear as conquerors at S.D. 77 and 79 ; but yet conquered
in 79. As, however, there are some differences (especially in beard and hair)
between each of the examples given, it is likely that they were a wide-spread
people which were conquered in sections. I should be inclined to see in these
the general type of middle Egypt at the time of the dynastic invasion.
5. The forward-leard. type. — See Figs. 20, 21, 22. These seem different from
the preceding by the horizontal base to the nose, and the very forward growth of
the beard, like that on early Greek vases (Defenneh xxx, 1). These heads are
those of the standard bearers of King Narmer (20, 21), and that of the people
over which they triumph (22). There is a difference also in 20 and 22 having
254 W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE. — The Races of Early Egypt
moderate hair, and 21 having long hair. The dress of 20 is a loin cloth, that
of 21 a belt and hanging tie ; 22, being a slain figure, is stripped, but the other
heads along with it wear the skin and horns of an ox. As all of these heads
are very small I have drawn them larger for clearness. This type must belong to
a district partly conquered and incorporated before Narmer, and partly conquered
by him. The standards borne in procession are the piece of flesh (Letopolis,
north of the pyramids) carried by No. 25 ; the jackal (Cynopolis, 100 miles above
Cairo) carried by 20; and two hawk standards borne by two men of type 21.
As these have conquered similar men, it suggests that they extended further on
down the west of the Delta. If the standard be that of Cynopolis it might be due
to a conquering settlement of these people among the type 4 which seems likely
to belong to the Fayum and Middle Egypt.
6. The straight-bridged type. — See Figs. 23, 24, 26, 27. This is unquestion-
ably the conquering dynastic race. Fig. 23 is a king, apparently designated by a
scorpion, who came probably just before Narmer. Fig. 24 is Narmer himself:
26 is his high priest : 27 is his servant. All of these have the straight bridge
to the nose, with a very slight frontal swell in Nariner, but otherwise the
ibrehead and nose in one line. The face is orthognathous, the jaw large, lips well
formed ; beard slight, and the hair long and wavy ending in ringlets, but generally
shaven. This type of royal race lasted to the end of the second dynasty, as the
straight bridge appears on the statue of King Khasekhem, of which the nose and
chin are unfortunately lost. The dress was the loin cloth, with a tail
of an animal hanging behind, for the king ; a girdle with long ends for the
servant ; and a plain loin cloth (of the form usual in historic Egypt) for the
common people, e.g., the servants on Fig. 23, who are of the same type. As the
conquering race appear to have started at Abydos it seems most likely that they
came into Egypt from the Eed Sea, along the Rosier road.
7. Lastly, at the end are some examples of the mixed race of the fourth dynasty.
The head of Hesy, Fig. 28, shows much of the prehistoric type, the high domed
head and long aquiline nose. The head of Khafra, Fig. 29, is of much the same
type, and shows little or no trace of the early dynastic type. The head,
Fig. 30, of a noble of the fourth dynasty, Sem-nefer, shows how a little of the
old dynastic type remained in the mouth and chin (see Fig. 27), but the nose
seems more like the Figs. 20, 21, which appear to belong to the west of the
Delta. Altogether the lapse of eight or ten centuries seems to have fused the
varieties, and enabled the old prehistoric type of Upper Egypt to reassert itself.
These notes will serve to show how many different strains and mixtures have
to be dealt with, and how needful it is to know more of the locality and age of
each type from further examples.
The table opposite shows the principal results.
W. M. FLINDERS PETIUK. — The Races of Early Efjijpt.
255
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( 256 )
NOTES ON CRANIA FROM THE NILE-WELLE WATERSHED.
BY F. C. SHKUBSALL, M.A., M.B.
SKULLS from the Zereiba country, the Upper Nile, and the dense forest between
that river and the tributaries of the Congo, are very rare in English museums. Six
only are in that of the Eoyal College of Surgeons ; the cranium of a negro of the
Bari tribe obtained near Ragaff ; two skulls of members of the Monbottu (Mang-
battu) nation, and three of Azandeh people of the Niam-Niam country.
The chief accounts we possess of the natives of this district are found in
Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa and in Junker's Travels. Schweinfurth describes
the Monbottu as being of a lighter tint than any other people of Central Africa.
Compared with the Azandeh they have less fulness of muscle, without however any
appearance of debility, a better developed beard, and much the same growth of hair.
He also says : " The physiognomical form of the skull of the Monbottu in many
ways recalls the type of the Semitic tribes, and they differ from the ordinary run
of negroes in the greater length and curve of the nose. All these characteristics
betoken an affinity with the Fulbe, and as such the Moubottu may probably be
included among the ' Pyrrhi ^Ethiopes ' of Ptolemy."
Materials for a detailed comparison of the crania of these groups are at present
lacking, but the specimens in the College of Surgeons Museum show very close
resemblances between the Monbuttu and the more southern Bantu peoples. During
the ten years which elapsed between the visits of Schweinfurth and Junker the
Monbottu nation seen by the former had been practically erased by the incursions
of Arab slave dealers from the Egyptian Sudan.
The Azandeh nation form a part of the negro family on the Nile-Congo water-
shed. Leo Reinisch connects their language rather with the Bantu than the
Sudanese group. The term Niam-Niam, which means cannibal, seems to be some-
what indiscriminately applied to these tribes by their northern neighbours. Sub-
joined are detailed notes on these skulls, and brief comparisons with those of allied
races. The cranial capacity of these skulls ascertained by Broca's method shows
them to be of medium size, the Azandeh crania being more capacious than those
of the Monbottu, and the one female cranium much smaller than either of the
four males. The Bari skull was too damaged to allow of measurements being
taken.
F. C. SHRUBSALL. — Notes on Crania from the Nile- Welle Watershed. 257
Tribe.
Catalogue
number.
Sex.
Capacity
in c.c.
Monbottu —
Mangheri ...
1257B
<f
1320
Akossi
1257C
c? i 1390
Azandeh
1257D
<J
1485
1257E
c?
1445
1257F
?
1225
With these we may compare the following average capacities of male
skulls : —
Masai (Virchow) ... ... ... 1350
Kaffirs 1540
Abantu of the Central Lake district . . . 1430
Ashanti 1340
Dahoman (Virchow) ... ... ... 1400
Arabs 1480
The crania of the Nilotic negroes described in this note are of good dimensions,
the greatest transverse diameter being bi -parietal. Viewed in norma verticalis they
must be included in the ellipsoidal group of Sergi. Relatively the Monbottu skulls
are broader than those of the Azandeh, the former being mesaticephalic, and the
latter very dolichocephalic. The small number under consideration renders any
attempt at an average impossible, but it might be noted that while the former have
a higher, the latter have a lower cephalic index than the average of any Abantu
skulls I have measured.1
Virchow tabulates the distribution of the cephalic indices of skulls from this
part of Africa which he has examined, as follows : —
Masai.
Dwarfs.
Wanyamwesi.
Abantu.
Hyperdolichocephal ic . . .
7
—
—
17
Dolichocephalic
6
3
4
73
Mesocephalic ...
3
4
4
30
Brachycephalic
—
—
—
1
To Virchow's table I add a corresponding column derived from all the Abantu
crania I have had any opportunity of studying, so that, if the skulls in the College
See table, Juurn. Anthrop. Inst., vol. xxviii, p. 91.
VOL. XXXI.
258 F. C. SHRUBSALL. — Notes on Crania from the Nile- Welle Watershed.
of Surgeons collection may be regarded as typical, the Azandeh in this respect would
seem more closely allied to the Masai than to their Abantu neighbours ; whereas
the Monbottu exhibit the reverse characters. This suggestion receives some
confirmation from the general appearance of the crania.1
The altitudinal and breadth-height indices point in the same direction, but
reveal no features of special interest. The parietal eminences are not prominent,
but the usual flattening of the vertex between them is to be observed.
The sagittal curve slopes gradually and uniformly back over a fairly full
forehead to reach its highest point at the bregma, behind which it runs horizontally
for a short distance, and then bends round, almost as the segment of a circle, to the
hinder border of the foramen magnum. In the Azandeh skulls there is a slight
occipital fulness not seen in the Monbottu.
The glabella and superciliary ridges are conspicuously absent in the Monbottu
and Bari crania, and are only slight in the Azandeh. The temporal crest is well
marked, and its double nature is very distinct. The zygomatic processes are strong,
well arched, so that the crania are phsenozygous, and terminate in a distinct supra-
mastoid ridge which runs up on to the posterior inferior angle of the parietal bone.
The temporal squama is flattened and relatively small, the pterion is of the normal
H form, and in the female skull there is a slight degree of steno-crotaphy. As is
commonly the case in African negro skulls, the conceptaculae cerebelli are full and
prominent, and the mastoid processes small though rough.
Viewed from behind, the crania are pentagonal in outline with rounded
angles. All the sutures are simple and wormian bones the exception. The face is
square and massive with projecting maxilla and mandible ; the cheek bones are
very solid and prominent. The facial indices of all the skulls, except the female
Azandeh, fall in the leptoprosopic division of Kollmann, while the flatness of the
upper face renders them platyopic.
The orbits are square with ill-defined rounded margins ; those of the Monbuttu
are megaseme, of the Azandeh and Bari mesoseme ; but if the German classification
be adopted in all cases they would be hypsikonche. In this character they agree
more with the Masai, the natives of the lake district, and the negroes of the
Western Sudan, than with the southern Abantu. The nose is broad and flat with
a small spine and ill-defined lower border to the apertura pyriformis. The nasal
bones themselves have a distinct retrousse' curve as seen in profile. The nasal
index indicates a somewhat greater degree of platyrhiny than is usual among either
the Masai or the Abantu, agreeing with the average for the Ashanti and other
tribes of the western littoral.
The Azandeh and Bari somewhat unexpectedly present a lower index than
the Monbottu, but in view of the paucity of material no conclusion can be drawn
from this fact. The palate is parabolic or hypsiloid, leptostaphylinic in index,
while the teeth are large, strong and in a good state of preservation.
1 Cf. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. xxviii, p. 35, and Plate V, Figs. 1, 2 aud 3.
F. C. SHKUBSALL. — Notes on Crania from the Nile- Welle Watershed. 259
The lower jaws are strong with deep sigmoid notches, high alveolar arch and
somewhat square chin. As might be anticipated, the alveolar arch shows a much
higher degree of prognathism in the case of the Monbottu than in that of either the
Azandeh or Bari. Possibly this fact, coupled with the diminished stature, smaller
cranial capacity, broader skull and more megaseme orbits, might suggest some
intermixture with the dwarf races of the forest zone constituting the Welle-Nile
watershed.
MEASUREMENTS OF MANDIBLES IN MILLIMETRES.
Race.
MONBOTTU.
AZANDEH.
BAMBUTE.
Museum ....
RC.S.
1257B.
3
112
82
33
27
180
49
34
81-8
63-3
RC.S.
1257C.
(J
109
85
39
28
192
51
38
71-8
63
RC.S.
1257D.
(J
123
103
35
32
205
43
44
91-4
76-3
R.C.S.
1257E.
(J
113
93
34
28
203
53
37
82-4
72-7
RC.S.
1257F.
?
119
93
26
27
171
42
32
103-8
72-1
B.M.
1/8/9/1
3
112
80
32
23
198
42
40
71-9
64-0
Catalogue Number
Sex
Bi-condylar breadth ....
Maximum bi-gonial breadth
Syinphysial height
Molar height .
Bi-gonial arc
Ramus height ....
1!. nuns breadth
Indice*.
Collignon's
Gonio-zygomatic
MEASUREMENTS OF CRANIA IN MILLIMETRES.
Monbottu.
Azandeh.
T?Q/>A
i ••] i ;
T» ,
AMM9Q*
Mangheri
Akossi
Niam
Niam
Niam
Dd.ll.
.ciam Dute.
tribe.
tribe.
Niam.
Niam.
Niam.
Museum ....
RC.S.
RC.S.
RC.S.
R.C.S.
RC.S.
RC.S.
B.M.
Catalogue Number
1257B.
1257C.
1257D.
1257E.
1257F.
1257.
1/8/9/1
Sex
^
^
1
1
9
<?
J
Maximum length
o
178
o
176
o
189
o
185
T
168
D
\J
178
Maximum breadth
136
137
130
124
127
—
141
Basi-bregmatic height
124
134
131
138
122
125
Bi-maxillary breadth....
101
103
104
98
94
103
92
Bi-zygomatic breadth
129-5
135
135
128
129
130
125
Naso-alveolar height ...
65
75
68
67
55
67
67
Orbital breadth : Right orbit
37
38
37
38
38
39
40
Orbital breadth. — Left orbit
37
38
37
37
38
38
39
Orbital height. — Right orbit
35
34
33
33
33
34
33
Orbital height. — Left orbit ...
35
34
32
33
33
33
32
Bi-dacryc breadth
26
28
27
27
21
25
22
Nasal height
47
50
49
44
44
44
46
Nasal breadth....
24
28
29
23
26
26
27
Internal bi-orbital breadth ....
98
101
99
100
95
99
95
Basi-nasal length
95
99
104-5
101
90
—
94
s 2
260 F. C. SHRUBSALL. — Notes on Crania from the Nile- Welle Watershed.
Race.
Monbottu.
Azandeh.
Bari.
Bambute.
Mangheri
tribe.
Akossi
tribe.
Niam
Niam.
Niam
Niam.
Niam
Niam.
Basi-alveolar length
103
105 104
104
91
101
Internal palatal length
51
56 55
56
49
47
54
Internal palatal breadth
38
41 37
36
38
39
31
Dental length ....
45
43
42
44
40
49!
42
Naso-malar curve
103
108
108
106
100
106
106
Frontal curve ....
128
115
132
126
129
134
125
Parietal curve
112
130
114
136
119
135
115
Occipital curve
107
113
129
—
108
—
110
Total sagittal curve ....
347
358
375
—
356
—
350
Total horizontal curve
495
500
520
512
477
—
505
Total coronal bi-auricular
292
305
305
300
290
321
286
curve.
Indices.
Length-breadth
76-4
77-8
68-8
67
75-6
79-2
Length-height
Breadth-height
69-7
91-2
76-1
97-8
69-3
100-8
74-6
111-3
72-6
96-1
—
70-2
88-7
Maxillary — facial
64-4
72-8
65-4
68-4
58-5
65
72-8
Upper facial (Kollmann)
50-2
55-5
50-4
52-3
42-6
51-5
53-6
Orbital.— Right orbit
94-6
89-5
89-2
86-8
86-8
87-2
82-5
Orbital. — Left orbit
94-6
89-5
86-5
89-2
868
86'8
82-0
Nasal
51-1
56
59-2
52'3
59'1
59'1
58'7
Alveolar
108-4
106-1
99-5
103
101-1
107-4
Palatal (Virchow) Staphyliuic
74-5
73-2
67-3
64-3
77-6 83
57-4
Dental
47'4
43-4
40-2
41-fi
44-4
44-7
Naso-malar
105-1
106-9
109-1 lOfi
1053
107*1
Hl'6
Relation of Curves : —
Frontal-total sagittal
36-9
32-1
35-2
—
36-2
—
38-7
Parietal-total sagittal
32-3
36-3 30-4 —
33-4
—
32-9
Occipital- total sagittal
30-8
31-6
34-4
—
30-3
—
31-4
Cranial capacity in c.c.
1320
1390
1485
1445
1225
— —
Since writing the above I have been able to examine the skull of a -Bambute
pigmy from the Congo forest on the frontier of Uganda, sent to the British
Museum by Sir H. H. Johnston. I have appended its measurements to the table
for the sake of comparison. The chief features to note are the increased cephalic
index, microseme orbits, long very narrow palate, broad nose and small mastoid
processes, in all of which respects it agrees with the Akka skulls sent to the
museum by Emin Pasha from the adjacent territory and described by the late
Professor Flower. Journ. Antlirop. lust, xviii, 3-19.
( 261 )
MEASUREMENTS OF PAPUAN SKULLS.
BY J. GRAY, B.Sc.
[PRESENTED MAT 28TH, 1901.]
I HAD recently the opportunity of measuring a number of Papuan skulls in the
collection of Mr. W. D. Webster, of Streatham. There is reason to believe that
these skulls came from the Purari delta and other places on the shores of the Gulf
of Papua, except the last six in Table I, which came from German New Guinea.
All the skulls were carved and blackened, except those from German New Guinea.
Table I gives the maximum length and breadth, and the basi-bregmatic height
of each of the 124 skulls measured. The breadth and height indices calculated
from the measurements are also given in Table I.
Table II gives the frequencies of the lengths, breadths, heights, and of the
breadth and height indices. From this table it may be seen that there are two
modal lengths, namely, 175 and 178 ; also two modal breadths, 125 and 130 ;
probably also two modal heights, 132 and 136.1
All this appears to point to the presence of two racial elements among these
skulls, but on the other hand one of the maxima may be due to the presence of a
certain number of female skulls among the collection.
The range of variation of the lengths (41 mm.) is considerably greater than
the range of the breadths and heights (33 and 32).
The frequency diagrams of the indices also show indications of two maxima.
The modal breadth indices may be taken as 71 and 76 and the modal height
indices as 76 and 72 ; the first index in each case being decidedly the most
frequent. The range of the indices is very great ; from 64 to 83 for the breadth
index, and from 67 to 82 for the height index.
The frequency diagram of breadths (p. 264) shows two principal well marked
groups near the middle and smaller groups at each end. With a view of
ascertaining whether these groups really represent racial elements or only
variations of a single race, I have calculated the average length, height and
breadth of each group. The results are given in Table III. It is evident that
there is no constant correlation between the breadths and the lengths and heights
in the four groups. This would also point to the conclusion that there is more
than one racial type among the skulls.
1 The actual maximum points are at 135 and 137, but the average 136 is probably more
correct.
262
J. GRAY. — Measurements of Papuan Skulls.
TABLE I.
No.
Length.
Breadth.
Height.
B.
L.
index.
H.
L.
index.
No.
Length.
Breadth.
Height.
B.
L.
index.
H.
L.
index.
1
180
121
132
67-2
73-3
63
171
125
130
73-2
76-0
2
180
126
127
70-0
70-5
64
175
131
133
75-0
76-1
3
167
118
127
70-7
76-0
65
176
142
126
80-8
71-6
4
176
125
126
71-1
71-6
66
178
125
125
70-2
70-2
5
179
127
132
71-0
73-7
67
189
134
138
70-9
73-0
6
17
130
129
74-7
74-2
68
169
133
135
78-7
79-9
7
157
130
124
82-9
79-1
69
176
128
133
72-7
75-6
8
170
121
131
71-2
77-1
70
175
135
128
77-1
73-2
9
178
124
126
697
70-8
71
175
131
132
75-0
75-5
10
168
119
118
70-9
70-3
72
177
127
132
71-8
74-6
11
160
121
124
75-7
77-5
73
168
128
133
76-2
79-2
12
173
123
129
71-1
74-6
74
169
131
130
77-5
76-9
13
189
144
141
76-7
74-6
75
188
129
134
78-7
71-3
14
177
133
132
75-1
74-6
76
175
120
136
68-6
77-8
15
189
126
136
66-7
72-0
77
191
131
130
68-7
68-1
16
165
136
128
82-4
77-6
78
179
134
127
74-9
71-0
17
180
132
135
73-3
75-0
79
186
124
137
66-7
73-7
18
179
130
125
72-6
70-0
80
167
121
125
72-6
74-9
19
167
131
127
78-5
76-0
81
168
129
132
76-8
78-6
20
185
132
132
71-5
71-5
82
168
132
128
78-6
76-2
21
157
121
118
77-1
75-3
83
176
126
136
71-6
77-3
22
187
125
141
66-8
75-5
84
185
130
136
70-3
73-6
23
183
133
129
71-9
70-5
85
195
131
137
67-2
70-3
24
162
131
129
80-9
79-6
86
186
132
133
71-0
71-5
25
182
130
134
71-5
73-6
87
167
122
128
73-1
76-7
26
184
132
130
71-7
70-6
88
181
128
131
70-8
72-4
27
174
129
131
74-2
75-3
89
175
123
126
70-3
72-0
28
161
131
137
81-4
85-0
90
194
130
134
67-0
69-1
29
178
121
127
68-0
71-4
91
162
133
131
82-1
80-9
30
174
125
135
71-9
77-6
92
177
137
135
77-4
76-3
31
186
139
141
74-7
75-8
93
167
134
125
80-2
74-9
32
185
120
135
64-9
73-0
94
169
129
138
71-7
81-7
33
189
131
137
69-3
72-5
95
181
123
137
68-0
75-8
34
171
123
130
72-0
76-0
96
184
129
130
70-2
70-6
35
196
129
130
65-8
66-4
97
185
129
138
69-8
74-6
36
177
128
137
72'4
77-4
98
190
139
137
73-2
72-2
37
174
129
129
74-2
74-2
99
182
143
132
78-5
72-5
38
181
120
132
66-4
73-0
100
175
134
132
76-6
75-5
39
190
125
133
65-8
70-0
101
188'
132
137
70-3
72-9
40
180
124
132
69-0
73-3
102
180
125
137
69-5
76-2
41
169
135
136
79-9
80-5
103
180
125
123
69-5
68-3
42
173
125
138
72-3
79-9
104
170
126
127
74-2
74-8
43
177
121
135
68-4
76-3
105
184
143
149
77-7
81-0
44
178
120
131
67-5
73-7
106
180
122
129
67-8
717
45
188
136
135
72-4
71-9
107
170
129
135
76-0
79-5
46
173
130
131
75-3
75-8
108
163
129
130
79-2
79-8
47
184
119
126
64-7
68-5
109
181
123
134
68-0
74-1
48
178
125
125
70-2
7C'2
110
177
125
133
70-7
75-1
49
177
122
135
69-0
76-3
111
168
130
133
77-4
79-2
50
175
130
131
74-3
75-0
112
171
122
130
71-4
76-0
51
173
123
125
71-1
72-3
113
173
122
126
70-6
72-9
52
197
129
134
65-5
68-0
114
174
123
131
707
75-3
53
162
133
131
82-1
80-9
115
176
140
140
79-6
79-6
54
184
126
133
68-5
72-4
116
179
122
133
68-2
74-3
55
183
134
144
73-6
78-7
117
175
112
123
64-0
70'3
56
191
130
135
68-1
70-7
118
178
133
132
74-8
74-2
57
167
117
119
70-1
71-3
'119
179
128
137
71-5
76-5
58
183
131
131
71-6
71-6
'120
185
135
143
73-0
77-4
59
170
125
134
73-5
78-8
'121
178
134
135
75-4
76-0
60
181
137
129
75-8
71-4
•122
174
130
133
74-7
76-5
61
160
125
129
78-1
80-7
'123
173
120
128
69-4
74-0
62
168
130
129
77'4
76-8
'124
178
130
138
73-1
77-6
1 German New Guinea.
J. GRAY. — Measurements of Papuan Skull <.
TABLE II.
2f>3
1
S3
J
Frequency.
Breadths.
Frequency.
5
M
'3
w
Frequency.
i
a
hH
Frequency.
B.
L,
H.
L.
157
2
112
1
118
2
T 63-5
4 64-5
L 65-5
1
2
4
160
2
117
1
119
1
66-5
6
1
161
1
118
1
123
2
67'5
8
3
162
3
119
2
124
2
68-5
6
2
163
1
120
5
125
6
69-5
13
8
165
1
121
7
126
6
70-5
15
11
167
6
122
6
127
6
71-5
13
13
168
6
123
7
128
5
72-5
10
9
169
4
124
13
129
9
73-5
5
11
170
4
125
3
130
9
74-5
10
15
171
3
126
5
131
10
75-5
4
18
173
6
127
2
132
12
76-5
8
10
174
6
128
15
133
10
77-5
3
4
175
8
129
11
134
6
78-5
6
7
176
5
130
13
135
11
79-5
4
5
177
7
131
0
136
5
80-5
3
5
178
8
132
6
137
10
81-5
2
1
179
5
133
6
138
5
82-5
1
180
7
134
6
140
1
83-5
181
5
135
3
HI
3
84-5
1
182
2
136
2
143
1
85-5
183
3
137
2
144
1
184
6
139
2
149
1
185
5
140
1
186
3
142
1
187
1
143
2
188
3
144
1
189
4
190
2
191
2
194
1
195
1
196
1
197
1
Average length, 177 ; average breadth, 128 ; average height, 132.
TABLE III.
Number
Groups of breadths.
of
Lengths.
Heights.
Breadths.
persons.
General averages
124
177
132
128
Group I (112-123) ...
29
174
129
121
II (123-127) ...
23
177
131
125
„ III (127-132) ...
46
178
132
130
„ IV (132-144) ...
26
178
134
136
264
J. GRAY. — Measurements of Papuan Skulls.
TABLE IV.
This diagram represents the correlations of the average lengths, heights and
breadths of the four groups in Table III.
TABLE V.
No.
Height
No.
Height
No.
Height
No.
Height
No.
Height
No.
Height
Breadth
index.
Breadth
index.
Breadth
index.
Breadth
index.
Breadth
index.
Breadth
index.
1
109-0
22
112-7
43
111-6
64
101-6
85
104-6
106
1057
2
100-8
23
97-0
44
109-1
65
88-7
86
100-8
107
104-7
3
107-7
24
98-5
45
99-3
66
100-0
87
104-9
108
100-9
4
100-8
25
103-0
46
100-8
67
103-0
88
102.-3
109
108-9
5
104-0
26
98-5
47
105-8
68
101-5
89
102-5
110
106-4
6
99-3
27
101-7
48
100-0
69
103-8
90
103-0
111
102-2
7
95-5
28
104-6
49
110-7
70
74-8
91
98-5
112
106-5
8
108-2
29
105-0
50
100-8
71
100-8
92
98-6
113
103-3
9
101-6
30
108-0
51
101-7
72
104-0
93
93-3
114
106-4
10
99-2
31
101-5
52
103-9
73
103-8
94
107-0
115
100-0
11
102-5
32
112-5
53
98-5
74
99-2
95
111-4
116
108-9
12
104-9
33
104-6
54
105-5
75
103-9
96
100-9
117
109-9
13
98-0
34
105-6
55
107-5
76
113-3
97
107-0
118
99-2
14
99-2
35
100-9
56
103-8
77
99-2
98
98-5
119
107-0
15
107-9
36
107-0
57
101-8
78
94-8
99
91-5
120
106-0
16
106-2
37
100-0
58
lOO'O
79
110-4
100
98-5
121
100-7
17
102-2
38
110-0
59
107-2
80
103-3
101
103-8
122
102-2
18
96-2
39
106-4
60
106-3
81
102-4
102
109-6
123
106-6
19
103-2
40
106-5
61
103-2
82
97-0
103
98-5
124
106-2
20
100-0
41
100-8
62
99-2
83
107-9
104
100-8
21
97-5
42
110-3
63
104-0
84
104-6
105
104-2
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXI.
1. (w. 5.)
e> ;,»- ••' •' : J ^ £i"';'-
$K$i&.
3. (1897, 111), CO. ANTRIM.
{j**j
2.* (1897, 1313.)
4. (w. 1.)
7. (W, 1, QQ.)
HUSH COPPER CELTS.
5. (w. 10, QQ.)
G.C. | linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXX T, Plate
8. JEIIPOINT, co. KILKENNY, Day Collection.
11. (w. 18.)
9. BALLYMENA, co. ANTRIM, Knowles Collection.
12. Day Collection.
HUSH COPPER CELTS. G.C. f linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXI II.
13. DUNMANWAV, co. COBK (Da>/ Collection).
Ground at edge, and sharp.
15*. (w. 3.) CO. LONDONDERBT.
15A. (\V. 6 QQ.)
14*. (1881, 136.) co. CORK.
16. (w. 23.)
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
G.C. f linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXIP.
17. (R. 2294.)
18. (R. 2063.)
19. (1881, 137.)
20. (\v. 7, QQ.)
G.C. 3 linear.
IRISH COPPER CELTS. TYPE I,
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXV.
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
Gr.C. | linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXVI.
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
G.C. f linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, P07. XX KI, Plate XX I* 11.
26* (W. 10 CO. WATER7ORD.)
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
G.C. § linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XX VI II.
29. (w. 21.)
30*. (1897 112), CO TYRONE.
31. (w. 19.)
32. co. ANTRIM, Knouies Collection.
G.C. linear.
IRISH COPPER CELTS. TYPE II.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXIX.
G C. § lineal-.
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXX.
35. (1897, 29.)
37. (1876, 26.)
38. (w. 603.)
IKISH COPPER CELTS.
G.C. f linear.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, lrol. XX 'XT, Plate XXXI.
40. (w. 76.)
39.* (1875, 20.)
42. BAILLTBEG, co. com--. (Day Collection.)
G.C. I linear. 41*. (w. 96.)
43. Day Collection.
Journ. Anthrop. Inst., Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXII.
49. (1900, 0.) \ \ y 51. (w. 175.
Nos 44-48 were found together in co. Galway (see p. 276).
172.)
G.C. 5 linear.
Journ. Anthrop. Inst., Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXIII.
56
G.C. f linear. Nos. 54-57 found together, Birr, King's co. (Day Collection). See p. 276
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXIV.
62. (R. 1852), co. MEATH
58. (1878, 14, CO. FERMANAGH.)
61. (1899, 49), CO. LONDONDERRY.
64. (1876, 1065.)
G.C. linear.
IRISH STOKE CELTS FOR COMPARISON.
( 265 )
IRISH COPPER CELTS.
BY GEORGE COFFEY, MR.I.A.
[WITH PLATES XXI-XXXIV.]
THE late Sir William Wilde was, I believe, the first to make a separate classification
of the copper celts found in Ireland as distinguished from those of bronze. In his
Catalogue of the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, he describes or mentions
thirty specimens. The collection of copper celts in the Dublin Museum now
numbers 84. * At the date of Wilde's Catalogue, 1861, only one specimen had been
analyzed, No. 16, analyzed by J. W. Mallet about 1853,2 the rest were classified by
" the physical properties and ostensible colour of the metal." The appearance of
the metal will seem a doubtful method of classification, but the yellow glint of
bronze is very noticeable when contrasted with the red lustre of copper. It may
be of interest to mention that in arranging the Dublin collection of celts, I selected
those of copper in the first instance by the copper look of the metal. The subse-
quent analyses of eleven specimens in no case showed the selection at fault.
Some of the specimens approach the type of the flat celt of bronze, and I fully
expected from type considerations that in these instances a considerable percentage
of tin would be found, notwithstanding their copper look. This did not prove to
be the case, showing that the colour and lustre of the metal was a fairly safe
guide, and that the selection had not been unconsciously directed by type.
The distribution of copper celts in Ireland is not confined to particular
localities. Specimens have been found in the following counties : Donegal, London-
derry, Antrim, Tyrone, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Fermanagh, Cavan, Louth, King's,
Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, counties which embrace
the extreme north and south, and east and west of the Island, and include
inland and central counties.3
1 Mr. Day, Cork, has 24 ; the Museum of the Nat. Hist, and Phil. Soc., Belfast, 10 ; the
Public Museum, Belfast (Grainger Collection), 5 ; Mr. Knowles, Ballymena, 6 ; the Murray
Collection (now at Cambridge), 8. The number found in Ireland up to the present is probably,
therefore, not short of 150.
* Trans. R.I.A., vol. xxii, p. 325.
1 Dublin Collection— Donegal, 1 ; Londonderry, 1 ; Antrim, 1 ; Tyrone, 1 ; Mayo, 1 ;
Gal way, 4 ; Cavan, 2 ; Louth, 1 ; Tipperary, 1 ; Waterford, 1 ; Cork, 1.
Day Collection (Cork)— Fermanagh, 1 ; Kilkenny, 1 ; King's, 5 ; Limerick, 2 ; Cork, 4 ;
Kerry, 3.
Knowles Collection (Ballymena) — Antrim, 3.
Evans's " Bronze Implements " — Fermanagh, 1 ; Cork, 1.
Sir John Leslie (Glaalough, co. Armagh) — Sligo, 2.
266 GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
Before proceeding to the description of types, it will be convenient to discuss
the analyses.
In 1899 Mr. J. Holms Pollok, B.Sc., Assistant Chemist, Eoyal College of
Science, Ireland, kindly analyzed eight specimens for me, the results were
communicated to the British Association, at the Dover meeting in that year.1
Mr. Pollok unfortunately did not separate the tin and antimony. When I
subsequently drew his attention to this, it was found that the residues containing
the tin and antimony had been thrown together, so that it was not possible to
determine the tin and antimony separately for each specimen without fresh
analyses. It was thought preferable to analyze three additional specimens,
selected from the beginning, middle, and end of the type series, as giving as
well as the separate determination of the tin and antimony in these specimens,
a larger range of analyses for comparison. Two of the specimens were analyzed
by Mr. Pollok, the third by Mr. D. S. Jardin, A.E.C.S.I.
In addition to the eleven specimens mentioned and that analyzed by Mallet,
a flat copper celt from Ireland, in the British Museum, has been analyzed by Mr.
W. Gowland, F.S.A., F.S.C. In all therefore, thirteen specimens have been
analyzed. The analyses are set out in the following table — the Museum
reference is given, and the locality, when known. (See p. 267. )2
Making the maximum assumption that the determinations returned by Mr.
Pollok as " Tin and Antimony " are wholly tin, it will be seen that in ten
specimens out of the thirteen the percentage of tin does not exceed 0'51. In
seven specimens it does not exceed O'l per cent. In one specimen only (W. 16,
Mallet) does it exceed (by a small fraction) 1 per cent.
The analyses, as will be seen from the table, agree substantially among
themselves and with those of copper celts from other parts of Europe.3
The presence of a small percentage of tin in these celts, as also frequently
found in examples from other parts of Europe, raises the question whether the tin
is to be regarded as intentionally added or as derived from the copper ore ? In
other words, whether such celts are to be classed as copper or poor bronze ? A
good deal of doubt still exists among archaeologists on this point.
1 Proceedings of the British Association, 1899 (Dover), p. 872-3.
2 With the exception of the specimens analyzed by Mallet and Gowland (sulphur, nil and
trace), the sulphur has not been estimated. It has been supposed that the presence of sulphur
indicated chat the copper had been obtained from sulphide ores. Mr. Gowland has, however,
shown that this is not necessarily so ; the most oxidized ores contain small proportions of iron
and copper sulphides, and when reduced, the copper will contain quite as much sulphur as
analyses of copper implements show. No point, therefore, turns on the sulphur. Archceoloyia,
vol. Ivi, p. 275.
3 See Montelius, Die Chronologic der altesten Bronze-zeit in Nord-Deutschland. The only
specimen out of line is Fig. 26 ( W 10 Waterford), which contains an unusual amount of lead (2*74).
Lead is frequently associated with copper, and the copper deposits in the district from which
this celt comes are penetrated in many places by lodes and strings of lead. The celt is well
shaped and finished, but the metal is noticeably soft compared with the other specimens
analyzed. It is, therefore, probable that the high percentage of lead is accidental.
GKOKGE COFFEY. — frisk Copper Celts.
267
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268 GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
The chemists do not venture to decide the question. Dr. Gladstone, writing
in this Journal in reference to the presence of small quantities of tin in some
Egyptian implements, observes : " There can be little doubt that the admixture of
tin was made for the purpose of hardening the copper, like the arsenic and
antimony, and small as it is would have an appreciable effect. That so little was
employed in these very early days was probably due to its costliness. It is
possible also that it existed originally in small quantities in some copper ores ;
which would in consequence be much sought after as producing a good hard
metal."1
Without discussing the particular case of Egypt, it appears to me, from the
analyses available, that, as regards Europe, the presence of a small percentage of
tin is a more common impurity in copper ores than is generally supposed. The
analyses of coarse coppers, both as regards tin and other impurities (arsenic,
antimony, etc.), agree closely in many instances with the analyses of the copper
celts. In the case of the coarse coppers it is known that the tin and other
impurities are derived from the ore. A prima facie case is, therefore, I think,
made out for the derivation of the tin from the ore, and I do not see that there is
a sufficient reason to differentiate the tin from the other impurities in the copper
celts. Arsenic and antimony are common impurities in copper ore, and the
question of their intentional addition cannot arise unless the quantities are larger
than may be expected from the ore. Of two explanations we should accept the
simpler, and only when it has been shown that the local ores, from which it may
be presumed the copper was obtained, are free from tin, does it seem allowable to
argue that the tin has been added, and even then the possibility that the coppers
or implements were imported has to be considered.
It has been stated that the copper ores of Europe do not contain tin, at least,
those which do not come from tin districts.2 What is a tin district is a question
of degree. Outside Cornwall tin is found in paying quantities, or is known to
have been worked in former times in the north-west of Spain, Saxony and
Bohemia, near Limoges in France, and in more than one locality in Brittany.
In addition to these localities it is known to occur in Silesia and at Findbo in
Sweden.3 The list could be extended, we may add Wicklow in Ireland.
In reference to the presence of tin in copper ores from non-tin districts, Dr.
W. K. Sullivan observes : " Even in districts where tin ores are not found, at least
in any quantity, some tin may occur in copper ores, such as Gray Copper.
According to an analysis made by Herr G. vom Bath, the Fahlerz of Kotterbach
contains O64 to 0'75 of tin." 4
1 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xxvi, p. 312.
* Morlot, Mem. Soc. Antiquaires du Nord, vol. v, p. 25.
3 I take these localities from Sullivan's chapter on the " Sources and Composition of the
Ancient Bronzes of Europe," in his Introduction to O'Curry's Manners and Customs of the
Ancient Irish, p. 419.
4 p. 414. An analysis of fredricite, a variety of tennantite, gives tin 1'41. This mineral
occurs at Falu, Sweden. Dana's Mineralogy, Appendix III.
GEORGE COFFKY. — Irish Copper Celts.
269
As instances of tin in copper, Sullivan quotes an analysis by Genth of refined
Norway copper containing 0-27 tin, and an analysis of Swedish black copper,
analyzed at the Mining School of Fahlun, containing 0'07 tin.1
The investigations of the brothers Siret have established the presence of tin
to the extent of 0'4 to 0*5 per cent, in copper ore from the south-east of Spain.
This is not a tin district, and, though searched for, no tin ore was found in the
localities from which the copper ores were taken. This case is of the first
importance, as the evidence is full and definite.
At Parazuelos, ore collected for smelting by the prehistoric inhabitants of the
site was identified by analysis with the local ore, chiefly blue and green carbonate
of copper. Analyses of the ore and slag left by the ancient smelters gave the
following results : —
Ore.
Slag.
Copper (CuO)
25-93
15-32
Tin (SnO)
o-io
0-06
Lead (PbO)...
0-60
1-84
Arsenic (As.O,)
1-86
0-25
Antimony (Sb.,0.,) .
0-62
0-20
Gold
trace
Silver
trace
trace
Sulphur
trace
0-64
Iron (Fe,(X)
39-56
56-73
Nickel (NiO)
0-40
0-61
Non-metallic elements (details, see Sirets)
31-43
24-35
100-00
100-00
At another station, Campos, the ore and slag gave —
Ore.
Slag.
Copper (CuO) ... v .
55-58
30-56
Tin (SnO)
0-29
0-28
Lead (PbO)
trace
trace
These analyses are also set out in Percy's Metallurgy, and other works on metallurgy.
270 GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
Isolating the copper and tin, the figures correspond to —
T* A R A ynTT ncj
C*t A xfpnca
Ore.
Slag.
Ore.
Slag.
Metallic copper ...
2072
12-24
44.44
24-42
tin
0-08
0-05
0-25
0-25
These figures indicate that the process of smelting was primitive and
imperfect. Allowing 10 per cent, for volatilization of other substances in the
ore, the Sirets estimate, as the figures show, that the prehistoric smelters were
only able to extract about 52 per cent, of the metal from the ore.
The figures further show that at Parazuelos these metals form an alloy in
the ore containing 0-38 tin, and in the slag 0'41 tin. It follows from this that
the copper resulting from the reduction of the ore should contain about 0'40
tin. In the same way, the ore from Campos should yield a copper containing up
to 0-5 tin.1
As regards the absence of tin ore in the district the Sirets state : —
" Du moins aujourd'hui n'en connait-on aucun gisement. M. Moldenhauer,
qui depuis de longues anne'es a fait un nornbre considerable d'analyses des roches
et ininerais les plus divers, nous assure que jamais il n'a rencontr^ un seul
fragment contenant de I'e'tain dans des proportions tant soit peu importantes.
Nbus-memes avons parcouru le pays en tous sens, visite presque tous les gisements
metalliferes analyst un grand nombre de minerals, nous n'avons jamais rencontre
detain." 2
In Cornwall, as is well known, tin occurs in considerable quantities in some
of the copper ores. They are distinguished by the smelters as tinny ores. The
following quotation from Napier may be recalled in this connection. Many of the
distinguishing characters of an ore " depend more upon the foreign matters mixed
mechanically with the copper mineral than forming a chemical constituent of it.
. . . The minerals composing a vein are generally of a great variety of kinds,
containing often copper, tin, antimony, bismuth, iron, nickel, cobalt, arsenic,
manganese, silver, etc., besides what are termed the earthy minerals or matrix,
such as quartz, lime, slate, etc. In mining, the contents of the vein are taken out,
so far as it contains any of the metal or metals sought after ; so that what is
technically termed a copper ore is often a mixture of everything that the vein
contains." 3
1 Les Premiers Ages du Metal dans le sud-est de I'Espagne, p. 215.
2 p. 217.
3 Napier on Copper Smelting, Phil. Mag., iv (Ib52), p. 47.
GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
271
Refined English copper often contains a small percentage of tin. But it is
with unrefined coppers that we should compare the celts. The following nine
analyses of coarse and blistered coppers are taken from Napier.1 Blistered copper
is the purest form of copper obtained by smelting and requires no further treat-
ment but refining. Ee-fusion of coarse copper brings it to the quality of blistered
copper.
—
Coarse copper.
Blistered copper.
Copper
95-6
92-5
90-0
93-4
94-8
89-4
97-4
98-0
98-5
Iron
0'3
1-2
1-4
2-4
2'0
2'0
0-7
0'5
0-8
Sulphur .;.
0-4
2'5
1-5
0-6
0-6
2-4
0-2
0-3
o-i
Silica
0'2
0'4
2-6
07
0'3
2-4
Tin and antimony
2-1
2-0
0-3
0-5
1-1
1-3
1-0
0-7
—
Lead ...
0'5
Oxygen and loss
1-4
1-4
4-2
2-9
1-2
2-5
0-6
0-5
0-6
100-0
lOO'O
100-0
100-0
100-0
100-0
100-0
100-0
100-0
The tin and antimony are not separated in these analyses, but we may
presume that an appreciable percentage of tin is present.2
In the south-east of Spain, as we have seen, the primitive smelters were not
able to extract more than 52 per cent, of the copper and tin in the ore. The loss
of tin in the smelting, it will be observed, was comparatively small. It appeared
to me, therefore, desirable to ascertain the percentage of tin which might occur
in copper ore from a rich tin district. I accordingly wrote to Messrs. Vivian,
of Swansea, on the subject in October, 1899. The Messrs. Vivian most kindly
offered to have their next consignment of Cornish ores tested for tin.
Subsequently, under date January 17th, 1900, Mr. Odo Vivian wrote to me: —
"A short time ago we promised to let you have a few facts with regard
to the contents of tin found in the Cornish ores which we used to treat."
Mr. Vivian then sets out the following table of wet assays : —
1 Vol. v, p. 351.
2 An analysis by Le Play of black copper smelted at Swansea gives : Copper, 86'5 ; iron,
manganese and nickel, 3'2 ; tin, 07 ; arsenic, 1'8 ; sulphur, 6-9. Two samples of blistered
copper also by Le Play : (1) Copper, 98 '4 ; iron, 07 ; nickel, cobalt, manganese, 0'3 ; tin and
arsenic, 0'4 ; sulphur, 0'2. (2) Copper, 97'5 ; iron, 07 ; nickel, cobalt, manganese, 0'9 ; tin
and arsenic, 0'8 ; sulphur, O'l. (The tin possibly includes antimony.) Annals des Mines,
4 S£r. XIII, pp. 453 and 486. See also Percy.
272
GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
Tons.
Copper.
Tin.
per cent.
per cent.
1 . Mixture of Levant
54, 55, 56, 68,
12-3
0-94
69,70
2.
20, 41, 42
10-4
trace
3. C. B. and Tin Croft ...
55
7-4
trace
4. Devon Great Consols ...
50
6-4
0-75
5. Dolcoath
6
11-9
trace .
Mr. Vivian adds, from Nos. 1 and 4 : "It will appear that the tin may have
been left in the metal after the smelting operations, and not necessarily added
in the form of alloy."
It will be observed that tin is present in all these assays. Isolating the
copper and tin in Nos. 1 and 4 it will be found that the proportions of copper
to tin are, in the first case, 92'76 copper to 7'24 tin, and in the second, 89'52
copper to 10-48 tin.
If we can apply to these figures the results of the analyses of ores and
slag obtained by the Sirets; that is, if the presence of a large proportion of
tin and the character of the ore do not seriously affect the conditions ; it follows
from the figures for the Cornish ores that the copper obtained by primitive
methods of smelting from the ores of a rich tin district might contain a
considerable proportion of tin, a proportion in fact greater than that found in
the copper celts. The copper ores of Saxony and Bohemia would probably yield
results comparable as regards tin to the Cornish ores.
I am not at present able to offer direct evidence as regards the piesence of
tin in Irish copper ores. The Irish copper mines have not been worked for
some years, and I have found difficulties in prosecuting that portion of the
inquiry. I hope, however, before long, to be able to complete this branch of
the subject.
Copper is found in many parts of Ireland. The chief mining districts are
on the south-east and south coasts, in the counties of Wicklow, Waterford, Cork
and Kerry. It has also been mined on a small scale in Clare, Limerick, Galway,
Leitrim, etc.
Tin has been found in considerable quantity in the Goldmines Eiver, Ovoca,
in the copper district of Wicklow. Mallet says : " The occurrence of this mineral
(tin) in the sand is mentioned by Weaver in his reports on the gold stream-works,
but he does not seeni to have been at all aware of the large quantities in which
it exists." He adds that he obtained 3£ Ibs. of tin from about 150 Ibs. of sand.1
' Journ. Oeol. Soc. Dublin, vol. iv (1848- 50), p. 272. W. W. Smyth, Records of the School
vf Mines, vol. i, p. 404,
GEORGE COFFEY.— Irish Copper Celts. 273
This is a very high return, and if at all general would have placed the Wicklow
tin in the first rank of stream-works. Tin has also been found at Dalkey in the
co. Dublin, where it occurs in a lode with lead and zinc. The lode has been
worked for lead and is now exhausted.1
Nennius mentions tin at Killarney (Loch Leane), co. Kerry, and Dr. Smith,
author of the History of Kerry, states that he picked up small specimens of ore
at Killarney which contained some tin,2 but this locality requires confirmation.
From what has already been established as to the occurrence of tin in copper
ore, and from the fact that tin has been found in quantity in at least one
locality in Ireland, it is I think more than probable that it will be found
in some of the Irish copper ores. Indeed, the presumption from the general
evidence appears to be so strong, that a few negative analyses would not
upset it.3
Mr. Gowland has pointed out that the ores which would be first sought for
copper, would be the oxidized ores — oxides and carbonates. This he infers from the
fact that they are surface ores, and are more easily reduced than the sulphides.
The oxidized ores require only the single operation -of smelting, whereas the
sulphides must be first calcined. Malachite occurs at Tinnehely in Wicklow,
close to the tin, and carbonate and black oxide of copper at Barnavore. In the
Upper Cronbane and the Connary mines, in the same county, the principal
deposits of copper consist largely of black oxide, of which the portions near the
surface chiefly consist.4 Large deposits of the carbonates of copper occur in the
Cork and Kerry mines.5
TYPES.
Figs. 1 to 10 represent the rudest forms of copper celts. They closely
resemble the stone celt forms found in Ireland. A few of the latter are
illustrated for comparison (Figs. 59, 60, 63 (p. 274) and Plate XXXIV). Fig. 1
furnishes particular evidence on this head, the pointed butt being distinctive of a
class of stone celts, an example of which is shown in Fig. 62. This is the only
1 Kinahan, "Irish Metal Mining," Journ. Roy. Geol. Soc. Ireland, vol. viii, p. 11.
2 History of Kerry, p. 125.
3 Gray copper ore is frequently mentioned in the Geological Survey Memoirs, especially for
the Cork and Kerry districts, but this appears to be chiefly vitreous copper (chalcocite, Cu2S),
and not true Gray Copper. For this use of the term see Kane, Industrial Resources of Ireland,
2nd Edition, p. 185, and Percy, p. 310. Kane mentions a large deposit of this ore near
Dungannon, co. Tyrone (a northern locality), p. 200. True Gray Copper, arsenical variety,
occurs in quantity in the Ardtully lode, Kenmare Valley, co. Cork. An analysis of the ore
from this lode does not contain tin, but it is not clear that it was looked for. Journ. Geol. Soc.
Dublin, vol. vi, p. 212.
4 Srnylh, Records of the School of Mines, vol. i, pp. 362, 380, 383.
s Geological Survey Memoirs, Sheets 197 and 198, "Green carbonate of copper occurs
abundantly between the dark purple slates and yellow shales of what may be called the
passage beds between the old red and yellow sandstones, in a vast number of localities in the
south of Ireland," Sheet 184, p. 37.
VOL. XXXI. T
GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
instance of a copper celt of this form which I know of from Ireland. The majority
of the other examples resemble common forms of Irish celts, more or less ovate
and thinned down to both ends.
It may seem doubtful whether these stone celt forms are to be regarded as
ingots cast in the traditional form of the stone celt, or unfinished implements.
In several instances no attempt has been made to grind them to an edge (Figs. 1,
2, 3, and 8). In other cases, however, the celt has been rubbed down more or less
over the body and the edge ground for use (Figs. 4 to 7). The range in size,
moreover, appears to support the intention of their being implements. Figs. 6
and 7 may be compared with the small stone celt (Fig. 59). In Figs. 11 to 13
we see the beginning of the development of the metal type, with expanded cutting
edge. These three examples must, I think, be regarded as unfinished implements,
the edge of Fig. 13 is ground and sharp, while the marks of casting have been
left untouched over the body of the celt, so that in this respect it resembles the
stone celt types. This tends to support the view that the rude celts (Figs. 1 to 8)
are implements cast in the prevailing types of the stone celts, rather than ingots
cast in a traditional form. In fact, the examples referred to (Figs. 11-13) show
a departure in form. Fig. 10 may be compared with the small highly polished
69. (w, 199.) 60. (w. 194.) 63. (1897, 289) NORTH OF IRELAND.
STONE CELTS FROM IRELAND (cf. PLATE XXXIV) FOR COMPARISON WITH PRIMITIVE COPPER CELTS.
stone celt (Fig. 60), a type not uncommon in Ireland. Copper celts of the stone
type are relatively rare. The Dublin collection contains ten of this class.
The developed metal form is seen in the examples beginning with Fig. 15.
I have placed this celt at the head of the series as it retains the proportions of
the stone form. It is of nearly pure copper containing only a trace of tin, and
has been rubbed down to an even surface, to which may be attributed the sharp
and irregular form of the butt end.
In the development of the metal form, the most distinctive feature of which
is the expanded cutting edge, two types appear, diverging gradually one from
the other. The thick, square, rectangular butt end is common to both, and is the
normal form of butt of the developed copper celt,
GEORGE COFPEY. — Irish Copper Celts. 275
Type I is relatively broad compared with the length (Figs. 16 to 28). The
expansion or flare of the cutting edge in some of the larger examples is a very
noticeable feature, and the concave curves of the sides are correspondingly marked,
giving the celt a broad battle-axe appearance. This type would seem to lead up
through examples such as Figs. 24 and 25 to the broad bronze celts with widely
expanded cutting edge. (Wilde, Fig. 247).
Type II. The cutting edge is relatively narrower and the sides straighter,
the form as a whole presenting a longer and more slender appearance (Figs. 29 to
42). This type appears to lead up to the common flat celt type of bronze. (Wilde,
Fig. 248).
In many specimens types I and II over-lap, so that it is not possible to make
a strict classification, but taking the series as a whole, the tendency to evolve
the two types, as described, is, I think, apparent.
As the copper celts approach the type of the flat bronze celts, it will be
noticed that there is a tendency to thin down the butt end and also to round
it off, instead of the straight-across termination of the middle members of the
series. This is better represented in type II than in type I.
The nearly equal thickness and flat faces of the middle members of the
series also gives way to a gradual swelling of the body of the celt from both
ends (in section), the thickest part of the celt at the same time moving up from
the cutting edge towards the centre. These features mark the transition in the
section from the stone to the metal form. In stone the thickest part of a celt is
generally below the middle line, it being necessary, owing to the nature of the
material, to allow as much substance as practicable at the cutting edge. In
metal the thickest part of a blade is the back, corresponding, in a celt, to the
middle of the implement ; the thinning off from the middle line to the butt end
being for the purpose of hafting, need not be taken into account. In a few
instances indications of rudimentary flanges will be noticed (Figs. 40, 43, 44 and
54). These can, indeed, hardly be called flanges, being only a slight upsetting of
the sides, afterwards rubbed flat. It is usually only noticeable on one face.
Thus in Figs. 44 and 54 there is hardly any trace of an upset on the faces
which are not shown in the figures.
Reviewing the evidence of type, it may, I think, be claimed that a
development of form is found within the copper series. At one end are rude and
heavy forms which look backward to the stone axe, at the other forms which
approach more and more closely the early bronze celts. If this is granted, it
excludes an explanation which has often been put forward to account for the
copper celts, namely, that they represent merely local or temporary scarcity of tin.
We are compelled by type-reasons to place them at the head of the metal series.
Collateral evidence supports this conclusion, (a) The expanded cutting edge is
essentially a metal form. It has reacted on the stone celt, presumably in the period
of transition between stone and metal. Figs. 63 and 64 illustrate two specimens
of stone celts in the Dublin collection in which this is apparent. There are other
T 2
276
GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
examples in the collection. Considering the series of stone celts apart, celts of
this class must be placed typologically at the close of the series. We thus
have on the one hand the evidence of the stone celts in which the form has been
influenced by the metal type, and, on the other, the evidence of the copper celts
in which the influence of the stone form has survived. From both sides,
therefore, evidence of transition is forthcoming.
(Z>) The copper celts never show any trace of a stop-ridge. This feature
first appears, in a rudimentary form, in the bronze celts frequently accompanied
by rudimentary flanges.
(c) The copper celts are never ornamented, whereas the flat bronze celts are
often richly decorated with simple punched patterns.1
FINDS.
The greater number of the copper celts in the Dublin collection were
acquired at a time when little attention was paid to the circumstances of the finds
and association of objects, or formed part of private collections, bought from
time to time, to which the same remark applies.
The following are the only finds of which I have been able to obtain
information : —
(1) Three copper celts, three copper awls, and a copper knife, found in 1874,
in a bog at Knocknague, Kilbannon, co. Galway. Purchased by Eoyal
Irish Academy from the finder, Michael Eafferty. Figs. 44-48. One of
the celts (Fig. 45) has been analyzed (tin and antimony 0*79). The
metal of all the implements in this find is identical in colour and
surface lustre, and there can be no doubt that it is of the same quality.
(2) Three copper celts, a fragment of a fourth (butt end), a copper halberd,
and a short blade of copper of somewhat similar form, found in 1892,
near Birr, King's Co. (Figs. 52-57). They were brought to a Mr.
Morrison of Birr, from whom they were obtained by Mr. Eobert Day
of Cork, in whose collection they now are.
The finder stated that they were found
under the bog in the white clay. The
metal of these six objects is red copper, and
appears to be of the same quality in all the
specimens. None of them have been
analyzed, but the following extract from
Mr. Morrison's letter to Mr. Day, at the
time they were discovered, may be given as
an independent opinion: "They are certainly not bronze but seem
1 This applies generally to copper celts. The only exceptions to the contrary, with which
I am acquainted, are six copper celts foupd near Malmo, Sweden, the faces of which are
decorated with concentric lines. These celts were portion of a large tind which included
bronze celts and other bronze objects. The celts in question are of advanced early bronze
type, with well marked flanges (Montelius, Ckronologie der yltesten Bronzezeit, p. 55). How
GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper CV//*. 277
to be all copper." The fragment (Fig. 55) has been rubbed down to a
sharp edge at the butt, apparently for use as a small implement.
(3) Three copper celts (of type Figs. 23 and 24), found in 1868, when ploughing
at Cullinagh, near Beaufort, Killarney, co. Kerry. Day collection,
obtained through a friend from the finder.
The evidence of these finds is very consistent. They do not include any
object of a late type. The celts in No. 1 are of good copper type, the awls are
of an early form, and the knife I consider also to be an early type. It was
evidently secured in the handle by a whipping of some sort of cord. This form
of hafting may be regarded as derived from the stone age. Two other copper
knives of this type have been found in Ireland (Fig. 49, found in a bog at
Boho, co. Fermanagh, and Fig. 50, the locality of which is not known). The
copper knife or dagger with single rivet-hole, Fig. 51 (locality not known), may
perhaps be placed in the same class. These four examples are the only blades
of copper, exclusive of halberds, in the Dublin collection.
The halberd in find No. 2 is admittedly an early form. It probably belongs
to the close of the copper or beginning of the bronze period. Only one halberd
in Dublin collection has been analyzed. It contained 2 -78 per cent, of tin.
Until a sufficient number of specimens have been analyzed we cannot draw a
conclusion. It will be observed, however, that the celts in this find are of late
copper type, compare Fig. 39 of the type series.
The remaining find calls for no special remark. But it is important in
conjunction with the other finds as evidence of a number of copper implements
having been found together without any association of bronze in widely separated
localities.
In conclusion, reverting to the distribution of copper celts mentioned at
the beginning of this paper, it will now be seen that the fact that they
have been found over, we may say, the whole of Ireland, is significant.
Only three explanations are possible : —
(1) The copper celts were made of copper for a special purpose. The
development of type within the celt series negatives this explanation.
(2) They represent local costliness or want of tin. The type series negatives
this explanation also.
(3) They represent a period in which copper was in general use throughout
Ireland, before bronze was known. This explanation meets the facts,
and is enforced by the finds of associated copper implements.
I should perhaps note that all the figures in the text and the plates are
reduced from my own full-sized drawings to one-half natural size, or approximately
f linear. The specimens with asterisk have been analyzed. Museum references
are given in each case. My thanks are due to Messrs. Day and Knowles for
kindly placing their rich collections at niy disposal.
these celts come to be of copper (tin 0*04 and 0'31) we cannot say, but they cannot be held to
impair the general statement, which is absolutely true for copper celts of copper type.
278 GEORGE COFFEY. — Irish Copper Celts.
NOTE A.
The high percentage of tin in some of the Cornish copper ores (no doubt also
to be found in some of the copper ores of Central Europe) may have a bearing
on the question of the origin of bronze. In Prehistoric, Times (Appendix) Lord
Avebury quotes the opinions of experts against the probability, if not possibility,
of bronze having been produced from a mixture of copper and tin ores, or from a
mixed ore. These opinions, however, are chiefly directed to the question of how
the ancient bronze was produced (what we may call the normal bronze of the
Bronze Age), and not to the question of its discovery, which is a different question.
The opinions of experts based on the experience of modern smelting, the object of
which is to obtain a clean slag, are of doubtful value 011 that point. As far as I
can see, the question turns on whether the loss of tin in the more or less open
furnace of a primitive smelter would be compensated for, and to what extent, by
its retention in the metal due to the low temperature of the furnace ; and by the
impossibility, therefore, of extracting more than about 50 per cent, of the metal
from the ore by a primitive process of smelting. We require direct experiments on
this point.
NOTE B.
As far as I am aware, no copper celts have been published from England or
Scotland. I am able to place the following on record. (1) A copper celt in the
British Museum (copper 98'67, tin O05) stated (Archceologia, vol. vii, p. 283) to be
Irish : Mr. Gowlaiid has since ascertained that the locality is incorrect ; the
specimen is from Durham. (2) Cambridge Museum, two specimens in local collection,
from the Fens. (3) Taunton Museum, a flat triangular copper celt from Staple
Fitzpaine, Somerset ; noted by Hon. John Abercromby, F.S. A.S. (4-7) National
Museum, Edinburgh, four examples : Da. 1 (Wigtownshire), 14 (no locality), 43
(Colonsay), 58 (Perthshire). Also some other specimens of which I am -doubtful
without closer examination. None of above, with the exception of the specimen
from Durham, have been analyzed, but I feel confident, from the appearance of the
metal, and from the type, that they belong to the copper series. Other specimens
will probably be found in local and private collections if looked for.
DISCUSSION.
Air. MYRES referred briefly to the confirmation of Mr. Coffey's conclusions which
is supplied by the series of early copper and bronze implements in the Eastern
Mediterranean. He laid special emphasis on the necessity, within the latter area,
of rioting the occurrence of rivetless hafted knives, which he had occasionally
observed in Cypriote examples, but which had too often been put aside as imperfect
or corroded specimens. An analogous example of a stone celt (from Melos) which
shows clear traces of the influence of metallic types, will be found in Journ. Anthr.
Inst., XXVII, PI. xi, 2.
Mr. BALFOUR : Mr. Coffey's interesting paper deals in a practical and scientific
manner with a very important problem in the study of the development of human
GEOKGE COFFEY. — />•/*// ('<>j>/>er Celts. 279
culture, and the evidence which he brings forward tends greatly to confirm the
belief in the existence of a definite Copper Age in Europe, bridging over the gap
separating the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. On logical grounds it has long been
assumed that sucli an intermediate period must have existed, as through such a
stage alone would there be evidence of that continuity in the development of the
human arts which there is reason to believe in great measure occurred from
neolithic times onward. A certain amount of direct evidence in support of this
view has been steadily accumulating, and, although not as yet conclusive, must
command the serious attention of archaeologists. It seems likely that we may look
forward to a time in the near future when all doubt as to this continuity in the
advancement from the Stone to the Metal Ages will be set at rest. Mr. Coftey, no
doubt through an oversight, made no reference to a paper of the first importance
which, although read before a learned society so long ago as 1869, clearly fore-
shadowed, in no uncertain terms, the views which Mr. Coffey has so ably expressed.
I refer to the lecture delivered by General Pitt Rivers on June 18th, 1869, before
the Royal United Service Institution, being the second of his classical series of
lectures on " Primitive Warfare." In this General Pitt Rivers deals at length with
the development of the " celts " of the Bronze Age, and the successive stages
through which the highest and latest forms were gradually evolved from the
primitive and simple ones. He made a strong point of the fact of the most
primitive types, whose resemblance to and probable derivation from typical
neolithic shapes he drew attention to, being of pure or nearly pure copper. From
the specimens and information which he possessed he was able to make this clear,
particularly in regard to Irish bronze " celts," but such evidence as he had from
other countries supported his views. He published an ingenious and most valuable
diagram-table illustrating his remarks, and I venture to think that in dealing with
this subject the researches of General Pitt Rivers, eminently characteristic as they
are of that brilliant investigator, should on no account be overlooked. It is greatly
to his credit that the views expressed in a lecture delivered over thirty years
ago should practically hold good at the present day, and are supported by the
most recent investigations.
Dr. GLADSTONE expressed his admiration of the manner in which Mr.
Coffey had worked out his research into the composition and probable source
of these very ancient Irish celts. He has greatly strengthened our reasons for
considering that the small amounts of tin which are found in ancient metallic
tools in the countries of antiquity were not added intentionally, but were
derived from the ores. If these very small quantities of tin, antimony or
arsenic do really increase the hardness of copper, the employers of such weapons
would find out where the best article came from, and thus these most valuable
implements would be in the greatest demand among the ancient nations.
( 280 )
THE LENGUA INDIANS OF THE PARAGUAYAN CHACO.
BY SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY.
[PRESENTED DECEMBER IOTH, 1901. WITH PLATES XXXV-XLI.]
BEFORE proceeding to the study of the Indians of the Chaco we must consider the
geographical conditions of the land in which they live.
The Grand Chaco extends from latitude 20° S. to latitude 28° S., south of the
watershed between the head waters of the Paraguay Eiver and those of the
Amazon's tributaries. It extends southwards and south-westwards till it merges
into the cultivated plains of the Argentine Republic ; it thus embraces parts of
three Republics, the Argentine, Paraguayan, and Bolivian. This country is
extremely flat, and several rivers flow from the Andes mountains right across
the Chaco, and empty themselves into the Paraguay River, the two most worthy
of notice being the Vermejo and the Pilcomayo, which last forms the boundary
between the Paraguayan and the Argentine Chaco, and is further described on
p. 289.
65° W. Bolivian Chaco. 60° W.
25° S.
65° W. 60° W.
FIG. 1. SKETCH MAP OF THE PARAGUAYAN CHACO.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXV.
A LENCUA — A COMMON TYPE. LENGUA BOY. METEGYAK (i.e., "BORN WHEN
(.Vote the enlarged ear-lobe* and drum-like ear discs.) f A™! WA* ON A JOURNEY ").
(A/ote trie Iambs wool armlets ana head ornament.)
-
LENGl'A BOY : MANGWEAM-AL
The tree is that ichicli is used for making fire sticks.
LENGUA FACE PAINTING.
With the aid of a small round mirror.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXVI.
Journal, of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXVII.
1. LENGUA WOMEN DRESSED FOR A DANCE.
2. POTTERY-MAKING.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXVIII.
I.'LENGUAS PLAYING THE GAME "JIASTAWA.
2. WOMEN'S DANCE A.T A LENGUA FEAST.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XXXIX.
1. LENGUA BOYS WITH PELLET BOWS.
•2. LENGUA. BOY USIN<: HLUNT-I1EADED ARR')\V.
3. LENGUA INDIAN HOEING MANDIOCA.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI ', Plate XL.
1. Clay Tobacco Pipe of
primitive form (i).
2. Suhin tobacco pipe of carved wood : back and front (£
3. Fishing basket
4. Doll of rags and
bone .
5. Lengua method of making
fire (TV).
6. Blunt- 7. Iron- 8. Wooden
headed tipped arrow
arrow (|). arrow(i). (i).
9. Clay Water Jar : no ornament (^). 10. Clay vessel (Toothli), painted (T\j).
.MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS OF LENGUA MANUFACTURE.
Redrawn by C. Praetonus from n-ater-colour drawings by Miss A. E, Donkin. The originals were
Collected by the author, and are in the British
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXI, Plate XLI.
1. One-stringed fiddle : the body is hollow.
2. Wooden whistle.
3. Wooden whistle (another form) ornamented with strips of polished tin. (Toothli.)
4. Wind instrument of cow-horn, with reed mouthpiece.
5. String bag.
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS OF LENGUA MANUFACTURE.
Redrawn by C. Praetoriux from water-colour drawings by Miss A. E. Donkin, The originals were
collected by the author, and are in the British Museum.
SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY. — The Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco. 281
It is witli the district lying on the 23£ parallel of S. latitude, between the
Pilcomayo and the Paraguay River, that we have to deal. In studying native life
it is often found that the country makes the man, so that it will not be amiss to
glance at a few of the principal features regarding the climate and the natural
products of the Chaco. The Chaco being flat, as I have stated, there is very little
chance for a heavy rainfall to drain quickly away. The rivers are extremely
tortuous and sluggish, though, for their volume, some of them are much longer
than would have been expected. The consequence is that with a prolonged
drought water is extremely scarce, while on the other hand, after a heavy rainfall,
which is as common as the drought, the water lies ankle deep on the open plains.
During a period of five years (1895-1900) careful notes have been kept of the
temperature and rainfall, the average temperature being 75° Fahr. night and day
— maximum, 110° ; minimum, 27°. The rainfall is extremely variable, the one
noticeable point being that August is almost always a dry month ; the rain in fact
seems rather to go by cycles than by seasons, a period of three years of excessive
wet having been followed by four years of moderate drought. More rain usually
falls in summer than in winter.
The Indians of that part of the Chaco which is to be described are composed
of three different tribes, the Lengua, the Tdotldi, and the Suhin. The name Lengua
comes from the Spanish and means " a tongue," the other two are native names
given by the Lenguas to neighbouring tribes. These Lenguas lie on the western
bank of the Paraguay River, from latitude 22i° S. to latitude 24° S., and extend
inland a distance of 150 miles. Beyond them to the west lie the Suhin, whose
limits have yet to be determined and between these two in the south-west are the
Toothli, a small tribe who present slightly different characteristics to those of their
neighbours. The Lenguas are essentially a nomadic and a peaceful tribe ; the
Suhin are more agricultural, and in consequence less nomadic ; while the Toothli,
being somewhat pushed in the struggle for existence by a neighbouring tribe in
the south, are more warlike than either, though they still depend upon agriculture
and the chase for their food supply. It was amongst the Leuguas that I have lately
spent a period of four years, and have had ample opportunity for studying their
manners and customs. I have, however, unfortunately, made no" definite
observations of an anthropographical character ; regarding the Indians, as I did,
rather as friends and companions than with a scientific interest.
Physical Type (cf. Anthropological Notes and Queries, Part I). — The Lenguas do
not belong to the Guarani family, who inhabit such an extensive tract of country
in South America, nor to the Quichua family of Bolivia. From their language,
customs, and disposition, they evidently are of the same stock as the Toba,
Mataco, and kindred tribes who occupy the greater part of the Argentine
territory still unsettled, and extend northward into the low-lying lands of
Bolivia.
As a general rule they are of middle height, well built, with a smooth,
healthy, reddish-copper brown skin (between tints -i and 5, N.Q., PL III) and
282 SEYMOUR H. 0. HAWTJJEY". — The Lenyua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco.
straight black hair, which is usually cut across the shoulders. Their teeth, of
course, are remarkably sound, their hair plentiful, and not turning white till a
great age, their eyes strong, their hearing reasonably acute, and their perceptions
remarkably so. The facial type presents occasional similarity to the North
American or even to the Mongolian type (Plate XXXV, 1).
To a newcomer all Indians appear very much alike, but on closer acquaintance
a certain variety of feature will be observed, and even sections of the same
tribe may be found to present some differences. Also, though a strange Indian
may at first sight seem to have an ugly and forbidding face, yet on nearer
acquaintance, and after a certain degree of friendship has been established, his
features will often appear to be characterized by pleasantness and openness.
Clothing (N.Q. (Part II), Sec. i). — The natives are well clothed. The men
wear blankets woven from wool by the women, and dyed by them (N.Q. vii,
below) ; a variation of this is the loose sleeveless shirt, likewise made of wool.
The women wear skins carefully prepared, cut and sewn by themselves into
petticoats, and they are more careful than the men in the matter of keeping
themselves covered. The men never wear
skin petticoats or kilts, with the excep-
tion of a skin belt cut into strips and
hanging about a foot deep. The women
also use, in the cold weather, a cloak
made of deer or goat skins with the hair
on. Usually the natives do not wear any
head covering, though, as they feel the
heat in summer, they are glad to get hold
of imported hats, but on special occasions
the men wear a net over the head, made
of red wool, and trimmed with beads, and
they often wear feather head-dresses. A
common head ornament is a feather of
the " rhea " (Ehea Americana) or " South
American ostrich," stuck into the scalp
lock, which is formed by drawing over
the forehead the hair of the centre of the
top of the head, and binding it tightly
round with red wool till it looks like a
shaving brush (Fig. 2). They usually
have their feet bare, but on long journeys
they often provide themselves with sandals
of hide.
Fig. 2.
Lengua Indian, showing headdress,
scalplock, and whistle suspended
round the neck : from a water-
colour drawing by Miss A. E.
DonJcin.
Personal Ornaments (N.Q. ii). — At their feasts they usually dress in the height
of their fashion, and put on all the ornaments they possess. Both men and women
wear strings of beads ; the men wear red feather head-dresses, which are occasion-
SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTRRY. — The Lenyua Indians of tlic Paras/uayan Chaco. 283
ally borrowed by the younger women. Armlets of lambs' wool are often worn by
men, and anklets of twisted rhea feathers (Plate XXXIX), which, besides being
ornamental, are supposed to be a safeguard against snakes, for the snake bites at
the moving frill and does not touch the foot. Bracelets of woven wool are
FIG. 3. LENGUA EAR-DISC.
QLDE-
PED
FIG. 4. LENGUA BEADWORK BRACELET.
worn as in PL XXXV, and are ornamented with beads (Fig. 4), and hanging
beadwork is at times attached to the scalp lock, or hung round the neck. The
lobes of the ear are perforated, and distended by thick discs of wood or other
material, which in rare cases are as much as 3 inches in diameter. (Fig. 3.)
Woollen girdles are always in use to secure the blanket or petticoat ; leather
belts cut into hanging strips are also prized by the men, and a common way of
fastening the blanket is with the little "aiin," or string bag, which all the men
carry. This bag (Plate XLI, 5) contains all the little necessaries of life, such as
matches, fire-sticks (Plate XL, 5), tobacco, ear-discs (Fig. 3), bone implements,
claws of animals, and so on, and finishes in two long strings, which are tied round
the waist, outside the blanket.
Painting (N.Q. iii). — On grand occasions red paint is used lavishly. It is
made from the pounded seeds of a shrub, and is much valued ; sometimes the
entire face is covered with, the red paint ; sometimes the paint is put on in broad
angular lines. A dark blue-black paint is also used, but it is much more carefully
applied, in narrow lines and patterns, while the same paint carelessly applied in
broad lines indicates mourning. On one occasion, however, at a Suhin feast, two
or three of the principal chiefs had their faces entirely black with charcoal for
days together, and this was not intended to indicate mourning. Except in
mourning, painting as a rule seems to be for the purpose of increasing the charms
of the individual (cf. Plate XXXV). Black paint marks are often noticed on the
chest and arms ; these are not permanent, and are made roughly with the fingers.
A black chequered paint pattern has been noticed on a woman's cheeks.
Tattooing (N.Q. iii) is known among the Toothli, and the Suhin ; and rarely
among the Lenguas ; it is confined to the face, and is more noticeable with the
women than the men. The actual process has not been observed.
Habitations (N.Q. iv). — The Toothli and the Suhin, on account of their more
agricultural habits, are better house-builders than the Lenguas, and their villages
284 SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY. — The Lengua Indians of the, Paraguayan Cha.co.
are composed of a cluster of separate houses. The general principle, however, of
all the buildings, is to use branches of trees, stuck in the ground, bent over, and
meeting at the top without any ridge-pole, and with grass thatch thrown on. Near
the river the natives have built better houses for themselves, on the ridge-pole-
and-rafter principle. They are usually built in a slight curve, the two ends facing
north by way of protection from the cold south wind and storms. The natives
cannot draw straight lines, nor can they put posts in straight.
Among the Lenguas the house (PI. XXXVI) is open through its entire length,
and usually at the sides as well ; and seeing that the rain often comes through the
roof, it will be easily understood that these natives are not well housed, but they
endure their discomfort with the utmost philosophy, arid contentedly accept what-
ever weather prevails. For their needs their houses are sufficient, dependent as
they are upon an inferior supply of water and food, which necessitates a constant
change of abode. Moreover, when one member of a family dies, the house is
demolished and another one is built, often at a distance of some miles, by the
survivors. One of these houses will accommodate from forty to sixty souls. No
special arrangement is made for comfort, or superiority of position in the houses.
Skins are always used to sit upon, with the hairy side invariably underneath, so as
not to attract insects. Under the low roof of interlaced twigs are hung rhea-skin
bags, or nets containing the women's wool, twine, etc., earthen pots, and other
household necessaries. Into the thatch are stuck the man's bows and arrows ; and
on the floor are the water jars (Plate XL, 9) and cooking pots, both of clay and
iron (the latter, of course, imported), and rolled-up skins, rhea-feathers, and half-
gourds which are used as cups and balers. Goats and sheep disport themselves
around and through the houses ; and lean, hungry dogs are in evidence everywhere,
eagerly snatching at every bit of food which the natives are unable to eat.
Weaving (N.Q. vii). — This is done by all the women, and though their tools
are rude, they can turn out a remarkably well-made blanket, with stripes and
patterns. Of these blankets when new, the men are very proud, especially if
dyed with the dark red dye (see below N.Q. xii), and it is hard to induce them
to sell one of these except in exchange for a horse. The patterns are often of a
diamond or triangular shape ; and sometimes the triangle is worked in with small
spots. The usual class of pattern may be seen in the woven belts which are about
5 feet long by 3 inches wide. In their patterns they are conservative, and not
inventive enough to produce new ones. So much is this apparent that it is not
unlikely that their knowledge of weaving was derived from the time of the Incas,
who spread a certain degree of civilization over a large area.
The loom is formed by two upright forked posts with a pole across
the top, and another tied at the bottom. As the woman sits on the ground she
can just reach up to drop the ball of wool over the top pole and catch it and pass
it underneath the lower one, till the warp is finished. Then by an ingenious
contrivance of cotton string, crossing the whole width, and picking up each alter-
nate strand of wool, she is able to separate them, and to pass the hank of wool,
SEYMOUR H. 0 HAWTREY.— The Lcngna Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco. 285
which takes the place of the shuttle, between the warp threads. The woof thread
is then pressed down into place by a kind of long wooden stiletto, smartly drawn
along between the warp threads two or three times ; this is done in sections of
about 12 inches at a time. When finished a good blanket is usually about 7 ft. x 6 ft.
In a neighbouring tribe I have seen a woman sitting on the warp threads to
keep them tight, the blanket being about 4 inches from the ground, and stretched
horizontally ; with a stick of wood in use to help to separate the warp threads, and
a shuttle for the wool. This was probably a Mataco woman, and the improved
method may have been derived from the Argentine Chaco.
Basket-work (N.Q. viii). See below (N.Q. xxv and Plate XL, 3) for a description
of the rude baskets used in catching fish.
String (N.Q. ix) is extensively made and used both by men and women. The
fibre is procured from the " caraguata " (a species of wild pineapple) by scraping
a leaf of the plant against a stick placed upright in the ground or through a fixed
loop of string, with the two ends of the leaf held at an acute angle. It is worked
up into string, from the size of thread to that of a half-inch rope, and is chiefly used
in the manufacture of nets and string bags (Plate XLI, 5). A hank of string ready
for use is often used as a belt.
With string puzzles, after the fashion of " cat's cradles," they are very clever,
and can make representations, with more or less faithfulness, of most common
objects, a gourd, a rhea or a star, a pumpkin, a bird, some being very complicated
and requiring four hands.
Leather (N.Q. x) is not tanned, but is worked soft by creasing or folding the
scraped skin in diagonal lines like the " crushed " leather of Western Asia, and
accentuating the crease by passing the smooth lip of a large snail shell firmly
along it. The skin is then rubbed on. the lap with a simultaneous wringing motion.
The sewing of the women's petticoats is often very fine.
Pottery (N.Q. xi) is not used extensively, and more attention is paid to usefulness
than to ornament. Water pots (PL XL, 9), and cooking pots deep and rather
conical in shape, for standing upright among the ashes, are made by first rolling
the clay between the hands in rolls about 9 inches long, and adding on piece by
piece in the requisite shape (PL XXXVII). When half dry the pots are scraped,
and polished with the smooth rim of a shell, and then left in the sun for a day or
two till quite dry, when they are baked in open fires made by piling wood around
and over the pot. This method of firing is, of course, not good, and the clay is not
baked evenly through. The earliest form of tobacco-pipe here was probably a
rough bent cylinder of clay (Plate XL, 1). These, however, are but seldom seen
now, for since the introduction of iron and steel knives, it is found more economical
to make wooden pipes which will not break (Plate XL, 2). For painted pottery
see N.Q. xxiv, below.
Dyeing (N.Q. xii). — The bark of various trees is used for dye, but a small
bulbous root with a fast dark-red dye is very much prized, and the cochineal
insegt is also used,
286 SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY. — The Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan C/iaco.
The substances chiefly dyed are sheep's wool and cotton, which latter, like the
former, is sometimes woven into blankets ; the wool is dyed, after being twisted,
by steeping. String also is frequently dyed with bark to be made up into net bags.
Fire (N.Q. xvi) is still obtained by friction ; though flint and steel, and even
matches, are now becoming common. The method of friction which is employed
is represented in Plate XL, 5. The upright stick is twirled between the palms of
the hands. To produce the desired effect firm pressure downwards is required, and
quick recovery when the hands reach the bottom. Smoke comes quickly, but the
spark takes a comparatively long time. When it -does come, it ignites on the
little heap of brown dust which is produced by the friction of the two woods, and
is caught on the arrow head laid athwart beneath the horizontal fire-stick. The
Lengua name of the wood for fire-sticks is hapin. The tree itself is shown in
the background of Plate XXXV, lower, left.
Conservatism (N.Q. xx). — I have mentioned that these Indians are conservative ;
this is shown by their reluctance to adopt any new custom. When they are shown
a new and better way of working, a common reply is, " It isn't better, our way is
the best," or else, " That way may be good enough for you, you are accustomed to
it, but our way suits us best." For instance, after we had endeavoured to teach
them to shear their sheep with shears, the women still preferred to cut the wool
off with a knife as required, which apparently has always been their custom.
Writing (N.Q. xxii). — Though there is no knowledge of writing among the
Indians yet they can keep a diary, for as much as three weeks or a month, by
means of a stick, about the size of a pencil, closely notched all round. Producing
this from his bag, an Indian can retail the events of the past few weeks with
accuracy. When on the march they are accustomed to make certain signs which
their friends following may understand. Where two paths branch off, a wisp of
grass laid across the one means that the party in front has gone on by the other.
At an abandoned village a sign may sometimes be seen : a piece of stick or bamboo
is planted in the ground and inclined in the direction which the natives have
taken. In this case distance is also indicated by a slight hollow scooped out
behind the stick, either long or short, and the purpose of their departure is shown
by a wisp of rhea-feather, or a small gourd on the top, to show that they have
gone hunting or to a feast. In cases such as these an Indian shows remarkably
acute perception in reading what his friends wish to say. In hailing a friend
from a distance, also, though the sounds to an onlooker may be but a confused
noise, yet the Indian will understand.
They appear to have no knowledge of the quipu system of keeping a record
of historical events by knotted cords.
Drawing, etc. (N.Q. xxiii). — See above (N.Q. ix) for the representation of living
objects by means of string puzzles of the type of our " cat's cradles."
Ornament (N.Q. xxiv). — All their ingenuity in the decorative arts is brought
to bear on their pipes, and it is rare to find two pipes identically the same (cf.
Plate XL, 2). A pipe with two bowls is occasionally seen but not much used.
SKYMOUR H. C. HAWTRRY.— The Lengua Indian* of the Paraguayan Ckaco. 287
Freaks in the wood are often used to make an original looking pipe. For textile
ornament see above in section on Weaving (N.Q. vii). The decorated T66thli
pottery shown in PI. XL, 10, is painted with bits of resinous " paolo santo," and
ornamented with flat pieces of shell stuck on with wax.
Food (N.Q. xxv). — With regard to food they are dependent to a great extent upon
what they can find in the open country. Deer of several varieties are abundant
as also is the rhea. Different species of armadillo are also common, and fish,
* crocodiles, and otters are met with in the streams, along with nutria and
carpincho. Fish are obtained generally by following the water in the swamps,
where they often lie so thick in the stagnant pools that they can easily be caught
by hand. Indians also make a little conical wicker basket about 2 feet high
(Plate XL, 3), open at base and apex, which when placed over the fish easily enables
the fisherman to catch it by putting his hand through the hole at the top. In the
swamps and shallow streams " Lolach " or " mud-fish " (Lepidosiren) are commonly
found. In the deeper streams, bow and arrow is often used, and the Toothli
Indians, after making weirs in the stream above and below some deep hole, catch
the fish by diving after them with a narrow net fixed between two long sticks,
stringing the fish on to a cord round the waist when caught. Spears of pointed
wire are used for eels and mud-fish.
The leguminous algaroba or " caroub " (Prosopis dulcis) and similar tree-beans
are common ; their fruit is pounded in wooden mortars, mixed with water, and
handed round in gourds ; a handful is taken out, sucked, and put back again ;
this is continued till all the hard seeds have been divested of their sweet coverin^
. o'
and the refuse is then thrown away. It is not at all a pleasant operation to watch,
but it is said that this method of mastication helps the digestion.
Meat is eaten either roasted or boiled, and well cooked.
Milk the native will not touch, nor mushrooms, considering them unfit for
food. For other superstitions with regard to food see (N.Q. xxxvii) below.
Salt is sometimes made from a fleshy plant growing in salt, marshy spots.
It is burnt, and the grey ashes pressed into a lump like a stone. A specimen may
be seen in the British Museum.
Tobacco (cf. N.Q. Part I, Sec. 10) is grown in small quantities in the gardens,
which are generally unfenced, and a mile or two away from the village, in order
that the flocks of goats and sheep may not trample and destroy them. It is in
general use both with men and women, though occasionally an Indian is met with
who does not smoke ; it is not prepared by being hung up to dry in the usual way,
but is picked, pounded in a mortar, spread out to partly dry, and then pressed
between the hands into small cakes, which are threaded on a string and hung up
in the house. It never turns brown, but remains a dark brownisli green, and has
a different and softer flavour when compared with properly cured tobacco.
In keeping with his socialistic ideas (see below N.Q. xxxii) an Indian never
smokes his pipe out, but passes it from one to another. It is quite usual for one
roan to produce a pipe, another to fill it, and a third to light it, and pass it on.
288 SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY. — The Lenyua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco.
The pipes were formerly of clay (N.Q. xi above), but are now more commonly of
wood. They are usually decorated elaborately (N.Q. xxiv above and Plate XL, 1, 2).
Cannibalism (N.Q. xxvi) is not practised. For traditions on the subject, see
below (N.Q. xxvii, ad fin.}.
Religious Beliefs (N.Q. xxvii). — It has been said that no aboriginal race is
absolutely devoid of a knowledge or idea of some supernatural being or higher
power ; but after ten years' residence among the Chaco Indians, and an intimate
acquaintance with their language and customs, one is forced to the conclusion that
they have no conception of a God. There is, however, a marked fear of what are
called Kilyilchama or spirits. These are supposed to be most generally seen at
night, and are practically the same as the ghosts of civilized countries. No doubt
the Indians sometimes persuade themselves into the belief that they see the shades
of dead people, and it is certain that they are strongly influenced by suggestion ;
but more often, since ghosts are seen at night, they are probably deluded by a
chance effect of moonlight, or by a startled animal such as the rhea, which
would vanish almost as soon as seen. When a person dies, his spirit is supposed
to haunt his old home, and for this reason his relations and friends invariably pull
down the house and in a few hours build a fresh one at a respectful distance.
The dances described below, under the heading of " Games " (N.Q. Ixvii). do not
seem to have any religious significance.
Mythology (N.Q. xxviii). — There is a tradition of the creation that from a hole in
the ground caused by a beetle, a witch doctor commanded that a man and a woman
should come forth, and they did so. In this tradition it is difficult to explain
the presence of the witch doctor himself ; but the story may be incorrectly stated.
I have heard that when the sun sets it is supposed to pass inside the earth,
where there is another country somewhat similar to this one, of which the sky or
roof is the ground that we tread on, and where the spirits of dead people live.
The entrance to this place was described to me as being far in the west, a dark
hole leading downwards, the approach to which was very stony and painful to the
feet. It is possible that, if this story is true, it may embody some dim recollection
of the shafts or galleries of the silver mines at Potosi or elsewhere, which would
naturally make a deep impression on an Indian's mind, but they are so reticent
with regard to their inner life and thoughts, that it is very seldom they can be
persuaded to speak on these matters, and when they do, one has to discriminate
between the palpably foolish stories and those in which there may be some
truth.
To give another instance of what I mean, there is a story that beyond the
Northern Lenguas there is a tribe of Indians who have only three toes and go by
the name of " Like-rhea's-feet," and who can run with more than human speed.
This I believe to be simply, as one might call it, a " fairy tale." At about the
same time I heard a story, that away in the north-west a section of the Lenguas in
that part were in the habit of digging, on rising ground, wells so deep that they
used a bucket and a rope. This, at the time, I put down to be very possibly a
SEYMOUR H. 0. HAWTREV. — The Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan Clwco. 289
fabrication, for our Indians almost always dig broad and shallow wells, but after-
wards, in travelling to the north-west, I found it to be true in every particular.
The wells were on rising ground in a sandy soil, about 15 or 20 feet deep, with a
hole at the top only 2 feet by 2 feet 6 inches in diameter, and so made that a man
could go down by foot holes on either side (as I myself went down to see how it
was made), and a bucket and rope were used.
They also have a story that the Indians who live on the old river beds running
east and west, and dry for the greater part of the year, when they get hungry for
fish, as they say, are accustomed to send a specially good blanket by a messenger
to the far west with the request that the water should be sent down to them.
Upon this f;he people there make a fence or dam in the big river with the trunks
of trees and so turn the water into the required channel, and in due time the
hungry Indians see their fish. It would be interesting to try and probe the truth
of this story. Certainly, on the foothills of the Andes, the practice of damming is
well known, and was extensively resorted to even before the Spanish Conquest ; so
that it would not be altogether surprising if it were used on a larger scale in the
way described.
The Pilcomayo Kiver, also, which bounds the Paraguayan Chaco on the west
and south, has been an object of tantalizing interest to geographers for many years,
on account of the apparent impossibility of following its course, for it is blocked by
a water-weed where it spreads out into the Patifio swamp (after the manner of the
sudd on the Nile), and also, because there is a greater volume of water in its upper
reaches than is found at its mouth where it flows into the Paraguay River. This
strange phenomenon has been accounted for in various ways, as being due to
evaporation in the great Patino swamp, or to the water being lost in the great
sandy desert of the Chaco, both of which explanations are inadequate. The real
reason is, as I believe, that the Pilcomayo (Fig. 1) has a delta which comprises a
large proportion of the streams flowing into the Paraguay between latitude 22° S.
and latitude 24|° S. Therefore, the flood waters of the Pilcomayo, sent down by
the melting snows of the Andes, find their slow and tortuous way through many
channels to the Paraguay Eiver. Every year, therefore, the Indians on these old
river beds look forward to the flowering time of the grass, because then they expect
the water to come down from the unknown west, bringing with it the big fat
fish which are only found in the deep, freshwater rivers.
One other interesting story these Indians have, namely, that there is a pigmy
tribe living in the forests in the west, shy, and easily frightened, but good little
people, and hard workers. They are described as about the size of boys of nine or
ten years old, but full grown. I believe this story has been met with in the
Argentine territory, and, if so, it is likely that there is some truth in it, for our
Indians do not easily communicate with the Argentine people.
There are traditions or rumours, but possibly with slight foundation, of a
cannibal race in the west, and the practice of scalping, though not in vogue, is still
not unknown to tradition.
VOL. XXXI. V
290 SEYMOUR H. C. HAWTREY. — Tli-e Lcnr/ita Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco.
Superstitions (N.Q. xxix). — There is deep-rooted superstition with regard to
beetles, over which insects the witch-doctors are supposed to have a peculiar power
(cf. N.Q. xxviii above, and xxx below).
The night before an Indian goes out hunting he may be sometimes heard
chanting alone, with his rattle for an accompaniment, for several hours. This is
called yabinyoa. After a time of rain and wet, when the sun comes through the
clouds for a moment, I have seen an old native pick up a fire brand and point it at
the sun with an exclamation ; by way of encouragement to the sun, as it was
explained.
When weary of a wet day and when it has cleared up slightly, should
they see another rain cloud coming up, one Indian will say to another,
" Iwatakap," blow ! or puff ! and the other will say " Schwa," and motion with the
hand as if to push back the rain cloud.
Great faith is placed in dreams. It would seem that the spirit really is
believed to be absent from the body, and engaged in acting what is being dreamt.
But with regard to all the class of beliefs or superstitions which may fall under the
head of mythology, it is almost impossible to determine accurately what is in the
native's mind, for they are very reticent in these matters, and their reticence has
been heightened by the knowledge that the superstition is regarded with disfavour
by the missionaries. Moreover, a noticeable point is that a native after telling
about his customs will not bear being questioned or cross-examined. If he tell his
story one day, and be asked about it the next, he either will have forgotten it, or
else will so skilfully steer clear of the subject that no satisfaction can be got, and
one is left to wonder if there was any truth in it in the first instance.
Magic and Witchcraft (N.Q. xxx). — Witch-doctors are numerous and powerful.
Most Indians believe that they make the potatoes, pumpkins, and other plants to
grow in the gardens ; yet although while they live these witch-doctors are endowed
with supernatural pov/ers, they are believed to die as ordinary men, and are not
credited with any exceptional powers after death. There is probably a ceremony
of initiation but the secret is jealously guarded. The witch-doctor is supposed to
have the power of introducing beetles into a man's stomach for the purpose of
killing him, therefore when a man feels his stomach ache, he often imagines that
beetles are inside him, and he appeals to the witch-doctor of his particular family
to cast them out. The curing is generally done at night. The man is laid on the
ground, the witch-doctor sits by his side, and a ring of men sit round. The doctor
then begins to spit on and to suck the man's stomach over the painful part, to the
accompaniment of an excited though monotonous chant from his assistants.
Eattles are also used. After some time the doctor produces, as he is sucking,
a beetle, or a palm nut, or a fish bone. If the patient is semi-conscious it is
supposed that his spirit has escaped and is wandering round waiting to be recalled.
This is done in the manner before described, and the symptoms of returning
consciousness are hailed with cheerful relief. A spirit may also be driven out
of a patient in the same way. The ear-discs of witch-doctors are generally faced
SEYMOUR H. 0. HAWTREY. — The Lcw/ita Indian? oftlic Pararfiiaynn Chaco. 291
with bright pieces of glass or bits of polished tin, and these are said to have some-
thing to do with the " shadows " or pis-chische. As the doctor leans over his
patient the glittering glass may catch and reflect some faint light, enough to give
him the clue to his statement that the spirit has gone this way or that. Some of
the witch-doctors probably really believe in their power to cure, though the more
intelligent among them must know that they practise conjuring tricks, and work on
the feelings of the people. It must be remembered also that faith helps largely in
a cure.
Customs (N.Q. xxxv). — Etiquette is strictly observed in the reception of
visitors. A string of visitors advancing in Indian file is seen from a distance,
winding towards the village along the narrow Indian path. Discussion immediately
arises as to who they are, and where they come from ; and as they get nearer,
they may be identified as friends or Comparative strangers ; if the former, their
particular friends in the village prepare to welcome them ; in any case should
there be any food in the village, such as potatoes or pumpkins, or mandioca, fires
are stirred up and pots put on. As the strangers come near, the dogs rush out
and bark, the women chide them or beat them off with sticks ; and the visitors
halt a few yards from the house. A chief man goes forward and says a few -words
of welcome or enquiry, such as "Do you wish to rest?" the leading women
of the village then approach, and each woman relieves two or three of the men of
their bows and arrows, returning with them to their respective parts of the long
open house; the visitors follow their bows and arrows, and are soon seated
on freshly dusted skins under the shade of the roof, while a pipe is filled, lighted,
and handed round ; and the newcomers proceed to answer questions as to whence
they come, where they slept the previous night, how many days they have been
travelling, and what they have had to eat on the journey. A stranger is not
expected to be too effusive, it is quite the correct thing for him to sit almost silent
for hours at a time. The men are often accompanied by their wives and children
on these visits.
0
A noticeable and curious habit is the repetition of speech by the listener,
especially in leave-taking, which is invariably formal and polite. An Indian
ready to leave, with his blanket carefully girded up, and his bundle of arrows
stuck through the belt at his side, will come and stand in front of where the chief
is sitting by his house, and lean carelessly on his bow, while a conversation such
as the following may take place, not in a hurried manner, but slowly and
deliberately : —
A. I am going to leave.
B. You are going to leave.
A. I am going home by the straight road.
B. You are going home by the straight road.
A. I shall sleep at so and so.
B. You will sleep at so and so.
A. We shall see fish there in the streams.
B. You will see fish there in the stream?, the savalo, fine and fat, my word !
U 2
292 SEYMOUR H. C. H AWT KEY. — The Lengiia Indians of the Paraguayan
A. Fine and fat, my word !
B. You will see pumpkins at the village beyond.
A. We shall see, etc., etc.
B. You will arrive home by the full of the moon.
A. I shall arrive, etc. Perhaps we shall kill a deer on the sandy patch.
B. Perhaps you will kill a deer on the sandy patch.
A. ( With a sudden air of " well, I must be going ") I am going away.
B. Go!
Government (N.Q. xxxvi). — We may here glance at the principles of socialism
which are so deeply instilled in the minds of these Indians. Unlike many other
native tribes who have their chiefs and head men, the Lengua natives rule their
lives almost exclusively by public opinion. So-called chiefs there are, certainly,
but a better name for them would be " Father of the Family." As far as I know
there are no rites or ceremonies in this connexion, the most influential man
naturally taking his place as spokesman or head of the little gathering. The
chief is also expected to provide for his followers, and in this respect he is more
like the father of a family than a chief, in the recognized sense of the word.
A young chief once said to the Superintendent of the South American Mission,
" Why do you not give me presents ? My followers expect me to give them
things, and I do so; you are my chief, but I find you do not give me any presents."
The more intelligence a chief has, the better he is able to provide for his followers
and to work for their welfare. Should an important question be discussed a chief
would hardly venture to lay down the law or any particular point where his views
were likely to be at variance with those of his followers, though he might wish to
do so ; he would find out, by listening to conversation, the wishes of the majority,
and then carry the matter through as if it was entirely his own idea. A heated
discussion is almost unknown ; in really serious matters they are very quiet. Only
twice in four years have I seen what in England would be called " a row," and in
each case a woman was the subject of dispute. The natives are very much
attached to each other and to their own country ; in telling the story of " the
Prodigal Son " to a Christian native, so that he might tell his friends, I found, in
spite of repeated explanations, that it was impossible to make him understand
that the elder brother could have been aggrieved by the return of the Prodigal ;
such an idea would hardly find room in a native's mind ; it would be considered
such " bad form " by public opinion, that he would not be able to bear the
disapprobation of his fellows. This feeling is so ingrained in them, that it is
difficult to get an Indian to compete against others for a prize which is to be
received by only one. Those who lose feel hurt because they lose, and he who wins
feels grieved because the others are hurt. Anger there may be, but it is usually
cloaked over with smooth words ; backbiting and slander come afterwards, as for
instance with the Northern Lenguas or Sanapana who occasionally visit the
station to trade. They are courteously treated while they stay, but after they
have gone it is common for an Indian of the district to come in with the tale tha.t
SEYMOUR H. 0. HAWTREY. — The Lengva Indians of the Paraguayan Cluico. 293
" the Sanapanas have been stealing the mandioca or pumpkins out of your garden
as they passed by."
These Indians are a reasoning and reasonable people, if they are treated as
such. Though one may be angry with them, experience teaches that it is wise to
keep one's temper, and a quiet reply with a dash of sarcasm in it has more effect
than a blustering command ; in the latter case the native would properly make
no open reply, but subsequently would remark to his friends, perhaps with a
smile, "he is cross, he is angry," and he would probably be advised to
visit the next village for a day or two. Should a native be dismissed for
incapacity it is always well to give him a comforting reason for it ; to suggest
that his garden at home needs weeding, or that his father and mother are longing
to see him again.
Music (N.Q. xli). — Chaco Indians are decidedly unmusical as we understand
music, being quite unable to follow the simplest tunes. They have, however,
droning chants of their own,1 and a few instruments with a range of only two or
three notes. One is a round flat whistle (Plate XLI, 2, 3), which is worn around the
neck (Fig. 1) ; it has a hole at the top which is held to the lips, while the thumb
and fore-finger make the notes from two side holes. A kind of flute is also used,
made of bamboo or bone ; as well as a small rough kind of violin, made from a
single block of wood, with one string of horse-hairs and a bow (Plate XLI, 1).
The wind instrument of cow's horn, figured in Plate XLI, 4,- is used mostly by
the Suhin, Toothli, and Western Lenguas, and either with or without the reed
mouth-piece which is shown in the figure. Some Indians can blow the horn,
which is used for signalling in the open country, without inserting a reed. Those,
on the other hand, who cannot manage the horn by itself, insert the reed in order
to produce the sound. To the Indian, therefore, the reed seems to be rather a
makeshift than an improvement.
Language (N.Q. xliii). — The Lengua language is of the polysynthetic order and
is of the same general formation and character of expression as the above
1 In the two examples which follow I can vouch for the words ; for I have often recited
them to the natives to their satisfaction. The chant has its musical intervals, but they are
too vague and irregular to be reproduced in our notation.
1. Lengua chant, at Maning dance (from a 2. Lengua c/iant, at the Mailing dance,
Suhin source). The word hiuerkla, upon from a Suhin, or Toothli source,
which much stress is laid, means " moon " in He-ni-a-a
Sivhin. H6-ni-a-a
He e ni H6-ni-a-di-i
H6 a hdni yd H6-nf-a-di-i
He a hani yd Ha-ee-ni-a-al-i
He a i ni He-6-ni-a-us-a-d
H6 a hani yd He'-ni-a-a
H6 a hdni hiuerkla H6-ni-a-a
He a hani he i a Hd-e-ni-a-al-i
He a hani he i a Ha-6-nf-a-us-a-a
(Repeat.} (Repeat.}
294 SEYMOUR H. C. HA.WTREY. — The Lewjua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco.
mentioned tribes, though in all of them the tongue itself is different, and it
is impossible to class them as dialects one of the other. They do not readily
incorporate foreign words into their language, being in this respect unlike other
native races, who with a turn of the tongue will make an English word their own.
To a New Zealander, for instance, a kettle immediately becomes a ketara, but to a
Lengua it always remains mithing chisctiama-yingmin, " a thing to boil water in."
To a Maori, horse is hoiho, but a Lengua calls it yatnathling or yat-napothling, " like
a tapir," this animal being the nearest approach to a horse that he had known
before its importation by the Spaniards.
For the numerals see below (Arithmetic, N.Q. Ix).
History (N.Q. xlv). — With regard to the origin of these Indians, they
themselves say that they come from the north-west, and their superstitions rather
point in that direction, for the witch-doctors in the West are said to be more
powerful than their own. And in the wearing of their blankets and string bags
some connection may be found with those Indians who were known to be
subject to the dominion of the Incas four hundred years ago, for bags almost
identical in pattern and texture have been found in ancient graves in Peru ; and
the Indians in the West, at least the two tribes there with whom I have come in
contact, are able to weave much better blankets than the Lenguas. But any
statement with regard to their origin must of necessity be most indefinite, for they
have no tradition of the past for more than a man's lifetime ; and leave no
monuments by which to trace their history.
Archaeology (N.Q. xlvi). — It is said that a part of the district now inhabited
by the Lenguas was at one time occupied by another race called Paiagua, or
" people of the river," and this is corroborated by the discovery of stone axes and
pottery, the presence of which can only be accounted for by the natives, by the
theory that the pottery belongs to spirits or ghost people, and that the stones fell
from Heaven.
Hunting (N.Q. xlviii). — The bow and arrow are the principal weapons ; and
since civilization has brought hoop-iron within their reach, iron arrow-heads are
common ; these, with their stiff bows, which require a strong arm to use with
proper effect, have great penetration. The iron arrow-head (PL XL, 7) is fixed into
a wooden socket (b) which in its turn has a point to be inserted into a bamboo
shaft (c) bound to prevent splitting. The old wooden barbed arrow-heads (PI. XL,
8) which are still extensively made and used, need, of course, no socket. The two
feathers are always fixed with a slight curve, which gives the effect of a screw,
and is quite sufficient to make the arrow spin in its passage through the air. It is
difficult to say if this is done purposely, or whether the idea has been handed
down till it has become an invariable custom. Most arrows have barbs, but I met
an Indian who was travelling in a part of the country where he thought he might
chance to meet an enemy and he had provided himself with a bundle of arrows
without barbs, saying they were for his enemies. If this proves to be the usual
custom, as it well may be, it speaks well for their considerate dispositions. Blunt
SEYMOUR H. ('. HAWTUEY. — The Lnnjti« //>///,///*• of the Paraguayan Chaco. 295
headed arrows (Plate XXXIX, 1' : XL, G) are also used, for small birds, by the
boys, who begin to handle their little bows and arrows at three or four years of age.
The boys also use a kind of sling- bow, or pellet-bow (Plate XXXIX, 1).
Traps are sometimes used for foxes, and string snares for the rhea.
In hunting the rhea, the natives almost always provide themselves with
a large bundle of grass or creepers with which they envelop their head and
shoulders. Without this precaution they could seldom get near enough for an
accurate shot, but with it the ostrich appears not to notice the approach of the
hunter. Dogs are much used in hunting.
Poison for arrows may be known, but is not in general use.
Training of Animals (N.Q. Ixii). — All kinds of wild animals are tamed when
caught young, but generally revert to their wild state at maturity.
Infanticide (N.Q. Ivi) is quite common among the Lenguas ; an interval of
seven or eight years being always observable between children of the same family.
Not only are babies, which are born in this interval, immediately killed, but
abortion is also practised. The reasons for this are obvious from the Indian's
point of view.
The woman has the hard work of carrying food from garden and field, and all
the transport to do ; the Lenguas are a nomadic race (p. 281), and their frequent
moves often entail journeys of from ten to twenty miles a day, the woman carrying
all the household furniture, pots, water jars, wool and skins in a large net bag on
her back with a supporting string round the forehead. In one hand she carries a
palm-digger (which is a bar of iron sharpened at one end, used for getting at the
tops of young palms), sometimes a reed mat, which is used as a roof, occasionally a
cat, a fowl, or some other tame animal, and seated on the top, the baby. The man
walks in front, carrying nothing but his bow and arrows, for he is the food
provider on the journey, and custom allows his freedom from all impedimenta,
although he sometimes gives his little boy a lift. Travelling with natives under
these circumstances, one is forced to the conclusion that it would be impossible for
a mother to have more than one young child to carry and to care for.
The Lenguas are also extremely socialistic, and public opinion on the subject
of a screaming child at night is very much the same as among civilized races :
while it is customary to suckle children till five or six years of age.
Again, the child of a girl whose first marriage is not a success, and whose
husband deserts her, is generally killed at birth, the mother feeling that it is the
man's part of married life to provide meat for them both, and failing the food
provider she does not care to be burdened with a child, who may also prevent her
from procuring a second husband.
It is also possible that medicine men and the head men of a family may have
some idea of regulating the population to suit the existing food supply of their
particular district. These are the probable reasons for infanticide, though there may
be more remote causes of which the Indians prefer to keep strangers in ignorance.
Burials (N.Q. Iviii). — As death approaches, a kind of stupor seems generally
296 SEYMOUR H. C. HA.WTREY. — The Lenyim Indians of the, Paraguayan Chaco.
to overcome the sufferer, and as Indians are unwilling that death should actually
take place after dark, the dying man's end is sometimes purposely hastened by
suffocation. This seems cruel, but I believe it is done out of supposed kindness to
the victim. When death is due to causes which they cannot understand, and
which they therefore attribute to some foreign witch-doctor or yihothma, the body is
mutilated at death ; the stomach being cut open, and a stone being inserted,
together with some charred bones. This is supposed to secure the victim's revenge,
by killing the offending witch-doctor.
I have only seen one burial, that of a little girl nine or ten years' old.
Dysentery was the cause of death, which took place about midday. I was away
at the time, and though she was mutilated in the manner described, I did not see
the process. She had been carried by her father to a shady spot under some trees
about half-a-mile from the house, and when I arrived, was laid down on her right
side, covered over with a new apron of red- and- white check-pattern. I uncovered
the face for a moment to see if she were really dead, but made no further exami-
nation, for I did not wish to hurt the feelings of the parents, who— especially the
father — had been very kind to her during her illness, and I am quite sure that
anything they may have done to her was done according to their ideas of kindness.
I was surprised that they should have buried her with the new cotton wrapper, for
they must have valued it considerably. The ground was very hard, and the grave
was dug under a tree, 18 inches or 2 feet deep, with room enough for the
child to lie on her side in a slightly doubled-up position with the knees drawn up.
When they had filled in some of the earth, there was evidently a proposal to kill
the child's favourite dog for interment above her, but in deference to my presence
it was not done. I believe it was not killed afterwards. A woman who was
sitting near produced a ball of wax, and stuck a few snake's teeth in it, with the
remark, " We will take care of our friends " ; this was placed by the grave-side,
but whether it was put in afterwards or not I am unable to say. The child's skins,
petticoats, and other effects were afterwards burnt close by, and no mound or mark
was made to show the position of the grave.
Arithmetic (N.Q. Ix). — The Lenguas can count without much difficulty up to
twenty, using, of course, their fingers and toes. Beyond that comes " many," and
if a very large number is required, " the hairs of the head " are called into requi-
sition. Thlama " one," and anit " two," are apparently root words ; the rest appear
to depend upon them, and on the hands. Antanthlama, for " three" appears to be
made by these two words joined (3 = 2 + 1). Four is "two sides alike."
Five : — " One hand."
Six : — " Arrived at the other hand one."
Seven : — " Arrived at the other hand two," and so on.
Ten : — " Finished the hands."
Eleven :—" Arrived at the foot one."
Sixteen : — " Arrived at the other foot one."
Twenty : — " Finished the feet."
SKYMOUB H. C. HAWTREY. — The Lnvjna Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco. 297
Games (N.Q. Ixvii). — Several games appear to be universal among these tribes.
A characteristic game, represented in Plate XXXVIII, 1, is called " Haxtdwa" and
is much on the same principle as our race-games played with dice. About twenty
holes are scooped out in a semi-circle on the ground, about 4 to 6 inches long and
4 inches apart. One round hole deeper than the rest is in the centre, and this
represents a well or deep stream of water, in which the players may be " drowned "
and so put out of the game. The dice are four pieces of wood, round on one side
and flat on the other. Two are held in each hand, and brought smartly together, and
then are swept off the under hand on to a smooth piece of hide. Even numbers,
flat or round, score variously, and allow another throw ; odd numbers give the next
man his turn. The scoring is done by means of arrows stuck in the holes, and as
they are not good at counting, this part of the game appears rather complicated to
an observer. But to the players it appears fascinating (though only indulged in at
one season of the year) for the sibilant " hits- " of the players and the click of the
dice as they toss them down may be heard for hours together. An element of
gambling is apparent in this game, for beads, and other small articles of apparel,
frequently change hands. I believe that this game is meant to represent a war
party on a raiding expedition, for little bits of wood or stick, placed in several of
the small holes, are said to be " gardens " or patches of mandioca, pumpkins, or
potatoes, which are supposed to be destroyed by the enemy, who plays himself into
one of the holes and throws out the contents. The players take sides, and the rule
is to proceed from one end to the other of the row of holes and back again.
The game of hockey appears to be indigenous amongst them, but it is hard to
discover any rules in the general scramble for the ball. I have seen a goal at each
end, composed of a pile of sticks heaped up, and as many as forty men playing in
one game, among the Suhin.
With their turn of thought, one could hardly expect complicated rules among
these Indians, for the idea of keen rivalry or competition seems to find no place in
their ideas except in wrestling, at which boys and men are very adept.
A sort of battledore-and-slmttlecock is played by the children, who use their
hands for the bat ; the shuttlecock is a doubled-up wisp of corn-cob leaves, tightly
tied round to form a knob, with the loose ends cut square, and two or three long
rhea feathers inserted. These will carry a longer distance than our Badminton
shuttlecock.
Tops are known and used, but whether they are indigenous or not it is hard
to say. The doll shown in PI. XL, 4, is merely a small unaltered bone dressed up
in rags.
Chaco Indians are very fond of feasts, and any occasional abundance in their
food supply is eagerly welcomed as an excuse for one.
Dances form a prominent part in these feasts, and of these dances there are
four or five different classes —
(1) That called Kyaiya is the most common. It generally commences at sun-
set, lasting through the night, and the next day and night, and concluding at the
298 SEYMOUR H. (I HAWTREY. — The Lenyua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco.
following dawn. The Kyaiya, which gives the name to the feast, is a gourd rattle.
"When once started the rattle is supposed not to stop till the feast is over. Mere
amusement is connected with this feast, and no superstition, as far as is known.
The men stand round in a ring and sway their bodies with a slight motion, as they
heat time with the rattles, while the chanting chorus rises and falls. The women
join in occasionally, dancing behind with their hands on the men's belts.
(2) The women also have a separate dance of their own, where they appear
to protect a young girl from evil spirits, who twine in and out, in line, uttering
shrill cries (PI. XXXVII, 1 ; XXXVIII, 2). The boys who represent these evil
spirits are dressed up in rhea-feathers, and wear a bag over their head.
({>) The Yanmana is a long feast at which marriages are contracted and
during which all the other dances may take place.
(4) The Wairikya is so called from the " Wainkya," or pot, which, converted
into a drum by means of a piece of leather tightly stretched over it, is beaten like
a drum throughout this particular feast.
(5) The Maning (= "circle") is a series of short song-dances which may take
place at either of the above. For the songs at the maniny dance, see above
p. 293 n.
Contact with Civilized Races (N.Q. Ixxiv). — It is too soon yet to comment
definitely on the effect of civilization on the Lengua Indians. In many ways
they are undoubtedly open to good influences. Morality, for instance, which
is generally so low in native races, is with them so high that they compare favour-
ably with all but the higher class of the civilized Spanish-speaking population,
their neighbours over the river. Of course there is room for improvement, but in
teaching, for instance, that a man should only have one wife, we are emphasizing
their own unwritten law or custom. At the station of the South American
Missionary Society, a marked improvement is observed in the manners and
behaviour of the Indians who are resident there. They become open and frank,
clean and smart in their dress, quick to learn and dependable.
It is not to be expected that their nomadic habits would be cast off in a day :
a generation would be short in which to effect such a change, and it is found wise
when they get restless, or dull, after a month or so of continued settled occupation,
to change their work, or to let them visit their friends for a time. They are not
encouraged at the mission stations to alter their style of dress, though they them-
selves are delighted to throw off their heavy woollen blankets, and to don
European shirts and trousers. Yet these do not become them so well, and are less
healthy. Indeed, the wearing of the left-off clothing of Paraguayans becomes a
source of actual danger to them, on account of infectious diseases, from which,
among themselves, they are remarkably free. Those Indians who go and live at
the " Coast," as the banks of the great Paraguay Eiver are called, are brought in
contact with that debased form of civilization which everywhere obtains on the
borders of a new country, and rapidly give way before its evil influence. Drink,
of course, in the form of the common cane-nun, plays havoc amongst them.
SKYMOUR H. C. HA.WTREY. — The Lenyua Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco. 299
Missionaries are sometimes blamed for penetrating into new countries, but
their influence for good on the natives amongst whom they have settled in the
Chaco, when these are compared with the raw material, or with those who are often
met with in the town, cannot for one moment be doubted. Yet at the same time
it must be confessed that by their very good works they have placed an obstacle in
their own path, and in that of the future welfare of their converts. Fifteen years
ago no Paraguayans would enter the Chaco, unless well armed and in large
numbers. Now you may travel in all parts unarmed, and alone, if you wish it,
with only native companions. In consequence of this, which is the effect of the
British missions, the country is now being filled up rapidly with Paraguayan
settlers, who have but a poor influence on the native life and character.
The Paraguayan Government having sold every acre of land in their part of
the Chaco, there is no provision whatever for Indian reserves, and an Indian has
no more social rights, until he is baptized, than a tiger or other wild beast, and this
is the light in which he is generally looked upon in South America.
The British public does not appear to sympathize with the combination of
Industrial with Missionary work, and seems to consider that the Gospel alone
should be sufficient enlightenment to enable an Indian to find his level in the daily
increasing strife of race and creed. But to an unbiassed observer it is evident
that if no means can be taken to prevent the increasing influx of a debased form
of civilization whose chief agent is rum, it will not be many generations before
there are no more Chaco Indians to discuss.
V Plates XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXVIII and XXXIX, 1, are from blocks
kindly lent by the South American Missionary Society.
( 300 )
THE NATIVE TRIBES OF MANIPUR
BY T. C. HODSON.
[PRESENTED IOTH DECEMBER, 1901.]
MANIPUR is the foreign, the Hindustani name for the country which the people
themselves call the Meithei Lei-pale, the broad land of the Meitheis. The Burmese
call it Kathay or Kassay, while the Bengalis and Assamese call it Moglai—
a variant on its Naga name Mekli or Mekri.
The Meitheis themselves have — since their conversion to Hinduism — put
forward a claim to descent from Arjun, one of the Pandavas, who once visited
the valley and, like many a foreigner since, married a woman of the country
who became the ancestress of the race. In support of this claim they point to
an obscure passage in the Mahabharat. We may safely reject this claim because
their own records prove that prior to the advent of Hindu missionaries in the
beginning of the eighteenth century the Meitheis were very much what the
hillmen are to-day, only with a greater amount of material civilization and
culture. The language is unmistakably allied, and that closely, to the Chin,
Lusei, Kuki dialects. The people are in feature of the Mongoloid type and in
no way resemble the Aryan or Aryanised peoples of Hindustan.1 Among all the
hill tribes in State is current a tradition which declares the Kuki to be descended
from the eldest of three brothers. The youngest brother is the ancestor of the
Manipuris and the descendants of the middle brother are the Nagas. In one or
two Tangkhul villages, side by side with this tradition, I have heard a story
which brings the Nagas from the valley whence they emigrated to the hills
because they found the heat and the mosquitoes quite unbearable.
Among all primitive peoples the holder of the kingly office is a person of
the greatest importance and interest. I hope to show that Mariipur is no
exception to this rule, and my notes will mainly deal with the mysterious and
interesting ideas and ceremonies connected with the position of the king in
Manipur. The word for king itself (Ningthou) seems to mean " the person who
may do the thing he will, and is a very apt word to use of a being who is regarded
and addressed as one but little inferior to the gods themselves.
I do not know, and I have not been able to discover, when or by whom was
started the belief that the rule of succession to the throne of Manipur was that
of brother succeeding to brother. The records disclose a very different state of
things. If there was any rule at all, it was that of primogeniture, modified very
considerably by the theory that might is right. There is, however, a good deal of
interesting mystery about the succession of Garib Nawaz or Pamheiba, whose
1 For physical measurements of the Meitheis (Mitais, Maithais) see Waddell, Journ. As.
tfoc. Bengal, Ixix, Pt. iii, p. 114 (Calcutta, 1901).— [Eo.]
T. C. HODSON.— The Native, Tribes of Manipur. 301
predecessor was Churai Rongba, who coquetted with Hinduism and finally reverted
to his pristine creed. It is said that in a dream or from a prophecy Churai
Rongba learnt that he was destined to be slain by his own son. He determined
to avoid his fate if possible, and therefore whenever one of his wives presented
him with a son and heir, the babe was promptly put out of the way. It fell out
that the principal Rani was delivered of a son at a time when the Raja was away
on an expedition. A stillborn child — a boy — the son of one of the Raja's slaves,
was shown to the world as the royal babe, and the living infant was stealthily
conveyed by night to a Naga village in the hills, where it was reared. In the course
of time, Churai Rongba discovered that he had a living heir. He then invited all
the Naga children of the age of his son, to look on at some boat races. They
were treacherously massacred, but the young prince somehow managed to
escape. A little later, Churai Rongba came across his son, and, struck by the
lad's intelligence and courage, all unwittingly made him one of his personal
attendants. Pamheiba then heard of the prophecy and of his royal origin, and
succeeded in killing or some say accidentally and in ignorance killed his father
when they were out hunting together. Pamheiba, too, was in his turn killed by
his son Ugut Shah. The Naga village Maikel, which in this tradition is said to
have afforded shelter to the prince, was given the privilege of precedence above
all other Naga villages on the day when the great annual Naga sports are held, as
a reward for their protection and help. This village has a monumental stone
which they say marks the place whence the common ancestor of the Nagas, the
Manipuris and the Kukis, emerged from the darkness below.
An educated Manipuri once told me when we were discussing this story that
there was another legend that the son of Pakhongba, the snake king, the semi-
divine ancestor of the royal clan, unwittingly killed his father, mistaking him for
a snake. For this reason, the taint of parricide clings ever to the royal house of
Manipur. Among the Tangkhul Nagas, when a son marries, his parents and the
rest of the family have to move out from the old house and build themselves a
house somewhere else. This rule too applies to the succession of certain hereditary
village offices which are now-a-days sacerdotal rather than regal.
On the restoration of Gurusham, the representative of the lineage of Garib
Nawaz, it was found necessary to associate with him in the kingly office his
younger brother Jai Singh, because, so tradition says, Gurusham was a cripple and
therefore not altogether fit to exercise royal functions which then as now include
a good deal which in more elaborate societies are reserved for the priest.
The coronation of the Raja of Manipur is by all accounts an imposing and
interesting affair. There are in Manipur seven clans, four of which own kings,
titles even now of considerable dignity but historically survivals from the time
when these clans still preserved their independence. The Angoni Ningthou, or
king of the Angoms, is generally, by some accounts he must be, a relative l>v
marriage of the Meithei Ningthou, and custom demands that his coronation shall
precede that of the Raja by a few days.
302 T. C. HODSON. — The Native Tribes of Manipur.
The Raja and his Eani go to their coronation clad in a costume which, but for
the greater sumptuousness of the royal apparel, is that of the Kabui Nagas. The
Raja is always attended by one or two Manipuris wearing Naga costume, and in
the royal enclosure is a house built in Naga fashion. The state head-dress is
adorned with a protuberance somewhat like the curious horn into which the
Marring Nagas wind their hair. Wrestlers, too, when performing before the Raja
(and only then) wear a pagri done up in this curious way.
To return to the coronation ceremony. With great solemnity the Raja
passes between two massive stone dragons which stood (they stand no more) in
front of the coronation house. Somewhere inside this building was a mysterious
chamber containing a pipe which led, so men said, to the depths of a cavern
below where dwells the snake god, the deified ancestor of the royal family. The
prosperity and length of the Raja's reign were believed to depend upon the
length of time he could manage to srt upon the pipe enduring the fiery breath of
his forefather in the place below. His troubles were not over with this ordeal,
for outside were gathered the soothsayers and wise men of the country, who
carefully watched where and on what stones he trod as he passed out. Thus they
knew the fortune of the reign.
In Manipur they have a noteworthy system of keeping count of the years.
Each year is named after some man, who — for a consideration — undertakes to bear
the fortune good or bad of the year. If the year be good, if there be no pestilence
and a good harvest, he gets presents from all sorts of people, and I remember
hearing that in 1898, when the cholera was at its worst, a deputation came to the
Political Agent and asked him to punish the name giver, as it was obvious that he
was responsible for the epidemic. In former times he would have got into trouble.
Sometimes a special ceremony was observed by which a criminal obtained a
remission of his punishment by taking upon himself the sins of the Raja. - A large
scaffold was erected and on the upper story the Raja and Rani bathed. Below sat
the criminal and his wife receiving the royal ablutions. After the bathing
operations were finished the pair below were given the old soiled raiment of the
purified people above, and these carried with them the sins and the guilt of the
royal consciences.
In Manipur the prosperity of all classes depends on the strength and the
regularity of the rainfall, and we find, therefore, that in the valley and in the hills
there are many rites and ceremonies to secure a proper rainfall. In Manipur
where Hinduism prevails, despite the prolonged existence of the earlier religious
system, we find rain ceremonies with Brahmins as the chief agents, and other more
primitive ceremonies at which the representatives of the primitive religion preside.
Indeed, I have found that whenever we find a ceremony exclusively in the hands
of the maibas or pibas, the ministrants of the earlier system, we have to deal with
a survival from pre-Hindu times. Where rain is wanted, 108 girls milk 108 cows
in the temple of Govindji, the incarnation of Krishna most popular in Manipur.
If this fails, the women throw their «7m?i-f)ounders into the nearest pool, and at the
T. C. HODSON.— The Native Tribes of Manipiir. 303
dead of night take their clothes off and plough. These are ceremonies known in
India, in Behar, where too, as in Manipur and among the Kabul Nagas, men
perfectly nude wander about at night allowing themselves the widest extravagance
in the way of abusive language that oriental imagination can run to.
Surely the rain-gods that sleep or are careless of mankind will listen to these
tales of woe ; but if these artifices fail, the Eaja, almost a deified person himself,
and the descendant of a semi-divine hero king, must play his part and save his
people. He may, like the common herd, attempt to move the obdurate powers to
pity liis sorrow and inglorious nakedness. He may lead a procession to Nong-
maiching, the great hill that rises sheer and steep from the plains east of the
capital, where he must perform a magic rain-compelling rite, transferring water
from one spot to another and worshipping a quaint stone which is believed to have
a mysterious connection with the rain, and according to imaginative people is
shaped like an umbrella. Every year a great procession worships at this hill, but
its special efficacy depends upon the presence of the Raja. Etiquette requires that
a special vocabulary should be used in addressing the Raja, who is in all matters
regarded as semi-divine. His children are all called sena or golden, an adjective of
great sanctity, and even his grand-children are called the god-like.
The Meitheis are divided into seven exogamous clans, and there is a good deal
of evidence to show that at least three clans have disappeared. The head of the
clan enjoys a peculiar position. He performs acts of worship on behalf of the clan,
and represents it in all matters that pertain to the jurisdiction of the greater gods,
not Hindu deities, but the great nature gods of the older religion. The head of the
family manages the relations with the lesser deities, while the head of the house
looks after the interests of the house god. Before a sacrifice of any sort the piba,
or head of the clan, must become spiritually pure. Vexatious, indeed, are the
many restrictions to which he must submit. All the clans worship a tribal deity
who is very obviously the eponymous ancestor. Each of these tribal deities has
his special flower, fruit, fish, and animal, which (and no others of their kind) are
acceptable offerings.
There is a tabu object to each clan. In one case only is it an animal. In two
cases each it is a fish or a bird or a vegetable object. Should any member of the
clan touch the forbidden object, he is supposed to become speedily afflicted with
some mysterious disease. Special tabus can be created. A man once fell from
a mango tree and was killed The piba of his clan then declared that particular
tree to be " sacred " to his clansmen, and none of them ever now come near it.
Near Imphal, the capital, are two fine peepul trees, beneath which, according to
tradition, lie the bones of the Moirang tribesmen who fell in the great decisive
battle which nearly five centuries ago terminated their struggle with the Meitheis.
No man of the Moirang tribe will, to this day, dare to walk between them.
All the passes over the hills to Manipur are crowned with abodes of the
hill-spirits, who protect and help the weary traveller. Manipuris as well as Nagas
deem it wrong to pass these spots without laying an offering of rice, or occasionally
304 T. C. HODSOX.- - TVw Native Tribes of Manipur.
a pice or two, upon the stone which marks the abode of the spirit. They regard as
very sacred the groves of trees, which here and there are found on the top of bare
knolls. Many a tale is told of the malignant spirits that dwell in the deep pools
of rivers. There is a profound belief in vampires — king chabis — things that, as the
name shows, eat live people, and dwell in dark secluded glades. The Manipuris
attach great importance to omens, dreams, and soothsaying of all sorts. Great
reverence is paid to the Maibis, women who are specially devoted to the worship of
Pakhongba, the snake personification of the apotheosised ancestor of the royal clan.
When the snake appears in a tiny shape, all is well with the State. His head is
golden in colour and is shaped like that of a bird.
Excluding the Brahmins as the priests of a foreign cult, we find that the
sphere of influence of the piba, the head of the clan, is strictly religious and sharply
separated from that of the maiba, who deals only with the magical side of the
supernatural and is often a specialist, having become the doctor of the community.
I regard it as probable that in former times some form of ancestor worship was
practised in Manipur. The records say that the conversion of Garib Nawaz to
Hinduism was followed by the exhumation and cremation of the bones of his
ancestors. Is it possible that the Manipuris are, in a way, right when they say he
did this because he revered his ancestors, and was convinced that, although they
had not known Hinduism in their lives, they had yet a chance of immortality in
the Hindu heaven if their pious descendant were to dispose of their remains in the
Hindu fashion.
The Naga tribes in Manipur are all divided into exogamous groups which are
said to derive their origin from brothers or near relatives, the eponymous ancestors
of the khel or group. Eelationship is reckoned by male agnatic descent and the
rule of exogamy is strictly followed.
When a child is born, both parents remain in seclusion and are considered
unclean for a period which varies from five days to a month. Some tribes insist
on a longer period of seclusion when the child is a boy or for the first-born child
whatever its sex. It is generally usual to give a child a name, some sort of a
name (not necessarily or by any means the name which it is to bear through life),
as soon as it is born, because a child without a name is particularly liable to be
annexed by some wandering homeless spirit, of which there are plenty about.
One tribe, the Marrings, does not give individual or particular names to the
children, but has a rule by which the eldest son is called Moba, the second son
Tewa and so on, girls as well as boys having names fixed for them by the priority
of their birth. Nicknames from some personal peculiarity serve to distinguish
them, but if at any time in later life the parents fancy a special name for a child,
they may change the name if they can afford to provide a mithun and thirty jars
of rice beer with free rations of salt and rice for the entertainment of the whole
community. Sometimes the luck of the name proposed for a child is ascertained
by consulting omens or by having regard to the parent's dreams.
Among all the tribes, it is customary for the husband to pay a price for his
T. C. HODSON. — The Nat ice Tribes of Mnnipur. 305
bride to her parents. Sometimes the price is fixed by custom, but among the
Kukis the rank and status of the bride's family are factors of considerable
importance in fixing the lady's price. Should a couple run away together, some,
but not many tribes, insist on turning them out of the village altogether, but in
most cases they are only forbidden to enter the house of the girl's parents until
the price has been paid together with something extra by way of fine.
Among the Kukis and Tangkhul Nagas is found what may be regarded as a
survival from the times when women were systematically captured and made the
wives of their captors. The bride is escorted to the bridegroom's village by a
posse of young men of her clan or tribe. They meet and wrestle with the
champions of the bridegroom's village. They believe that the longevity of the
bride and bridegroom depends on the success of their friends in this friendly
contest. There are other villages which observe this custom, but only when the
bride comes from another village, never when she comes from a different group in
the same village. In the case of the Kukis and the Kabul Nagas, when a man's
wife dies, he has to pay her parents or their heirs a fixed sum which is called the
price of her bones. This price is the same in amount as that originally given at
the time of the marriage.
When the eldest of a family of brothers dies, leaving a widow, the Kukis
make the younger brother marry her, but the elder brother may not take the
widow of his younger brother.
All the hill tribes bury their dead, but in the case of a Raja or specially great
and influential man, the Kukis have a rather unusual method of disposing of the
body. They place the body in a hollowed trunk of a tree, plaster it carefully
with mud, then carry it thrice round the village, and then, amid the wailings of
the women, the noise of gongs, cymbals, horns and guns, deposit the box upon a
mackan or raised stage. To dispose of the products of decomposition, they insert
a bamboo pipe leading from the box to the earth. After a month or so, they
wrap -the bones and skull in a new cloth and bury them. Provision has always to
be made for the comfort of the deceased in the world hereafter. In earlier times
slaves were put to death, nowadays fat animals only are slain. The clothes worn
by the man in life, his weapons and implements, are buried with him. There is
never the same degree of elaboration in the funeral ceremonies of women as in
those of the men.
Special rules exist for the burial of special cases of death. Women who die
in, or from the effects of childbirth, those who are slain by an enemy, or are
killed by a wild beast, or who die far from their home, of cholera or some disease
or who chance to fall from a tree and are killed, are regarded as peculiarly
unfortunate in their deaths as the manner jof- their end betokens that they owe
their fate to the hostility of some powerful and malignant spirit. The graves of
the dead who die in the ways I have enumerated, are dug by a special class of
people, sometimes only by the oldest men and women, and in some cases only by
the near male relatives. Their graves, too, are nearly always apart and away from
VOL. XXXI. X
306 T. C. HODSOX. — The Native- Tribes of Manipur.
the graves of the ordinary dead. Among the Tangkhuls, when a man is killed by
a tiger, they kill a hunting dog and put a sharpened thorn and a strong spear in
the grave, that the deceased may have a helper and weapons to defend himself if
he should chance to meet with a spirit tiger on his way to heaven. In another
case, for three nights after the burial of a man who has been killed by a tiger, his
brother or some near male relative keeps watch and ward over the grave, lest the
tiger come. A man, too, who has been killed in war is buried outside the village
on the side opposite that where his enemies live.
If a woman dies in childbirth, and the child survives, it is or was customary
among the Kabui Nagas and among the Kuki Lusei tribes to bury the living
infant with the mother because the child is so obviously possessed by an evil spirit
that its instant removal is necessary.
Among several of these tribes is found the custom of secluding for a period the
inmates of a house where an animal has had young or has died. The period of
seclusion varies greatly, as a rule it is most for a cow and least for a dog. Nearly
all of them treat the cat with some respect, at least when a cat dies, it is wrapped
up in a cloth and buried amid lamentations in a grave dug for it by the old
women.
There are many interesting prohibitions, ordinances, and regulations among
the hill-folk. There is one village, once the powerful head of a very large group,
which believes itself to be descended from a lady of a porcine figure. It, and the
villages subordinate to it, are therefore forbidden to eat of the pig. The Tangkhuls
never eat goat in their own villages, because they think they would run the
imminent risk of madness, and all sorts of illness. Indeed, more than once have
I been told that they look on goats and their kids as very human. These are
general prohibitions, but there are special rules for classes of persons, and for
individual cases as well. The scale of diet allowed by custom to the ghennabura or
religious head of the village is always extremely limited. The savoury dog, the
tomato, the inurghi, are forbidden to him. Unmarried girls are not allowed to eat
dog, or in some cases the male of any kind of animal, while nobody knows the
awful misfortunes that await the woman who when about to become a mother
should eat bear. If a man is wealthy enough to feast his whole village, and erect
a memorial stone, he is entitled to become subject to the same dietary disabilities
as the ghennabura. He wears the same special clothes, and for the space of a year
at least he must not use a drinking horn, but must take his daily drink from a
bamboo cup. So is it that there, as here, there are penalties on greatness.
All sorts of things cause these periods of seclusion to occur. If the village is
burnt, if they lose a member of the village in some remarkable way, if a woman
dies in childbirth, or if there be an epidemic of sickness, the ghennabura orders the
village gates to be shut. In fact, whenever an event occurs which interests or
alarms the community as a whole, especially if it be explicable only as a
manifestation of some supernatural influence, a period of seclusion is necessary.
The village gates are shut and all strangers, who at the time happen to be inside
T. C. HODSON.—T/^ Native Tribes of Manipur. 307
the village, are necessarily refused egress. If by inadvertence a man should
violate any one of the many rules that must be observed on these occasions, he has
to pay a fine, generally to provide a substantial repast for the village elders.
The glicnnabura of a Naga village has a good deal of indirect authority, in
virtue of his power to close the village and to declare a ghcnna. There are of
course annual festivals, when the stranger that is within the gates may not go
forth, and the friend that is without must stay outside. These are festivals
connected with the crops — before the rice is sown, when the blades appear, and as
harvest thanksgiving. Drunkenness and unusual licence characterize these scenes.
Among the Tangkhuls we find a curious custom. Before the crop is sown, and
when it is reaped, the boys and girls have a tug-of-war with a tough rope of twisted
creeper. Great jars of rice beer are set ready, and the severity of their ordinary
morality is broken by a night of unbridled licence. The Kabuis, however, insist
upon the strictest chastity on these occasions, most especially from the gkcnnaburas,
who as among the other tribes have to sow first, to reap first, and always take the
omens on behalf of the village. The Kabuis, I may explain, live in permanent
villages, but subsist on jhum cultivation. There is a regular sequence which
determines the fields and areas to be cultivated year by year, but in spite of this
the omens are always carefully taken.
The two ghenndburas in clean clothes sit opposite one another holding twigs of
cane in their hands. When the twigs begin to turn, they declare where and in
what direction the cultivation is to be. There are many ways of taking omens.
Some people break eggs, and from the resultant mess declare the prospects of the
harvest. Others kill a fowl and watch the convulsive struggles of its feet in its
death agony. If the right foot crosses over the left all will be well. I have seen
omens taken by splitting a leaf, and by cutting chips off a piece of bamboo. Some
Nagas foretell the success of an intended hunting expedition by their success in
kicking small flat stones on to the top of a bigger stone. There is of course a
profound belief in dreams as affording distinct unerring indications of the intentions
of Providence.
In general they regard the future world as very similar to this. The
Tangkhul who can afford it always kills a buffalo at his father's funeral because
the God who keeps the gates of Heaven appears to have had enough of the
amiable Tangkhul, and endeavours to keep the gates shut against them. The
buffalo, of course, butts the gates open and lets the deceased and the expectant
crowd of other souls in. That explains why they never or very rarely kill a pig
at a funeral. It is a tiresome animal to manage, and is as likely as not to wander
off with its master and owner to some very undesirable spot. They say that if a
man has been brave and courageous in this life, he is welcomed in the after world
by those who have gone before, but the coward is met with groans and jeers. The
Tangkhuls are most precise in the localisation of their heaven. The way to it
leads up the steep spurs and over the mighty crest of Sirohi-furar, a peak that
dominates the scenery of their country.
x 2
808 T. C. HODSON. — The Native Tribes of Manipur.
They are particular to see that the cloth that is buried with the body
intended as a present for the God of Heaven is not torn and is thus distinguished
from the property of the deceased. If a Tangkhul's parents predecease him,
when he dies, in his grave are put a flask of rice beer and a plate of rice to be
given to his parents when he meets them.
The Eastern Angamis, however, regard heaven as a place with a number of
compartments; one reserved for the worthy dead, another for those who fall on
the field of battle. All the women who die in childbirth congregate together.
The men whose ears are split or torn have a place set apart for them. I may add
by way of explanation that nearly all the hill tribes regard a split or torn ear as
a mark of special disfavour of some superior being.
There is a very common belief in the idea of re-incarnation, but they all
strenuously maintain that no man can return to this world whose death shows
him to have incurred the hostility of the powerful spirits.
Each tribe has its own method of inducing a regular and plentiful supply of
rain. The Tangkhuls cut a pig up into eleven portions, and the women make
eleven rice cakes. The head of the village, with five men and five women, goes
outside the village and offers these delicacies to the powers that be upon one of the
memorial stones. Sometimes he has to gather eleven water-worn stones from a
river-bed and wraps them up in river-weed.
Other tribes practise a ceremony of symbolical transference of water, as if they
wished to explain to the powers in charge of the rain that they desire him to
imitate exactly what they are doing. In some cases a pig, with its feet tied
securely together, is drowned in a pool near the village. I have come across a fish
hung up on the village gate as a rain-making rite, and was in one case told that it
was usual to cut a fish, generally an eel, into small bits which were scattered on
the irrigation cut, and on the river bank.
The Chirus catch a crab, tie a thread to a claw and put it in an earthen pot
filled with water. The head of the village goes to the village gate, and keeps on
lifting the crab out of the water, and lowering it into the pot again until tired.
In an interesting Eastern Angami village I was told that when they wanted
rain the head of the village takes a brand burning from the fire, puts it on the
grave of a man who has died of burns, quenches the brand with water, and prays
for rain.
While the crops are on the ground, no hunting or fishing is allowed. They
may not trade, they may not perform on their bamboo bugles, nor indulge in any
pastime. Grass and trees must not be cut, nor may the women weave.
I hope at some future time to publish a full account, historical and ethno-
graphical, of these people.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. GOMME congratulated the Institute upon getting observations on a people,
unmixed with any theories of the observer. This is what the Institute desires more
T. C. HODSON.— The Native Tribes of Manipur. 309
than anything else. He would venture to ask the author if he would preface his
paper by a note of definition of the series of terms used to describe the social
features of the people. The terms were, if he remembered rightly, tribe, clan,
house, village, community, and what was wanted was some information as to the
relationship of the social unit these terms connoted to each other. In particular,
what was the relationship of the clan to the village ? Was the village composed of
several clans, and if so, would tribe mean a group of villages or a group of clans
which would be spread over many villages ? In short, how are locality and kinship
related ? It would, he ventured to add, be extremely useful if a prefatory note
explaining these points could be given. One further query, which he would like
to put, had relationship to terrace-cultivation — did it begin from the top of the
hill or from the valley ?
Mr. HODSON, in reply, said: — I use the word tribe to denote a number of
people speaking closely allied dialects. The term is therefore partly linguistic,
but it also connotes a certain amount of geographical propinquity as well as a
high degree of general resemblance of dress, coiffure and customs. The clan is a
term connoting in theory, community of descent ; and in every Naga village there
are several, sometimes many clans — constituent units — living each in its own
area, between which there may be hostility as between villages hostility may
exist. Very seldom does it occur that a clan, or sagei as it is called in Manipuri,
in one village will consider itself related to, and therefore forbidden to marry
with, a similarly named clan in another village.
These remarks do not apply to the Kukis, among whom the belief in a
common descent is strong, so strong that most of them know their pedigree up to
Thado, the ancestor of the Kukis, whose sons are the eponymous progenitors of
the various clans. A Kuki village is generally composed of members of one
' clan. Sometimes we have mixed villages, but then we find some historical event-
in the past to explain its formation. A Mangvung village, a village with a
Mangvung chief, will as a rule have only Mangvungs in it, people who pretend
to be able to trace their descent from Mangvung, a son of Thado. The
Kukis are migratory, from the force of circumstances, and possess a strong
fissiparous instinct which is in no way checked by the Fax Britannica. The
Nagas live in permanent villages, and the power of the head of the village
depends mainly on his exercise of the sacerdotal functions, while among the
Kukis, the house or head of the village is a secular authority whose interference
in religious matters is limited to certain formal occasions.
A word or two about the terrace-cultivation. Such cultivation is only
possible when the hills have an easy slope to the valley. The best and oldest
fields are, I think, those half-way up the hill, and the worst and most recently
formed fields are at the extreme top and bottom, which mark the margins of
cultivation. The lower margin is capable of more extension than the upper,
because it is, generally speaking, easier to irrigate fields at a lower than at a higher
level. They cultivate the valleys in very much the same way with excellent
results. I know irrigation channels which come at least three miles from some
ravine or gorge before the water reaches the fields.
( 310 )
ON A COLLECTION OF PAL/EOLITHIC IMPLEMENTS FROM
SAVERNAKE.
BY EDGAR WILLETT, M.B.
[PRESENTED 26TH NOVEMBER, 1901. WITH PLATES XLII, XLIIL]
To begin with, I wish to disclaim all pretension to have discovered this find, the
credit of which entirely belongs to Mr. J. B. Dixon of Pewsey. Early in September
I heard that a large number of palaeolithic implements had been found near
Savernake and I saw several specimens. In consequence I went to Savernake and
succeeded in securing some specimens, and it is at the suggestion of Professor
Boyd Dawkins that I now exhibit them to the Anthropological Institute.
Besides Mr. Dixon, Mr. Brooke of Maiiborough, Dr. Hedley Visick of London,
and Mr. H. S. Toms of the Brighton Museum had all secured specimens, which are
now being exhibited.
The reasons why I have brought the subject before the Institute are two : —
(1) the number and consequent importance of the find, and, (2) the fact that, so far
as I have been able to ascertain, no palteolithic implements have been previously
discovered anywhere in this locality nearer than Salisbury which is distant about
twenty miles. The history of the find, so far as I can ascertain it, is as follows.
Early in the present year Mr. Dixon found several good specimens in the heaps
of stones by the side of the road leading from Burbage to Maiiborough, rather
nearer the former place, and about a mile from the Savernake Station. On
inquiry, it was found that all these flints came from a particular gravel pit,
situated near Knowle Farm in the north-east part of Savernake Park, and about
half a mile from the Maiiborough and Hungerford Road.
As to the locality ; Knowle Farm and its gravel pit are situated on an
outlying deposit of the River Drift, and are about three miles south of the
Kennet, one of the largest tributaries of the Thames; it comes well within
the catchment basin of the Thames, but hitherto, or so far as I have been
able to discover, no palreoliths have been previously recorded from any locality in
the Thames Valley farther west than Wallingford.1 Bemerton and Milford Hill
near Salisbury are of course well known localities, but they are in the valley of
the Avon running south. Further, neither in Sir John Evans' book on Stone
Implements, nor in the carefully prepared map at the British Museum, is the
locality notified.
1 Mr. A. M. Bell (p. 31 5) notes specimens from Oxford, and from Broadwell. — ED.
Journal of the Anthropological Liatitutc, 1'ul. XXXI, Plate XL I II.
>O*K
1-7. FLINTS FKOM KNOWLE FAKM QUARRY, SAVEKNAKE ; SHOWING GLASSY SURFACE.
8. FLINT IMPLEMENT FROM ABYDOS, EGYPT (IN PITT RIVERS MUSEUM) ;
SHOWING SIMILAR SURFACE.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, fol. XXXI, Plate XL1I.
j
FLINT IMPLEMENTS FROM KNOWLE FAl.'M QUARRY, SAVEHNAKE.
E. \VJLLETT. — On a Collection of Palccolithic Implements from Savcrndkc. 311
The pit, which I have seen, is situated on the side of a hill which looks
towards the upper part of the Kennet Valley, the river being about three miles to
the north. The contents of the pit consist of a rather fine sandy gravel of a greyish
colour containing at first sight few stones large enough for use as road metal ; it
is largely owing to this fact that so many worked stones have recently been saved.
In consequence of its small size, all the gravel is sifted by hand twice before it is
carted away for use on the roads ; the finest is used as sand for building, the next
size is used for garden paths, and the largest and coarsest is used for the roads,
for which purposes the larger stones are finally broken up.
The pit is only worked by two labourers, one of whom is a very intelligent man
with a very good eye for stones, and few implements worth saving now escape
him. Earlier in the year, however, before his attention had been called to the
subject, all the large stones (i.e., after the sifting), comprising literally many
hundreds of very good specimens, were carted down to the road near Savernake,
where so recently as last September and October, on the occasion of two visits, I
was fortunate enough, as I have already said, to secure some very good specimens
which are among those now shown.
My friend Dr. Hedley Visick, who has kindly lent me some of his specimens
to make the series more complete, was staying at Marlborough during the summer,
and visited the gravel pit on one or two occasions, taking part in and watching the
digging; he tells me that nearly every wheelbarrow-full of the gravel contained
a flint worth keeping. A barrow contains five or six sieves full ; this will give
some idea of the enormous quantity that exist in the pit. I am further told that
the largest and best shaped implements (Type A 1) are usually found at a depth
of 10 or 12 feet from the surface.
The series shown to the Institute has been made up of selected specimens
from three sources; (1) my own collection consists of about 60 well marked
implements ; (2) Dr. Visick has considerably over 100 ; (3) there are over 250
belonging to the Brighton Museum and collected by its curator, Mr. H. S. Toms.
I have thus been fortunate enough to have had over 400 from which to make a
choice, and I am much indebted to Dr. Visick and the Corporation of Brighton
for the loan of many interesting examples.
The specimens group themselves into several types.
A. The oval or fiat ovals. This is much the most important group, and may
be subdivided into three or four sub-groups.
1. The long ovals, measuring about 6 inches in the long diameter by 3 or
3£ inches across ; of these I can show two good specimens.
2. The short ovals with a less pointed end, measuring from 2£ to 3 inches
in length by about 2 inches in width ; this is a fairly common
type ; one small specimen of this shape is of chert and not Hint.
3. Slwrt ovals with a point. Of these there is a graduated series, 5 in
number, the largest measuring 4 inches by 3, the smallest 2 by 1£ ;
they are all very similar in shape, and are noticeable in that they all
312 E. WILLETT. — On a, Collection of Palccolithic Implements from Savernakc.
have a sharp point at the smaller end. All the above are completely
worked at both ends and all round, leaving very little of the original
flint surface.
4. Next to these are three specimens very similar in general outline, but
only worked at the edges ; these three all come from Dr. Visick's
collection.
B. Hammer stones. I do not use this name in the sense that these implements
were used to hammer other stones exclusively, though some of them show signs at
the thicker and less worked end that they have been used for this purpose. These
are all of a much rougher character than type A ; in fact, in looking at any single
stone, doubts might well be entertained as to whether it had been worked or not,
but it seems quite impossible that the shape of the eight or nine specimens shown
can be accidentally so nearly alike; they are all more or less pointed at one end,
while at the thicker and blunter end part of the natural surface of the flint still
remains.
C. Wedge-shaped stones. This type follows closely on the former, the one
almost merging into the other in some cases ; some of these show very well the
" shoe shape " described by others.
D. Eymers or borers. Of these again there are one or two varieties:
(1) Sickle shaped, of which Dr. Visick lends me three almost identical in size and
shape ; (2) A remarkable type with a large unworked base ; (3) A third variety
with a double edge.
E. Throwing stones. This again is a very rough type, and it is only by
comparing a number [ten were shown] that the conclusion is arrived at that their
shape is not accidental. Many of them [E1] have one broad end and one narrow
forming a kind of tail ; they may be only scrapers.
On looking over the series several points will be noticed : (1) There is an
absence of the usual triangular common palteolithic type, such, I mean, as is shown
in most of the specimens from the lower part of the Thames Valley ; (2) Most of
the short ovals have a peculiar mottled appearance, while many of type B are black
or nearly so, and very few show the usual reddish-brown staining by iron.
As to the surface, and amount of weathering. There are four specimens
[labelled H 1, 2, 3, 4] which are worthy of comparison ; they are all very similar in
size and shape ; one [1] is hardly worn at all, the edges and surface being fresh and
sharp ; one [2] is much worn by water ; [3] is stained of an earthy-brown or rusty
colour ; [4] is apparently composed of chert not flint, and is nearly white. They
all belong more or less to what I have called type A3. Another specimen [labelled
G] is interesting as being almost neolithic in shape, while yet another approaches
the type of implement found near the mouth of the Thames, except that its surfaces
are not equal, one being much flatter than the other; this shape is, as I have said,
rare ; it is worked at the broader end, an unusual feature in the common palteolithic
type. I should like to draw attention to five specimens [labelled L 1, 2, 3, 4, and
5] which do not readily come under any particular type ; they are all very rough,
E. WILLETT. — On a Collection of Palccolithic Implements from Savernake.
but to my mind are exceedingly interesting, partly from their rough and unfinished
character and their possible connection with the so-called " Eoliths " ; some of
them are notched, which I believe is characteristic of many Eoliths, but they do
not show the general rusty-iron discoloration over the worked edges and surfaces.
It is quite possible that some members may be of opinion that these are not
worked at all. I can also show a few typical flakes [labelled M].
The series as a whole certainly has a marked individuality of its own, but this
is nothing unusual. At a recent visit to the Blackmore Museum, it was pointed
out to me that the specimens found at Bemerton, a few miles to the west of
Salisbury, have a character of their own, different from those found at Milford Hill,
a few miles to the east, and a practised eye can tell pretty certainly in which of
these two localities any particular implement was found.
In a general way the Savernake type approaches more nearly to those found
at Bemerton than to the Milford Hill specimens.
Another point to which I should like to draw attention is the peculiar polished
or vitreous appearance shown by some of the implements. This appearance is
often if not generally confined to a portion of the flint only, and is also seen in
many flints from the pit which show no signs whatever of man's handiwork. Till
recently this peculiarity has been explained as having been caused by the fact that
the part affected was exposed to the influence of blown sand, from the analogy, I
believe, of certain specimens) with a somewhat similar appearance, which have
undoubtedly been exposed to sand blown about in the desert in Egypt and
elsewhere.
This " blown sand " theory has never seemed to me a good one from the fact
that most of the flints which have this glossy appearance still retain their dark or
other natural colour on their polished surface, whereas, if they had been exposed
to the atmosphere long enough to have become polished by the sand, the surface
would certainly have been oxidized and shown the usual appearances of exposure ;
this is not the case.
A much better and more satisfactory explanation seems to be that offered by
Dr. Eoberts, of Cambridge, to whom some specimens were shown. He suggests
that this polish or gloss is due to a thin film of silica deposited by water. As the
gravel pit at Savernake is still damp, this film may well have been deposited by
the action of water running or percolating through the bed. Dr. Roberts, I am
informed, had noticed a similar appearance in America, where the Geyser Springs
coat the neighbouring rocks with silica. Another deduction which Dr. Eoberts
made is one bearing on the age of the Knowle Farm flints, and is this, that unless
deposited by water at a very high temperature, when I suppose the solubility of
the silica is increased, such a gloss as some of these flints show would take a very
long time to appear, and it certainly occurs in varying degrees. There is no ground
for supposing that the temperature of the water percolating the Savernake gravel
pits was ever raised to any great extent, therefore the time required for the
deposition of the silica must have been very great.
.314 E. WILLETT. — On a Collection of Palccolithic Implement* from Savcrnalce.
We have already seen that other flints from the pit, which certainly have not
been worked at all by man, show this peculiarity, as well as the worked stones, so
that it seems certain that the result is accidental and in no way connected with the
manufacture of the implements. So far as I know, and I have inquired into the
subject, no bones have been discovered in the pit.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. A. M. BELL said that he had listened to the account of this important
find with great interest, and regretted that he had not visited the spot to examine
the character of the deposit and lie of the country. It was not clear to him whether
the bed in which the implements lay was a true river deposit, or a drift of some
other character. These were the two classes of implementiferous beds, and it was
important to distinguish them. At Wolvercote, near Oxford, for example, there is
a distinct river bed, containing a number of finely worked large implements, which
are but little altered by patination. Adjoining it there is an older drift, also con-
taining implements, all of which are ochreous. This distinction in the age of
palteolithic flints had first, the speaker believed, been pointed out by Mr. W. G.
Smith ; it was confirmed by all his own observations and was in his opinion a
generalization of high value. Consequently on seeing a new group his first
question was " To which age do they belong ? Are they early or late ? " From his
examination he considered that they had before them relics of a drift, which was
itself found in the later or river valley period, to which the majority of flints
shown probably belonged. There were also among them a few rolled and weather-
beaten examples which he considered belonged to another, and an earlier stage.
There were none, however, of the very rolled and stained examples placed by
Mr. Smith as the earliest period. Such examples were rare ; at Oxford he had
found none ; at Limpsfield only one among hundreds of a later date.
To the statement of Mr. Willett (p. 310) that the nearest palaeolithic find-
spots were round Salisbury, he would add that a number of palteoliths have been
recorded from Oxford and several adjoining localities; and also from Broad-
well on the border of Gloucestershire, the latter being the most westerly station in
the Thames Valley.
The speaker was much struck by the polish or glaze visible on many of the
examples. He had never seen anything similar in implements from any locality,
and he had seen collections from many places. He could not accept the explana-
tion of Dr. Eoberts, that it was due to a deposition of silica in solution. The
condition which Dr. Eoberts asked for as the cause of the phenomenon, rain-
water perpetually running through sand, was common to every implementiferous
deposit that he had ever seen. The result was peculiar and unique ; he therefore
could not attribute it to a cause which was at work in all cases. Nor could he
think that the analogy of the Geyser Springs, referred to by Dr. Roberts, was a
fortunate one. Silica, as is well known, is soluble in heated water containing an
alkali. Both of these conditions are present in the water of the Geyser Springs,
but, granting the alkali, for which there is no obvious cause, the presence of
heated water in a surface deposit on the Wiltshire downs is. incomprehensible,
E. WILLKTT. — On a Calf erf inn of Pal ceol if //>'<• Implements from Savernnkr. 315
The glaze might be natural or artificial. As it was usually, but not always
partial, and not always on the same part of the tool, it seemed to him due to a
natural cause. He knew none more likely than the cause rejected by the author
the action of sand before the wind ; he had seen a very high polish produced in
this way on neolithic flints in the sand-heaths of Norfolk and also on the Aber-
deenshire coast. At the same time he could not say that either these flints, or
the well-known drei-l-anlci'*, or such flints as he had seen polished by the sand-
blast of the Egyptian desert, had so high a polish as the examples before him. In
two cases only had he seen a similar polish produced on stone by natural causes ;
the first was by glacial action, the second was by animals brushing against the
side of a limestone cave. Neither of these causes were in this case applicable ; ice
would have polished away slight waves of fracture which were always retained —
and he would gladly hear other attempts at solution of a very peculiar
phenomenon.
Mr. STOPES said that it was clear to him that the polished surface was due to
the friction of passing worms.
NOTE A.
After a subsequent visit to Savernake Mr. A. M. Bell writes further as
follows : — " It is a most interesting find. The pit is in a hill-slope, but close to
the great central watershed of south-west England; i.e., in an unwasted area.
Hence something old may be expected. In the pit are found (1) unrolled, fresh
stones ; (2) rolled and worn stones ; (3) thickly patinated stones. The unrolled lie
at the base ; that is, there is probably a floor of paleolithic workmen. The rolled
and patinated stones come from the central watershed, and may be much older
than the first.
" The ' sand-blown ' theory will not do for the ' glazing ' ; it is, I think, a deposit
of silica."
NOTE B.
The long narrow implement on Plate XLIII is in the Pitt Eivers Museum, and
is kindly lent for comparison by Mr. Balfour. It was found by Mr. J. Garstang at
El Mehesna near Abydos in Egypt (reference number M. 2. S.), and is of
pre-dynastic date. In Mr. Balfour's opinion the "glaze," which resembles very
closely that on the Savernake stones, is due to the rubbing of gritty soil upon the
implement which seems to have been used as a hoe.
NOTE C.
Mr. H. Wood-Hill, of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, has submitted to the
Institute a memorandum on a chemical explanation of the "glazing" of the
Savernake flints, which it has not been found possible to include in this volume of
the Journal.
MAN
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GOliTTEUTS.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
No.
Script. On the Survival of Pre-Hellenic Signs in the Island of Kos. (Illustrated.')
Dr. RUDOLF HEEZOO 52
Africa : Algeria. See ALGERIA.
Africa, East. A Carved Stool and other Objects from British East Africa. ( With Plate D.)
ALFRED SHARPE, C.B. 39
Africa, East. A Collection of Objects from the District to the South-west of Lake Nyassa.
(Illustrated.) R. W. FELKIN, M.D., F.R.G.S 112
Africa: Egypt. See EGYPT.
Africa: Rhodesia. On the Khami Ruins, Rhodesia. FRANKLIN WHITE 82
Africa, South, tec FOLKLORE ; NATAL ; TOTEMISM.
Africa, South. Description of a Bushman Skull. (Illustrated.) J. BEDDOE, M.D., F.R.S. 58
Africa : Tripoli. Collateral Survival of Successive Styles of Art in North Africa.
(Illustrated.) JOHN L. MYRES, M,A., F.S.A 83
Africa : Tunis. A Piece of Early Masonry at Chaouach in Tunis. (Illustrated.') J. L. MYRES,
M.A., F.S.A 109
Africa, West. On Carved Doorposts from the West Coast of Africa. (Illustrated.') O. M.
DALTON, M.A., F.S.A 57
Algeria : Ethnography. On the " Libyan Notes " of Messrs. Randall-Maclver and Wilkin.
JEAN CAPART 69
America. See CALIFORNIA.
America : Ethnography. (1.) The Ethnographic Survey of Canada. (2.) Ethnological
Studies of the Mainland HalkomelEm, a Division of the Salish of British Columbia CHAS.
HILL-TOUT 133
America: IroquoiS. Dekanawideh ; the Law-giver of the Caniengahakas. J. 0. BRANT-SERO 134
Anthropometry. On an Improved Method of Measuring the Vertical Proportions of the
Head. (Jl fust rated.) H. H. RlSLEY, C.S.I 144
Asia, See BURMA ; CHINA ; GEORGIA ; INDIA ; JAPAN ; SIAM.
Asia Minor : Religion. A Yezidi Rite. J. W. CROWFOOT, M.A. 122
Australia. A Swan-neck Boomerang of unusual form. ( With Plate C\ 1-2.) HENRY BALFOUR 27
Australia. Strangling-cords from the Murray River, Victoria, Australia. -(Illustrated.)
HENRY BALFOUR, M.A. ... 94
Australia. Three Bambu Trumpets from N. Territory, South Australia. ( With Plate O, 3-5.)
HENRY BALFOUR, M.A. 28
Australia. The Australian Ethnological Expedition. N. W. THOMAS, M.A 67
Australia. The Australian Ethnological Expedition ; part of a Letter received from Professor
Baldwin Spencer. J. KDGE-PARTINGTON 143
Bibliography. Suggestions for an International Bibliography of Anthropology. N. W.
THOMAS, M.A 108
Biographical. See MAX MULLER; MORTILLET; PEEK.
Brain. See PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY.
Buddhism. See JAPAN.
Burma : Shan States. A Spear-head and Socketed Celt of Bronze from the Shan States,
I'.urma. (With Plate G.) HENRY BALFOUR, M.A.- 77
California. Note on a Specimen of Basket-work. (Illustrated.) O. M. DALTON, M.A. , F.S.A. 17
China. Relics from Chinese Tombs. (With Plate S.) C. H. READ, F.S.A 15
China. Relics from Chinese Tombs. (See MAN, 1901. 15.) Dr. S. W. BUSHKLL, C.M.G. ... 54
Crete. Exploration at Zakro in Eastern Crete. D. G. HOGARTH, M.A 147
Crete : Excavations Report on Excavations at Praesos in Eastern Crete. R. C. BOSANQUET 148
Crete : Prehistoric. Abstract of the Report of the Committee of the British Association on
Explorations in Crete. J. L. M. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... _ ... ... 145
Crete. The Neolithic Settlement at Knossos and its Place in the History of Earlyi JSgean
Culture. (Illustrated.) A. J. EVANS, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S 146
No.
Egypt. An Egyptian Ebony Statuette of a Negress. (With Plate I-J.) W. M. FLINDERS
PETRIE, LL.D., D.C.L 107
Egypt. Egyptian Cutting-out Tools. (Illustrated.) W. M. FLINDERS PETBIE,LL.D., D.C.L. 123
Egypt: El Khargeh. (With Plate H.) Four Photographs from the Oasis of El Khargeh,
with a Brief Description of the District. {Illustrated.') C. S. MYERS, M.A. ... ... 91
Egypt : Prehistoric. A Prehistoric Cemetery at El Amrah in Egypt. (Illustrated.)
D. RANDALL-MAClVER, M..A, 40
Egypt. The Bones of Hen Nekht, an Egyptian King of the Third Dynasty. (Illustrated.)
C. S. MYERS, M.A 127
England. See KENT ; STONEHENGB.
England : Skull. Notes on a Human Skull found in Peat in the Bed of the Eiwr Orwell,
Jpswich. NINA LAYARD 125
Europe. See AEGEAN ; CRETE; ENGLAND; GREECE; IRELAND; ITALY; NORWAY; SCOT-
LAND.
Folklore. See ASIA MINOR ; GEORGIA ; PALMISTRY ; RELIGION ; TOTEMISM.
Folklore: Africa. On some Problems of Early Religion, in the light of South African
Folklore. E. S. HARTLAND ;. 21
Folklore : Ireland. On certain Wells in Ireland. Prof. J. RHYS, 11. E. S. HARTLAND ... 19
Forgeries. See NEW ZEALAND, 92 ; PACIFIC, 56, 98.
Georgia: Folklore. Animal Folklore in Georgia. (Illustrated.) N. W. THOMAS, M.A. ... 42
Greece. See AEGEAN ; CRETE.
Greece : Prehistoric. Note on Mycenaean Chronology. JOHN L. MYRES, M.A., F.S.A. ... 139
Greece: Prehistoric. Pre-Mycenaean Athens. (Illustrated.') JOHN L. MYRES, M.A., F.S.A. 70
Greece : Prehistoric. " The Oldest Civilisation of Greece: Mr. Hall and 'H.'" A. J. EVANS,
M.A., LL.D., F.R.S 138
GuillOChe Ornament on an Etruscan Potsherd. HENRY BALFOUR, M.A 4
India. Ethnographic Survey of India in connection with the Census of 1901. GOVERNMENT
OF INDIA 113
India : Madras. The Dombs of Jeypur, Vizagapatam District, Madras. (Illustrated.') F.
FAWOBTT 29
Japan : Buddhism. On a Wheel of Life from Japan. (With Plate A.) N. W. THOMAS, M.A. 1
Kent : Flint Implements. The Occurrence in a very Limited Area of the Rudest with the
Finer Forms of Worked Stones. (With Plate F.) W. M. NEWTON ... ... 66
Linguistics. Men's Language and Women's Language. J. G. FRAZER, M.A., Litt.D. ... 129
Malay Peninsula. Notes on the Ethnography of the Malay Peninsula. (Illustrated.)
( With .Plate M.) W. W. SKEAT, M.A 142
Malta : Prehistoric. Prehistoric Pottery in the Valletta Museum in Malta. (Illustrated.)
J. L. MYRES, M.A., F.S.A 71
Max Mliller. (With Portrait.) Prof. A. A. MACDONELL, M.A. 16
Mortillet. The Proposed Monument to Gabriel de Mortillet. Louis GIRAUX ... H4
Natal. Native Smoking Pipes from Natal. HENRY BALFOUR, M.A ' ... 10
New Guinea. A Papuan Bo w-and- Arrow Fleam. (With Plate K.) A. C. HADDON Sc D
F.R.-S 121
New Hebrides. Feathered Arrows from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON 32
New Hebrides. Memorial Heads in the Pitt-Rivers Museum. (With Plate H.) HENRY
BALFOUR, M.A. 51
New Zealand: Forgeries. Forgeries of New Zealand Stone Implements. J. EDGE-
PARTINGTON 92
New Zealand. On the Origin of the Maori Scroll Design. A. C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S. ... 55
New Zealand. The Matuatonga in the Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand. ( Illustrated.')
J. EDGE-PARTINGTON 30
Nomenclature: Glaze or Varnish. Note on the Use of the Words "GW and
" Varnish " in the Description of Painted Pottery. JOHN L. MYRES, M. A., F.S.A. (see also 95) 78
Norway: Folklore. A Modern Trace of Sun- Worship in Norway. W. W. SKEAT, M.A. ... 79
Ornament. See GUILLOCHE ; NEW ZEALAND, 55.
Pacific. An Object of Unknown Use and Locality. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON 80
Pacific: Forgeries. Note on the Occurrence of Forgeries in the Pacific. H. LING ROTH ... 93
Pacific. Note on Forged Ethnographical Specimens from the Pacific Islands. J. EDGE-
PARTINGTON 56
Pacific. Note on Tatu-patterns employed in Lord Howe's Island. (Illustrated.) C. M.
WOODFORD 31
Pacific. On the. Stone Figures from Easier Island. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON 7
Pacific : Solomon Islands. Native Ornaments from the Solomon Islands, recently presented
to the British Mut-eum by Mr, C. M, Woodford. (Illustrated.) J. EDGE-PARTINGTON ... 81
No.
Pacific : Tonga. A Stone Celt from Tonga. (Illustrated.') BASIL THOMSON 110
Palmistry. The Anatomy of Palmistry. ARTHUR KEITH, M.D 20
Peek, Sir C. E. F. W. RUDLER 96
Physical Anthropology, See ANTHROPOMETRY ; EGYPT, 127 ; ENGLAND ; INDIA, 29 ;
SCOTLAND.
Physical Anthropology : Brain. On the Temporary Fissures of the Human Cerebral
Hemisphere, with Observations on the Development of the Hippocampal Fissure and
Hippocampal Formation. J. SYMINGTON, M.D 126
Race Improvement. The Possible Improvement of the Human Breed under the existing
Conditions of Law and Sentiment. (With Plate L.~) FRANCIS GALTON, D.C.L., D.Sc., F.R.8. 132
Religion. Note on the Acts of St. Dasius. FRANZ CUMONT 53
Religion. The Martyrdom of St. Dasius. A. LANG, M.A 68
Scotland : Pigmentation. The Frequency and Pigmentation Value of Surnames of
School Children in East, Aberdeenshire. J. F. TOCHER, F.I.C., and J. GRAY, B.Sc 128
Slam : Celadon Ware. The Place of Manufacture of Celadon Ware. (Illustrated.)
T. H. LYLE 41
Spiritualism. Anthropology and Superstition. ANDREW LANG, M.A 135
Stonehenge. On the Damage recently sustained by Stonehenge. (Illustrated.) A. L.LEWIS. 18
Torres Strait. On the Functions of the Maternal Uncle in Torres Strait. W. H. R.
RIVERS, M.D 136
Torres Strait. On the Functions of the Son-in-Law and Brother-in-Law in Torres Strait.
W. H. R. RIVERS, M.D 137
Torres Strait: Pottery. Correction. A. C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S 95
Totemism. Notes on Two Letters published in the Time* of September the 3rd and 7th, 1901.
A. C. HADDON, Sc.D., F.R.S 124
Totemism. South African Totemism. J. G. FRAZER, Litt.D., D.C.L HI
REVIEWS.
Africa: Algeria. Randall- Maclver and Wilkin. Libyan Notes: Wilkin. Among the Berbers
of Algeria : J. L. M. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 62
Africa : Ashanti. Freeman. Travels and Life ia]A*lianfi and Jaman. R. W. F 101
Africa: Congo. Sse. CONGO.
Africa: Masai. Hinde. The Masai Language. R. N. GUST 73
Africa : Morocco. See. MOROCCO.
Africa : Negro. See AMERICAN NEGRO.
Africa : Nigeria. See. NIGERIA.
Africa: Soudan. Chantre. Leg Blcharieh et lex Ababdeh. A. H. KEANE 74
Africa, South. Native Races Committee. The Natives of South Africa ; their Economic and
Social Condition. E. S. HARTLAND 72
Africa : West. See WEST AFRICA.
American Negro. Du Bois : The Philadelphia Negro. Eaton : Report on Domestic Service 14
America. Dellenbaugh. The North Americans of Yexterdai/ : A Coniparati re Study of North
American Indian Life, Customs, and Products, on. the Theory of the Ethnic Unit if of the Jlace.
N. W. T .' 97
America. See NORTH AMERICA ; ONTARIO.
Anthropology. Schurtz. Urgexclilchte der Kultur. N. W. T ... 102
Arabia. Bent. Southern Arabia. H. 23
Archaeology. See AFRICA (ALGERIA) ; ARYAN RACE ; CRETE ; EGYPT ; FRANCE :
GREECE; MESOPOTAMIA; ONTARIO; SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN.
Aryan Race. Penka. Die Ethnologisch-cthnographisehe Bedeutung der Metjalithischnn
(frabbauten. J. L. M. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... gg
Asia. See ARABIA ; ASSAM ; BURMA ; INDIA ; MESOPOTAMIA ; SIAM.
Asia. Futterer. Durch Asien (I. Oeogr. Cliarahter-Bilder'). A. H. KEANE , 34
Assam. See. LANGUAGE.
Australia, &C. Verschuur. At the Antipodes. J. L. M 60
Biography : Huxley. P. Chalmers Mitchell, M.A. Tlioiitii* Henry Huzlt'i/. G. B. H. ... 63
Brunswick : Folklore. Andrec. Brawuektarifer Vdktktutde, N. W. T 115
Burma: Upper. .Mrv UPPER BURMA.
Burmo-Chinese Frontier. Government Reports on the Chin Hills, &c., 1899-1900. W. .. 13
Colour Vision. Boaseand Holden. The Order of Derclo/imciit of Co/our I'crce/rfiott and of
Colour frrfcri'tu-i' in flu' Child. Rivers: Primitire Colour }'ixio>i. Tin- Colour Vision of
the /•:*/; into. \V. H. \l. ItivEiw, M.D g7
Congo. Sclimelt/,. Album of the Mhnoijniphy of 'the Conyo Basin. C. H. READ, F.S.A. ... \\Q
No.
Consanguinity. Davies. (\>n*ang>iinity ax it Factor in the JKHoJoijij of ZbftAvwjMi*. A. K.
Crete. Evans and Hogarth. The Cretan Exploration Fund. J. L. M
Egypt. Niebuhr. The Tell-el-Amarna Period. H. H 141
Egypt. Sethe. Sesost,rls. A. H. GARDINER 24
Egypt. Steindorff. Grabfunde des Mittleren Relchs in den Koeniglichen Museen zu Berlin.
F. LL. GRIFFITH 61
Europe. See ARYAN RACE ; BRUNSWICK ; CRETE ; FOLKLORE ; FRANCE ; GREAT BRITAIN ;
GREECE ; RELIGION ; SAVOY ; SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN ; SWEDEN ; WALES.
Folklore : Animal Superstitions. Thomas. 0 mercado de grillos 5
Folklore : Brunswick. See BRUNSWICK.
Folklore: England. Gomme. Old English Singing Games. N. W. T. ... ... ... 48
Folklore: Sebill'it. Le Folklore ties Pecheur*. N. W. T 140
Folklore : Scotland. Campbjll. Superstition* of the Highland* and Island* of Scotland ;
collected entirely from. Oral Si>urces. N. W. T ... 104
Folklore : Walesi Rhys. Celtic Folklore : Welsh and Manx. F. Y. P 4
Folklore. Various Authors. Popular Studies in Mythology, Romance, and Folklore ... 64
France. Girod and Masse"nat. Les Stations de V Age du Renne dans leg Vallees de la Vfzere
et de la Cor'reze. F. W. RUDLER 37
Great Britain. Macnamara. Origin and Character of the British People. C. H. R. ... 151
Greece. Hall. The Oldest l Civilisation of Greece : Studies of the Mycenwan Age. H. ... 130
Greece. See RELIGION.
India. Campbell. Index- Catalogue of Indian Official Publications in the Library of the
British Museum. SIR T. H. HOLDICH, K.C.I.E., C.B 35
India. Waddell. Among the Himalayas. T. H. H 49
Language : Assam. Hamilton. An Outline Grammar of the Dafla, Language as spoken by
the Tribe* immediately South of the Apa Taming Country. W. CROOKE ... ... ... 46
Language: General. Sweet. The History of Language. S. H. RAY ... 50
Language. See AFRICA (MASAI) ; MOROCCO.
Left-handedness. Lueddeckens. Rechts- und Linhshdndigkeit. R. W. F 84
Melanesia. Foy. Tanz-objecte vom Bismarclt-Archipel, Nissan, und BuTta. A. C. HADDON 47
Mesopotamia. Thompson. The Reports of the Magicians, fyc. of Nineveh and Babylon. N. W. T. 9
Mesopotamia. Sayce. Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs. N. W. T. ... ... 25
Morocco: Language. Stumme. Handbuch des Schilhischen von Tazerwalt. J. L. M. ... 45
New Guinea. Despatches from II.E. the LI cut.- Governor of British New Guinea. S.H.RAY 36
New Guinea. Meyer and Parkinson. Papua-Album II. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON 117
New Zealand. Reeves. The Long White Cloud. J. E.-P. 98
Nigeria. Robinson. Our Latest Protectorate. C. F. H.-B. 6
North America : Folklore. Fletcher. Indian Story and Song from North America.
E. S. HARTLAND 118
Ontario. Boyle. Archaeological Reports, 1898-9. E. SIDNEY HARTLAND - ... 33
Pacific. Brigham. An Index to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean. 0. M. D ... ... ... 103
Pacific : Nomenclature. Von Luschan. Vorschlaye zur Geographischen Nomenhlatui- der
Sudsee. 0. M. DALTON, M.A., F.S.A 119
Pacific. See MELANESIA ; NEW ZEALAND ; PHILIPPINES.
Philippines. Kretze. Crania Ethnica Philippinica. Sir W. TURNER, M.D., F.R.S 149
Religion. Andrew Lang. The Maliing of Religion. E. S. H 3
Religion. Forlong. Short Studies In the Science of Comparative Religions. E. VV. B. ... 26
Religion. Frazer. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. E. SIDNEY HARTLAND 43
Religion : Greece, de Visser. De Grtecorum Diis non referentibus speciem humanam.
L. R. FARNELL 86
Savoy. Pittard. Note Preliminairc sur V Ethnologie de la Saroie et de la Haute-Savtrie. F. C. S. 38
Sehleswig-Holstein : Bronze Age. Splieth. Inventar der Bronze-alter Funde aus
Schleswig-Holstein. J. L. M. ... ... ... ... ... 85
Siam. James McCarthy. Surveying and Exploring in Siam. H. W. S. 12
Siam. Young. The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe : Being Sketches of the Domestic and Religious
Rites and Ceremonies of t lie Siamc*e. H. W. S. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 99
Sweden: Physical Anthropology. Gastaf Retzius. Crania Suecica Antigua. J. BEDDOE,
M.D, F.R.S 59
Trepanning. Pittard. Surune Trepanation prehixtorique de VAgedu Bronze 65
Upper Burma. Scott and Hardiman. Gazetteer of Upper Burma, and the Shan States.
SIR T. H. HOLDICH, K.C.I.E., C.B 150
Wales. Rhys and Brynmor Jones. The Welsh People. J. BEDDOE, M.D., F.R.S 22
West Africa. Kingsley. West African Studies, L. T. S. 100
VII
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
A. Buddhist Wheel of Life from Japan With No. 1
B. Bowl, Vase, and Mirror, from a Mediieval Chinese Tomb in the British Museum ... „ 15
c. Australian Objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum — 1-2. Swan-necked Boomerangs :
3-5. Bambu Trumpets „ 27-8
D. Carved Wooden Stool from British East Africa „ 39
E. Memorial Heads from the New Hebrides, in the Pitt Rivers Museum „ 51
F. Pateolithic Implements from a High Terrace Pleistocene River Bed near Green-
hithe „ 66
G. Spear-head and Socketed Celt of Bronze from the Shan States, Burma : in the
Pitt Rivers Museum ... „ 77
H. Temple of Hibis. Oasis of El Khargeh, Egypt „ 91
I-J. Egyptian Ebony Statuette of a Negress „ 107
K. Papuan Bow-and-Arrow Fleam ... ... ... ... ... ... ., 121
I/. Standard Scheme of Descent ... ... ... ... ... „ 132
M. Malay Spinning and Weaving ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... „ 142
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
N.B. — All are Photograph!, except where otherwise described.
Guilloche Ornament on an Etruscan Potsherd : Pitt Rivers Museum. (Plwtograph.)... With No. 4-
Native Tobacco Pipes from Natal : Pitt Rivers Museum. (Four examples.") „ 10
Friedrich Max Muller „ 16
Basket Work from California : British Museum „ 17
Stonehengc Plan. (Sketch.) „ 18
Stonehenge : View from West, showing the Stones which fell in 1797 and 1900 ... „ 18
Tatu Marks of the Dombs of Madras. (Twelve examples : sketch.) „ 29
Matuatonga in the Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand. (Three views.") „ 30
Tatu Marks employed in Lord Howe's Island „ 31
Prehistoric Cemetery at El Amrah in Egypt : (1) Clay Model of a House ; (2) Clay
Model of Kine ; (3) Stone Celt ; (4-6) Stone Mace Heads ; (7-11) Forked Hunting
Lances of Flint ; (12) Dagger of Copper ; (13-14) Baskets ; (15-16) Clay Dolls ;
(17) Hieroglyph (Drawing) „ 40
Celadon Ware from an Ancient Pottery Site in Siam „ 41
Animal Skull, and Wooden Cross with Crown of Thorns used as Charms to protect
Gardens in Georgia. (Sketches.') „ 42
Pre-Hellenic Signs in the Island of Kos. (Sketch.') „ 52
Carved Door-posts from the West Coast of Africa „ 57
Skull of a Bushman. (SUle, top, and face : sketches.) „ 58
Pre-Mycenaean Layer on the South Side of .the Acropolis of Athens ... ... ... „ 70
Prehistoric Pottery in the Valletta Museum in Malta „ 71
Object of unknown use and locality, obtained at Rotumah „ 80
Native Ornaments from the Solomon Islands „ 81
Shell Money from New Georgia „. 81
Native-made Pots for Sale at Khoms (Lebda) in Tripoli „ 83
Tomb, probably Nestorian, in the Oasis of El Khargeh, Egypt „ Ql
Native Street in Khargeh „ 91
Strangling Cord from the Murray River, Victoria. Australia „ 94
Piece of Early Masonry at Chaouach in Tunis „ 109
Stone Celt from Tonga. (Tim »•/>?/•*.) ., HO
Objects from the District to the South-west of Lake Nyanza : (1) Scraper and Dagger ;
(2-H) Dagger and Beer Ladle ; (4) Iron Fighting-Axe ; (5) Iron Spear „ H2
Egyptian Cutting-out Tools „ 123
Skull of Hen Nekht. an Egyptian King of the Third Dynasty. (,S/V//-, h« <•]>•, front, foj>.) ... „ 127
Malay Native House „ 142
Malay Weavers at Work. (cf. J'l</t<' .I/.) .. 142
Improved Method ot Measuring the Vertical Proportions of the Head ., 144
Neolithic and Early Metal Age : Figures in Clay and Marble from Knossos and Amorgos.
(14 sketches.) „ 146
vni
LIST *OF AUTHORS.
N.B. — The Numbers to which an asterisk is added are those of Review* of Hook*.
J., 5.
BALFOUR, H., 4, 10, 27, 28, 51, 77, 94.
BEDDOE, JOHN, 22*, 58, 59*.
BOSANQUET, R. C., 148.
BBABROOK, E. W., 14*, 26*.
BRANT-SERO, J. O., 134.
BUSHELL, S. W., 54.
CAPART, JEAN, 69.
CROOKE, W., 13*.
CROWFOOT, J. W., 122.
CUMONT, FRANZ, 53.
GUST, R. N., 73*.
DALTON, O. M., 17, 57, 103*, 119.
EDGE-PARTINGTON, J., 7, 20, 32, 56, 80,
81, 92, 98*, 117*, 143.
EVANS, A. J., 138, 146.
FARNELL, L. R., 86*.
FAWCETT, F., 29.
FELKIN, R. W., 84*, 101*, 112.
FRAZER, J. G., Ill, 129.
GALTON, F., 132.
GARDINER, A. H., 24*.
GIRAUX, Louis, 114.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 113.
GRAY, J., 128.
GRIFFITH, F. LL., 61*.
H., 23*, 130*.
H.-B., C. F., 6.
H., H., 141*.
H., G. B., 63.
HADDON, A. C., 55, 95, 121, 124.
HARTLAND, E. S., 3*, 19, 21, 33*, 72*,
118*.
HERZOG, R., 52.
HILL TOUT, C., 133.
HOGARTH, D. G., 147.
HOLDICH, Sir T. H., 35*, 150.
KEANE, A. H., 34*, 74*.
KEITH, A., d*, 20.
LANG, A., 68, 135.
LAYARD, N., 125.
LEWIS, A. L., 18.
LING ROTH, H., 93.
LYLE, T. H., 41.
MACDONELL, A. A., 16.
MYERS, C. S., 91, J27.
MYRES, J. L., 2*, 60*, 62*, 70, 71, 78,
83, 85*, 88*, 109, 139, 145.
NEWTON, W. M., 66.
PETRIE, W. M. F., 107, 123.
RANDALL-MAClVEli, D., 40.
RAY, 8. H., 36*.
READ, C. H., 15, 116*, 151.
RHYS, J., 11.
RIVERS, W. H. R., 87,* 136, 137.
RISLEY, H. H., 144
RUDLER, F. W., 37*, 96.
S., F. C., 38*, 65*.
S., L. T., 100.
S., H. W., 12*, 99*.
SHARPE, ALFRED, 39.
SKEAT, W. W., 79, 142.
SPENCER, BALDWIN, cf. 143.
SYMINGTON, J., 126.
THOMAS, N. W., 1, 9*, 25*, 42, 64*.
67, 97*, 102*, 104*, 108, 115*, 140.
THOMSON, BASIL, 1 10.
TOCHER, J. F., 128.
TURNER, Sir W., 149.
WHITE, FRANKLIN, 82.
WOODFORD, C. M., 31, cf. 81.
MAN
A MONTHLY HECOKD OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCE,
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
N.B. — For convenience of reference, each communication is furnished toith catch
titles in heavier type, giving the subject of the communication, and the name of the
author. A reference number is added in the margin, by ichich each communication
should be quoted.
Reviews of published ivorks are distinguished by an asterisk *, and the author's
name in the catch title is that of the writer of the work under revieiv.
All communications printed in " Man" are signed or initialled by their authors,
and the Council of the Institute desires it to be understood that in giving publicity to
them it accepts no responsibility for the opinions or statements expressed.
Japan: Buddhism. With Plate A. N. W. Thomas.
On a Pictorial Representation of the Wheel of Life from Japan. Communi- -|
cated by N. W. Thomas.
The Wheel of Life, the pictorial representation of some of the main ideas of
Buddhist philosophy, is said to have been drawn by Buddha himself with rice grains,
but, of course, without pictorial detail ; these, however, though first introduced many
centuries later, are said to have been based on the imagery of Buddha. The Wheel of
Life, in spite of its antiquity, was discovered only quite recently, two examples having been
found, one in Thibet, and portions of another in Central India, during the last few years.
The present example is of Sino-Japauese origin, and though the print goes back no
further than 1850, the picture itself is evidently far older; it differs in many respects
from the two wheels already mentioned, and is evidently uninfluenced by them.
It will be convenient, before proceeding further, to give a translation of the various
titles and the long text below the picture. For these I am indebted to the kindness of
Mr. T. Watters, whose commentary on the picture has been invaluable to me. The
general title is " The Wheel of Life and Death in the Five Resorts (Ways of Life)."
Below this comes a white circle, " The Perfect Stillness of Nirvana." Over the figure
is the title " The Great Demon of Impermanency," on either side of which are verses in
which sense is sacrificed to sound, as is frequently the case. The long passage below
the picture is to this effect : — In the thirty-fourth chapter of the Sarvastivadin Vinaya
it is recorded — Anauda, addressing Buddha, told him that the venerable Moginlin, having
made a tour of the Five Resorts (the Chinese original means " to hasten joyfully," &c., but
iu the Buddhist books it is used in the sense of "going to"; Five Resorts is a translation
of the Sanscrit Panchagandaka, to which Samsara is sometimes added) and seen their
sorrows, was explaining these to his congregation, and hence the large meeting.
1901.] MAN. [No. 1.
Buddha then explained to Ananda that a case like this was rare of a person
being able to visit other spheres of existence and describe them to his fellow-
creatures. For this reason, he adds, he gives instructions that bhikshus (brethren)
at the porter's lodge of a monastery should paint a Wheel of Life and Death.
As the brethren did not know how to proceed, Buddha explained : — " Make of
" appropriate size the figure of a wheel, in this make a nave and five spokes to
" represent the Five Resorts ; under the nave paint Hell, and on one side of it Animals,
" and on the other side Hungry Demons (Ghosts) ; above these paint Men and Devas.
" In the Men's Resort make the Four Continents, viz. : — Videha in the east, Jambu in
" the south, Godhani in the west, and Kuru in the north. In the nave make a white
" circle with a picture of Buddha ; in front of the picture paint a pigeon to typify evil
" craving, a snake to typify malicious temper, and a pig to typify stupidity. On the tire
" (or rim) make a circle of water-buckets, with creatures living and dead iu the buckets,
" the living with the head out, and the dead with the feet out. All round the Five
" Resorts paint illustrations of the Twelve Members of the Circle of Causation, viz. : —
" (1.) Ignorance: paint a rakshasa (demon).
" (2.) The elements (or Action) : an earthen wheel. (The Chinese word is hsing,
" which means, ' going, action, &c.,' but it is here, perhaps, used in the
" sense ' elemental matter.' — T. W. [May not a potter's wheel be
" intended, typifying ' shaping,' as in Waddell. — N. W. T.]).
" (3.) Discrimination [? Consciousness. — N. W. T.] : a monkey.
" (4.) Name-colour [? Name-form. — N. W^ T.] : a man on a boat.
" (5.) The six places : the six ' roots,' the six senses.
" (6.) Touch : a man and woman in contact.
" (7.) Sensation (lit. receipts) : a man and woman in pain and pleasure. [The
" third figure is apparently put in by the artist ; what is represented
" is not very clear. — N. W. T.]
" (8.) Affection : a woman with twin boys or girls iu her arms.
" (9.) Taking : a man drawing water in a pitcher. [The pitcher looks much
" more like a teapot.— N. W. T.]
" (10.) Existence : the god Brahma.
"(11.) — (a.) Birth : a pregnant woman.
" (&.) Old age : a man and woman, very old.
" (c.) Sickness : a man and woman in sickness.
" (12.)— (a.) Death : a funeral.
" (6.) Trouble : a man and woman in trouble.
" (c.) Sorrow : a man and woman weeping.
" (c?.) Pain : a man and woman suffering pain.
" (e.) Mental trouble : a man and woman having difficulty in keeping
" an elephant [? camel] in hand.
"Above the wheel make the Great Demon of Impermanency, with matted hair, long
" mouth, and arms extended to hold the Wheel of Life and Death. On one side of the
" Demon's head put this gatha — Seek release, be zealously improving in Buddhism,
" subdue the army of life and death as an elephant crushes a straw shed. And on the
" other side, this gatha — Beaver assiduous in this dharma and vinaya, and you will be
" able to drain the sea of trouble and get beyond the farthest limit of pain.
" Immediately above the Demon, make a white circle to typify the perfect stillness
" (or solitariness, lit. cleanness) of Nirvana.'1'1 (The word rendered " stillness " commonly
means " clean, pure," but is here evidently used in its other sense of " lonely.")
The bhikshus acted according to instructions, and had the Wheel of Life and Death
painted on the porter's lodges at the monasteries. Then pious Brahmins and others
seeing the picture, asked the bhikshus to explain the meaning, but the bhikshus were
[ 2 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 1.
unable to do so. When this was reported to Buddha, he ordered that a Brother should
be deputed l>y the monastery to take his seat at the porter's lodge and explain the
picture to passers-by. The hliikslms were careless, and appointed ignorant Brethren, and
thru liuddha ordained that intelligent Brethren, who could explain the picture, should
always be appointed. So far the text ; the appendix by the Japanese who reproduces
tin- picture, and circulates it for the good of others, is a story of good resulting from
the picture, and is quoted from a Chinese Buddhist Cyclopaedia.
The whole passage is a somewhat inaccurate transcription from the 34th chuan of
the Sarvastivadin Vinaya, and is in general agreement with the Divyavadana, the last not
enumerating the Nidanas.
The picture is in many of its features Chinese ; the figures in the nidanas and the
Resort of Mau are distinctly Chinese in character. On the other hand, some of the
details of Svarga (the Resort of the Gods), seem to be of Japanese type. It is curious
to note that the demon, so far as his head goes, approximates closely to the mediteval
devil ; his three-clawed feet are Japanese.
On the rim of the wheel the buckets can hardly be said to form a chain, but they
are intended, perhaps, to typify the passage from one Resort to another ; nor do they
contain creatures ; in the buckets are human beings only. The representation in the
picture agrees rather with the directions of the Divyavadana than with the text
below.
The most remarkable feature of the picture is that Buddha, instead of being outside
the circle of Samsara, is placed in the nave with the symbols of the passions, though in
a different circle. In this the artist is simply following directions. The representation
of tantalised ghosts also departs considerably from the conventional ideas ; this is
apparently due to ignorance ; the ghosts should have large stomachs, mouths the size of
a pinhole, and throats the size of a hair, instead of being emaciated human beings.
The details of Hell, as of all the other Resorts, are far simpler in the Japanese
picture than in the Thibetan. On the left is a mirror, which reflects the sins of the person
before it ; in the centre are two persons being punished, one by having his tongue torn
out, the other by the hang. On the right there is a figure who is being transfixed, and
another either waiting for this punishment or suffering starvation. At the head of the
picture is Yama, God of the dead, and his attendants. Of course, the direction in the
text to put Hell at the bottom is meaningless ; the wheel is regarded as being in
perpetual revolution ; the wording of the direction seems to show that it was written by
someone who was familiar with pictorial representations of the wheel, otherwise only
directions as to the order of the Resorts would be given.
These Nidanas or " Causes of Existence " were, so long as we had only a Sanscrit
text to help us, one of the darkest portions of .Buddhistic philosophy. Being, as they
are, a fundamental point of the whole system, their correct interpretation is necessarily
of the highest importance. The idea which lies at the bottom is in many respects the
same as that which forms the basis of Schopenhauer's system of philosophy. When the
Nidanas form a chain they may be interpreted as successive stages of development of
the Will ; first the unconscious Will, then matter, then consciousness, self-consciousness,
the perception of the external world, and so on. The question of how far the Nidanas
of the Japanese picture can be so interpreted must be left for future discussion. It
is impossible to enter here into the question raised by the pictorial representations of
them. It may be of interest to note, however, that they are not looked on as a
regular catena, but rather as " members " (anga) or " branches." With few exceptions,
both the pictures and the names differ from those found in Thibet. In No. 10,
where Waddell has " Fuller Life" wo have "Existence," represented by the God
Brahma ; the picture shows a three-headed figure ; on the head is a smaller figure like
those found in the representations of Avalokita, where it is meant for his spiritual
[3 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 1-2.
father, Amitabha Buddha. The final figure iu the series, the camel, which according to
the text should have been au elephaut, is perhaps the same MS Waddell's bliud she-
camel ; it does not, however, typify Avidya (Iguorauce), for which a demon stands in
the Japanese picture. There are many interesting points raised by the picture ; it may
be possible to ascertain approximately the date of its composition.
The Resort of the Gods seems to embody early Japanese ideas. These questions
of art criticism, however, as well as those deeper philosophical ones raised by the
Nidanas, must be reserved for future discussion. N. W. THOMAS.
Crete. Evans & Hogarth.
The Cretan Exploration Fund : an Abstract of the Preliminary Report of the f\
First Season's Excavations. Communicated by the Secretary of the Fund. tL
The new conditions in which Crete is placed, and the final emancipation of the
island from Turkish rule, have, at last, rendered it possible to organise a serious effort to
recover the evidences of her early civilisation.
How important are the results which a thoroughgoing investigation in this field
holds out to archaeological science may be gathered from what has already been brought
to light iu far less favourable circumstances. The path of Cretan exploration was opened
out by the English travellers Pashley and Spratt. Their exploratory labours have been
followed, in more recent years, by the striking discoveries of Halbherr and Fabricius.
The great inscription containing the early laws of Gortyua stands alone as a monument
of Greek civic legislation. The bronzes of the Idsean Cave have afforded a unique
revelation of the beginnings of classical Greek art. Further researches, to which
English investigation has once more contributed, have brought into relief the important
part played by the still earlier civilisation of Mycenaj, the wide diffusion of its remains,
and even the existence iu the island of an indigenous system of sign-writing anterior to
the use of the Phoenician alphabet. Additional indications, indeed, have come to light
which carry back the chronology of the earlier relics of Cretan culture far beyond the
date of Schliemaun's great discoveries on the mainland of Greece, and attest au
intercourse with Egypt going back to the third and, it may be, even the fourth
millennium before our era. We have here in Crete the first stepping-stone of European
civilisation.
The better to solve the many interesting problems thus opened up it was decided in
the summer of 1899 to form a "Cretan Exploration Fund," under the direction of
Mr. Arthur J. Evans, M.A., F.S.A., Keeper of the Ashmoleau Museum at Oxford, and
Mr. D. G. Hogarth, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S., Fellow of Magdalen College, and at that
time Director of the British School of Archaeology in Athens, in order to carry out a
series of comprehensive excavations in co operation with the British School. His Royal
Highness Prince George of Greece, High Commissioner of the Powers in Crete,
graciously consented to become patron of the Fund, and through his good offices it has
been possible to secure for British enterprise a series of sites selected for their historic
importance or specially representative character. At Knossos — the city of Minos and
the Labyrinth, of Dtedalos and the " Chores " of Ariadne, the traditional centre of the
ancient sea- power of Crete and its earliest school of art — one of the first objects inviting
excavation was a mound containing the ruins of a pre-historic building, the exploration
of which had been already one of Schliemaun's ambitious, and was the objective of the
first season's work of the Fund. At Prassos, another site is reserved, on which it is
hoped to lay bare the chief stronghold of the original Eteocretau race, where an archaic
inscription in an indigenous and still undeciphered dialect has already been discovered.
Lyttos, which is also included iu the scheme, was regarded as the model Dorian City,
and the fragments of its ancient laws that have come to light on its acropolis give
L 4 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 2.
hopes of considerable epigraphic results. The great cave of Psychro on Mt. Dikta has
already yielded, also in the first season's work, results not inferior in interest and scientific
importance to those obtained from the cave sanctuary on Mt. Ida ; and the investigation
of some prehistoric sites on the south-eastern coast of Crete, also included in the present
plan, is expected to throw a valuable light on the early intercourse with Egypt.
But the pre-occupation of the public mind caused by the war in South Africa made
it impossible last year to press the claims of Cretan exploration, and of the £5,000
required for the adequate realisation of the scheme, barely a tenth part was collected by
private subscriptions. Meanwhile, Italian and French Missions, supported by Government
aid, had already been in the field for several months. Even to hold their own it was
absolutely imperative that British representatives should make a beginning, and the
Directors of the Cretan Exploration Fund had no choice but to embark last spring on an
enterprise which, once begun, for the honour of British science must be carried through.
The sum of about £500 that had been privately collected was devoted to the
furtherance of two separate enterprises. Half of the amount went to assist Mr. Arthur
Evans in the excavation of a site already acquired by him at Kephala on the site of
Knossos, which proved to contain the remains of a prehistoric palace. The other half of
the sum collected was allocated to Mr. D. G. Hogarth, the Director of the British School
at Athens, for the exploration of the prehistoric town and tombs of Knossos and of the
great Cave of Zeus on Mount Dikta.
The following paragraphs from the statement and appeal recently issued by the
Directors of the Fund will give some idea of the magnitude and importance of the
results of the first campaign : —
The Palace of Knossos. — " The discoveries made at Knossos throw into the shade
all the other exploratory campaigns of last season in the Eastern Mediterranean, by
whatever nationality conducted. It is not too much to say that the materials already
gathered have revolutionised our knowledge of prehistoric Greece, and that to find even
an approach to the results obtained we must go back to Schliemann's great discovery of
the Royal tombs at Mycenae."
" The building itself, of which some two acres superficial area have been now
uncovered, proved to be a palace, beside which those of Tiryns and Mycena? sink into
insignificance." " At but a very slight depth below the surface of the
ground the spade has uncovered great courts and corridors, propylaea, a long succession
of magazines containing gigantic store jars that might have hidden the Forty Thieves,
and a multiplicity of chambers, pre-eminent among which is the actual Throne Room
and Council Chamber of Homeric kings. The throne itself is carved out of alabaster,
once brilliant with coloured designs, and relieved with curious tracery and crocketed
arcading, which is wholly unique in ancient art. In the Throne Room and elsewhere
was a series of fresco paintings, excelling any known examples of the art in Mycemean
Greece. A beautiful life-size painting of a youth, with an European and almost
classically Greek profile, gives us the first real knowledge -of the race who produced
this mysterious early civilisation. Other frescoes introduce us to a lively and hitherto
unknown miniature style, representing, among other subjects, groups of women
engaged in animated conversation in the courts and on the balconies of the palace.
The monuments of the sculptor's art are equally striking ; a marble fountain in the
shape of a lioness's head with enamelled eyes ; fragments of a frieze with beautifully
cut rosettes, superior in its kind to anything known from Mycenas ; an alabaster vase
naturalistically copied from a Triton shell ; a porphyry lamp with graceful foliation,
supported on an " Egyptianizing " lotus column; and the head and parts of the body
of a magnificent painted relief of a bull in f/csso diim."
As showing the extreme antiquity of the earlier elements of the building, it may be
mentioned that in the great Eastern Court was found an Egyptian seated figure of
[ 5 ]
1901.] MAN. [No, 2,
diorite, which can be approximately dated about 2000 B.C., and has been published in
the Annual Report of the Egypt Exploration Fund for 1900. Below this again extends
a vast Stoue Age settlement, which forms a deposit in some places twenty-four feet in
thickness.
Some of the discoveries in the "House of Miuos" supply new and instructive
indications as to the cult and religious beliefs of its occupants.
" One of the miniature frescoes represents the fa9sule of a Mycemeau shrine, and
the Palace itself seems to have been a sanctuary of the Cretan god of the Double Axe,
as well as a dwelling-place of prehistoric kings. There can be little remaining doubt
that this huge building, with its maze of corridors and tortuous passages, its medley of
small chambers, its long succession of magazines with their blind endings, was in fact
the Labyrinth of later tradition which supplied a local habitation for the Minotaur of
grisly fame. The great figures of bulls in fresco and relief that adorned the walls, the
harem scenes of some of the frescoes, the corner stones and pillars marked with the
labrys or double axe, the emblem of the Cretan Zeus — explaining the derivation of the
name " Labyrinth " itself — are so many details which all conspire to bear out this
identification."
" But brilliant as are the illustrations thus recovered of the high early civilisation
of the City of Minos and of the substantial truth of early tradition, they are almost
thrown into the shade by a discovery which carries back the existence of written
documents in the Hellenic lands some seven centuries beyond the first known monuments
of the historic Greek writing. In the chambers and magazines of the Palace there
came to light a series of deposits of clay tablets, in form somewhat analogous to the
Babylonian, but inscribed with characters in two distinct types of indigenous prehistoric
script, one hieroglyphic or quasi-pictorial, the other linear. The existence of a
hieroglyphic script in the island had been already the theme of some earlier researches
by Mr. Evans, based on the more limited material supplied by groups of signs on a
class of Cretan seal-stones, and the ample corroboratiou of the conclusions arrived at
was therefore the more satisfactory. These Cretan hieroglyphs will be found to have a
special importance in their bearing on the origin of the Phoenician Alphabet."
" But the great bulk of the tablets belonged to the linear class, exhibiting an
elegant and much more highly developed form of script, with letters of an upright
and singularly European aspect. The inscriptions, over a thousand of which were
collected, were originally contained in coffers of clay, wood, and gypsum, which had
been in turn secured by clay seals impressed with finely engraved signets, and counter-
marked and countersigned by controlling officials in the same script while the clay was
still wet. The clay documents themselves are beyond doubt the Palace archives.
M:my relate to accounts concerning the Royal Arsenal, stores and treasures. Others
perhaps, like the contemporary cuneiform tablets, refer to contracts or correspondence.
The problems attaching to the decipherment of these clay records are of enthralling
interest, and we have here locked up for us materials which may some day enlarge the
bounds of history."
The Lower Town of Knossos. — " Exploratory digging t>y Mr. Hogarth to the south
and west of the Palace revealed a veritable Pompeii of houses of the same early period,
which yielded, among other things, by far the finest series yet found of vases of the
singular primitive Cretan polychrome style, unrepresented in European museums. One
remarkably well preserved block of buildings appears to be a group of shrines devoted
to a Pillar worship, such as is known on the Phoenician and Palestinian coasts, and of
which the Palace itself supplies an example connected with the cult of the Cretan Zeus."
The Cave of Psychro. — <; Finally, the clearing of the Cave of Psychro, long
notorious for its rich votive deposits, was also carried out by Mr. Plogarth. This cave
is no other than the holy Dictaean Cavern, in which Hesiod and Virgil state that the
C 6 1
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 2-3,
Supreme God was cradled. There took place the legendary union of Zeus with Europa,
and therefrom, as from another Sinai, Minos brought down the law after communion
with the God. The blasting away of the fallen rocks in the upper half of the Grotto
revealed a rude altar of burnt sacrifice, and a sju-red enclosure or Temcnos, cumbered
with deposit from five to seven feet deep, full of vases, libation tables, weapons, and
implements in bronze, bone, and iron, statuettes in terra-cotta, and models of everyday
objects, dedicated to the God. In the lower half, a profound abyss, where a gloomy
subterranean pool, out of which rises a forest of stalactitic pillars, continues into the
heart of the mountain, a great surprise was in store. For not only was the bottom mud
full of brouze statuettes, gems, and articles of male and female use, but the vertical slits
in the pillars were found to have been used as niches, and to contain an immense number
of votive double axes, weapons, and trinkets." " The discoveries made in this cave
cover the whole primitive period of Cretan history back to the pre-Mycenaean epoch."
Future Work. — "Among the other sites included in the British Concessions are
two votive caves, the citadels of more than one Mycenaean city of Eastern Crete and
Praesos, the ancient capital of that region, within whose walls the language of the old
indigenous stock — the Eteokretes of the Odyssey — survived to historic times. Here, if
anywhere, should be found the key to the undeciphered hieroglyphic script of Crete ;
and it is to be hoped that sufficient funds may be forthcoming to begin excavation
at this spot during the coming season under the auspices of the British School at
Athens. The exploration that has thus been taken in hand is not confined to the back-
waters of antiquarian research. It lies about the fountain-head of our own civilisation.
Inadequately supported as it has been, it has already produced results which throw an
entirely new light on the first development of high art, the origin of letters, the early
religion and ethnography of the Greek lands, the most ancient connections between
Europe and Egypt. To ensure the execution of the still extensive programme before
it, the Cretan Exploration Fund needs contributions to the amount of at least £3,000."
Subscriptions may be paid either to Mr. George Macmillan (as Hon. Treasurer),
at St. Martin's Street, London, W.C., or into the account of " The Cretan Exploration
Fund " at Messrs. Roberts, Lubbock & Co.'s, Lombard Street, E.G. J. L. M.
Religion.* Lang.
The Making of Religion. By Andrew Lang, M.A., LL.D., St. Andrews. —
Second Edition. London. Longmans, 1900. 8vo, pp. xxii, 355. Price 5s. net. \j
The new edition of " The Making of Religion " does not call for a lengthened
notice in these pages. It is true that the revolutionary theory contained in the second
part of the work has never yet been fully discussed. But to do so would require nearly
as much space as the original occupies. On the other hand, the question raised by the
earlier half of the book as to the validity and import of certain phenomena, vulgarly
called " spiritualistic," is hardly one for the Anthropological Institute.
The ne\v edition is introduced* by a new preface, in which Mr. Lang restates his
position, makes a few explanations (including an indication of what he thinks probable
as to the origin of a savage belief in " a kind of germinal Supreme Being "), and attempts
to meet some objections. But the last word has yet to be said.
Cautious controversialists must not rest satisfied with reading the preface. In the
body of the work a number of modifications have been made where specific statements
or inapposite comparisons have been challenged. Some of the rhetoric has been pared
down, and some of the printers' errors in the first edition have been corrected. The
latter were numerous, and survivals (such as reduce on p. 207 for seduce, and Uttlc.m
p. 209 for Utikxo') still disturb the reader. The volume is handy, and the reduction in
price will probably render it popular. E, S. H,
L 7 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 4-5.
Guilloche Ornament. Balfour.
Guilloche Pattern on an Etruscan Potsherd. Communicated by Henry Balfour, M
M.A., Curator of the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford.
The potsherd shown in the photograph, is of some little interest as illustrating
apparently one of the many origins of the pattern known as the guilloche. The frag-
ment is from an Etruscan tomb near Rome, and formed part of the collection of the late
John Wickham Flower, now in the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford. The main design of
the ves-
sel, which
was of
large size,
would
seem to
have con-
sisted in
a series
of incised
double
co n cen-
tric cir-
cles so ar-
ranged as
to present
an over-
lapping
or "fish-
scale"
e ff e c t.
The work
is rather carelessly carried out, and the effect is slightly irregular, while in one case
the inner circle is omitted. One row is seen to consist of similar double concentric
circles (the two circles being wider apart), and these overlap one another to the
extent of the width of the space between any pair of the concentrics. In some cases
the outer circles have been almost completed, giving almost the effect of overlapping
transparent discs, but more to the right of the fragment (as viewed in the figure) the
outer circle lines are broken with more care and intention, and the " over-aud-under "
effect of a perfect guilloche is practically arrived at. It would appear as though this
specimen exhibited the genesis of a guilloche by a more or less unconscious process,
beginning with concentric circles in series, " slipping " so as to overlap, and suggesting
the adoption of the new design of combined running scrolls, the " over-and-under " or
"plaiting" effect being at this stage only imperfectly grasped. In view of the numerous
independent series of transitions by which the guilloche has been arrived at in various
regions, this example may be of interest. H. B.
Folklore : Animal Superstitions.
0 mercado de grillos : por JV. IV. Thomas.
(September, 1900). Pp. 129-133.
A short dircussion of the meaning to be attached to the sale of
birds in various countries of Europe, usually at fixed dates.
Thomas.
Published in A Trftdif&o, II., 9
5
certain insects and
J.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 6-7.
Nigeria.* Robinson.
"Nigeria, Our Latest Protectorate.'1'' By the Rev. Canon Robinson, M.A. o
1900. London, Horace Marshall. 8vo, pp. xii., 222. Map and photographic U
illustrations. Price 5s. net.
The issue of Canon Robinson's recent work, entitled " Nigeria, Onr Latest Protec-
torate," is most opportune in view of the extension of British rule in the upper waters of
the Niger. The volume before us deals almost exclusively with that region which for
administrative purposes is now known as Northern Nigeria, and particularly with the
Hausa people, who are by far the most important race inhabiting this region. Canon
Robinson is well qualified to give us information concerning the Hausas, for as student
of the Hausa Association he has visited Kano, the great commercial centre of the Hausa
States, and has lived amongst the Hausas resident in North Africa, and as a result of his
studies of the Hausa language and people he has brought out a Dictionary of the Hausa
language, some specimens of Hausa literature, in addition to a small grammar, and
the translation of the Gospel of St. John. The second chapter of his present book gives
some account of the origin of the Hausa people, showing that although the earlier tra-
ditions may be unreliable, their history can be traced back to the 16th century, but not very
much is known about them until the year 1802, when the conquest of the Hausa States
by the Fulahs took place. Attempts have often been made to connect the Hausas with
the Semitic races, but neither their language nor their physical characteristics appear
to favour this view. The Hausa language is believed by the author of " Nigeria" to be
in some way akin to Berber, but its exact relation to other languages must for the
present remain doubtful. As to their physical characteristics, the Hausas seem to be
true negros, but they are capable of great mental and physical development. Mention is
made of their great superiority as soldiers, so much so that the term of Hausas has been
applied in many cases to native troops serving under the British flag, even though only a
certain proportion might be true Hausas. The Hausas are also able to carry very heavy
loads, and are thus mo«t useful as carriers. Canon Robinson gives a graphic description
of the commercial tastes of the Hausas generally, and the chapter on Hausa writings
and traditions indicates something of their mental capacity. It is believed that, although
by virtue of the Fulah Conquest the Hausas are nominally Mohammedans, a large
number of them are heathen to this day, and the Mohammedan influence has not been
predominant in Hausaland for more than a century.
" Nigeria " may be regarded as a good introduction to the study of this interesting
race, to which it may be hoped that before very long there may be many contributions
from those who at the present time are brought in contact with them, so that we may
realise the importance of the nation which by the enterprise and foresight of Sir George
Goldie has been brought under the influence of the British Crown. C. F. H-B.
Pacific : Easter Island. Edgre-Partingrton.
On the Origin of the Stone Figures or Incised Tablets from Easter Island.
Communicated by J. Edge-Partington.
In the Smithsonian Report for the year ending 30 June, 1889, there is an elaborate
paper on Easter Island, contributed by Paymaster Wm. J. Thomson, of the U.S. Navy,
which deals very carefully with the history, &c. of this island from its discovery to the
visit of the U.S. Warship Mohican, when a careful survey was made of the island.
Until the publication of this paper it was generally supposed that all clue had been lost
to the h'story or origin of the colossal stone statues and of the incised tablets. It is,
therefore, the more astonishing that during the short time that the Mohican was at
Easter Island Mr. Thomson was able to obtain from the natives the most minute details
of how these images were quarried, how transported, and placed in position upon the
[ 9 ]
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 7-8.
platforms prepared for them. He acknowledges, however, that the fact of the images
being in all stages of incompletion in the workshops, and abandoned en route to the coast
in various directions, indicates, that the work was suddenly arrested ; and yet no record
has been handed down of the disturbance of any of the volcanoes on the island.
Of the incised tablets he says, " Their existence was not known until missionaries
settled upon the island." The ability to read their characters may have continued until
1864, when the greater portion of the population was carried off by the Peruvian slavers.
During the stay of the Mohican two of these tablets were secured, and an old man, the
patriarch of the island, was induced, under the influence of rum, to translate them, along
with other known specimens, photographs of which were sbown to him.
As far as I am aware, no criticism of this paper appeared until Captain H. V.
Barclay, R. M.L.I., late of H.M.S. Topaze, read a paper before the Royal Geographical
Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch), on April llth, 1898. After
describing the visit of H.M.S. Topaze and the general features of the island, he, too,
remarks that everything points to the sudden cessation of work, and that this was
probably caused by some great volcanic catastrophe. Many of the figures, he says, are
now standing vertical, but partly buried in volcanic mud, dust, and scoria. Captain
Barclay attaches great importance to the evidence of this sudden cessation from work as
being a proof of a vast volcanic outburst subsequent to the erection of these particular
statues, which could not fail to have affected the whole area of the island and of every
inhabitant on it, yet in the whole of these so-called translations of the tablets there is not
a word about any such catastrophe ; and yet had these people been descended from those
living at that time some dim memory of it must have been handed down from father to
son. Therefore, either the tablets were made subsequent to the date of the half-buried
statues, and by a different race of people, who possessed no knowledge of any catastrophe,
or else supposing them to have been made prior to the catastrophe, then we have the
untenable position that the knowledge of how to read them was handed down from
generation to generation through a period when the whole island must have been almost,
if not quite, uninhabitable owing to the violent outburst of the great crater, and yet, though
remembering the smallest detail of an obscure picture-writing, all knowledge of this
terrible time is lost. Not only is this the case, but many of the so-called translations
bear evidence of modern teaching. I think, therefore, that it may fairly be said that we
are now no nearer the history of the statues or the meaning of the inscriptions on the
incised tablets than we were before the publication of Mr. Thomson's paper. J. E-P.
Consanguinity.* Da vies.
Consanguinity as a Factor in the Etiology of Tuberculosis. A paper read Q
at the Meeting of the British Medical Association at Ipswich, by Dr. Charles O
Davies, of Ramsey, Isle of Man, reported at length in the British Medical Journal,
September 29th, 1900, p. 904.
Dr. Davies thinks favourable opportunities for observing the effects of in-breeding
are to be found amongst the inhabitants of the Isle of Man. For 600 years very little
new blood has been introduced, and marriages, for the greater part, have been made
between couples belonging to the same parish. The mortality from phthisis is 25 • 7 per
10,000 living inhabitants for the whole Island, nearly double that for England ; the
mortality for the isolated parish of Lonan, in which the families are closely related by
marriage, and have been for many generations, is 41*17 per 10,000 inhabitants. Dr.
Davies regards the high mortality as due to an in-breeding of families especially
susceptible to tubercular infection. Unfortunately he gives no detailed results of an
investigation into the various families within the parish, and how far the incidence of
tuberculosis coincides with the degree of consanguinity. A. K
[ 10 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 9-10.
Mesopotamia : Astrology.* Thompson.
The. Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh an<l Unlit/Ion. f\
Vol.1.. Cuneiform Texts; Vol. II., English Translation and Transliteration. \J
By R. C. Thompson. London, Luzac & Co., 1900. 8.5 plates, pp. xvii, xci, 147.
Price 12*. 6^. per volume net.
This is a book which is by its very nature more interesting to assyriologists than
to anthropologists. Those who are deeply versed in the astrology of the Middle Ages
will doubtless find valuable material for comparison with Western developments ; but
it is extremely difficult to discover any general principles underlying the decisions of the
astrologer, and the study of them seems likely to throw no more light on ethnological
questions than the consideration of the linotype machine would throw on the origin of
the alphabet. If it is true that Babylonian religion is a highly complicated system, this
is even more true of magic and astrology. The developments are so much the result of
couscious endeavour that they do not come into the province of the ethnologist to a
much greater extent than modern Anglican theology. Add to this, that the style is
obscure, and the phraseology intentionally vague, and it is clear that the book is rather
a happy hunting ground of the linguist than of the anthropologist, and to the linguists
wo accordingly commend it. The print is good, both in the cuneiform and the Roman
characters, and there is an index, vocabulary, and table. There is also material bearing
on the history of the calendar, and in one or two passages an instrument is noticed which
seems to have been a kind of clock. N. W. T.
10
Natal. Balfour.
Native Smoking Pipes from Natal. Collected by H. D. R. Kingston, M.D.,
and described by Henry Balfour, M.A.
The four pipes figured in the accompanying illustration were collected some years
ago by Dr. H. D. R. Kingston in Natal. The small-sized water pipe is of a well-known
form in common use among the
natives of South Africa, par-
ticularly those of Kaffir extrac-
tion. It consists of a cow's
horn, through a hole in the side
of which is fixed a hollow reed,
on the top of which is fixed a
bowl. This bowl presents the
chief point of interest in this
specimen, for instead of being
laboriously made, after the native
fashion, out of steatite or some
other stone, it consists of an
ordinary penny stoneware ink-
bottle, inverted so that the neck
fits on to the reed, while the
bottom has been broken away to
form an open bowl. Nothing
could have been better adapted
to the purpose, and, as I have
heard of other similar examples,
I gather that this use of dis-
carded ink bottles is fairly usual.
The ink bottles as such are of no use to the natives, but become valuable when empty
NATIVE TOBACCO-PIPE FROM NATAL.
Scale, about one-fifth natural.
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 10-11.
and discarded by the white man. Both tobacco and Indian hemp are smoked in these
pipes ; the mouth is applied to the large opening in the horn and the smoke drawn
through water in the horn. This specimen was obtained from an old Kaffir who was
smoking it at the Agricultural Show at Pietermaritzburg in May, 1889.
The three smaller and extremely simple pipes were confiscated from convicts at one
of the Natal convict stations where Dr. Kingston was medical officer. Convicts are not
allowed to smoke until they have
served a certain time with good
behaviour. Two of these pipes
(figs. 1,2) are simple short tubes
of bone, wide open at both ends.
One of them (fig. 1) is partly
wrapped in skin, and is deco-
rated with beads, and would be
worn suspended as a charm
round the neck, in order that its
real function might escape de-
tection leading to confiscation.
The third (fig. 3) is of clay and
of tapering form, with wide
aperture at the larger end form-
ing the bowl, and narrow orifice
at the pointed end which serves
as the mouthpiece. These illicit
clay pipes would be baked at the
road-side fire, tended by one of
the gang for the coffee kettle
while at work, or in the cook-
NATIVE TOBACCO-PIPES FROM NATAL.
Scale, } natural.
house by one of the " sweepers," who are not very strictly watched. These and the
bone pipes are used either for tobacco or hemp, whichever can be obtained. H. B.
11
Folklore : Ireland. Rhys.
On certain Wells in Ireland. Communicated by Professor J. Rhys, with
extracts from a letter of Sir Henry Blake, G.C.M.G.
One day not long ago I had the good fortune to meet Professor MahafFy, and the
conversation was directed by me to the question of certain Irish wells which were not to
be approached with impunity. He mentioned the story, which I append, and said it was
from Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Hong Kong, that he had heard it. I wanted it in
full for my forthcoming book on " Celtic Folklore," which has since been published by
the Clarendon Press. So I wrote to Sir Henry Blake and received an ample reply ; but
as it has come too late for my " Celtic Folklore," I send his letter to you, as it is far too
good to be lost. It is dated Government House, Hong Kong, 30th October, 1900, and
runs as follows : —
" I heard of the incident related by Professor Mahaflfy, when stationed at Belmullet,
about the year 1866. The island is Innis Gloria, a small island lying off Termoncara,
an old churchyard in the Mullet about 2 miles from Binghamstown. There are but
few families living on the island. On the occasion referred to every male was away in
Belmullet, when heavy weather came on which lasted for several days. No woman
dared to take water from the well, the tradition being that if they did so the water
would turn to blood and worms. They were literally perishing with thirst when,
L 12 ]
1901,] MAN. [No. 11.
happily, a son was born. The iiifaut was immediately taken to the well, and a tin
'pannikin' was held in his hand with which the much needed water was ladled out.
Dean Lyons, Roman Catholic Dean, who was parish priest at Biughamstown, tried
ineffectually to break down tins superstitious observance. The island was once connected
with the Mullet, and at low water the remains of a causeway may still be seen. The
place was always considered holy, and every funeral procession to Termoncara
goes out as far towards the island as the tide will allow before turning into
the old churchyard. In the old ruined church exists, or existed— I write
from recollection of over 30 years ago — an old wooden image supposed to be of the
Virgin or of some one of the Saints. To this the people attributed miraculous powers,
and large numbers visited the island to pray to it. I heard, but cannot vouch for its
truth, that Dean Lyons took this image out to sea and sank it by attaching weights to
it. Some time after there was a heavy storm, during which the image, or idol, Avas
washed ashore. I am afraid to mention the name of the well on the island, but I
have a dim idea that it was a holy well of St. Brigid ; however, ' Erris and Trelawuey,'
a book by the Rev. Caeser Ottway, published about 1850, contains a very exhaustive
account of that portion of the County Mayo.
" In the Island of Inniskea, south of the Mullet, there is a still more curious super-
stition, for here the object of reverence, having the power of calming the sea when in
great storms the fishermen are in danger, by being brought out from its flannel cover
and carried to the sea, is a stone, now in two or more pieces, called the ' kuievogue,' or
little saint, not even in the shape of a human figure. Popular tradition assigns to
foreign aggressors, or to Cromwell's troops, the breaking of the image, and here again
the clergy stepped in with an attempt to remove the kuievogue, which was the really
paramount object of worship on the two islands of Inniskea. The curate induced the
islander in whose keeping the kuievogue was, to hand it over to him, and, accompanied
by his henchman, he set out in his boat across the harbour from the south to the north
island, but during his passage a great storm arose, and he was saved with difficulty.
He concealed the image in the north island, and went away. But he was watched by
an old hag who could not understand his movements, and by whom the precious
knievogue was found and restored. Each year a new flannel covering is made for it.
But this was all forty years ago, and I cannot say what iconoclasm may not have been
introduced by that destroyer of folklore, the national schoolmaster."
So far in answer to my question ; but Sir Henry Blake adds the following informa-
tion about another practice : —
" Between Belmullet and Binghamstown is a large well to which women come to
pray for the recovery of sick relatives. They go round the well seven times on their
knees, while telling their beads. If at the conclusion of their devotions any living
thing is seen in the well their prayer is answered, and they retire filled with the
blessed elixir of Hope. I have seen a poor woman kneeling for hours over the well
with hands clasped, and gazing with agonised anxiety into the clear waters. I
remember thinking how much apprehension one might relieve by dropping a few
worms into the well now and again ! I have not come across this particular superstition
in any other part of Ireland."
I do not wish to offer any remarks on Sir Henry Blake's letter, but I may say
that after this remarkable instance of his interest in Irish folklore I shall probably not
be alone in wishing him back in Ireland, however happy he may feel in the discharge
of his duties at Hong Kong. J. RHYS.
1901.] MAN. [No. 12.
Siam.* McCarthy.
Surveying and Exploring in Siam. By James McCarthy, F.R.G.S., Director-
General of the Siamese Government Surveys. London, Johu Murray, 1900.
8vo, pp. xii -f- 215. Price 105. 6d. net.
Mr. McCarthy's work is an account in narrative form of his personal work in
connection with the survey of Siam during many years. When first engaged by the
Siamese Government the author had to begin work practically single-handed, and for
some years was chiefly engaged in educating a staff of young Siamese assistants to assist
in the work of the survey of the country.
The story of the triangulatiou of the Northern frontiers of Siam, as they existed
before 1893, is a remarkable record of physical endurance and patient and monotonous
labour of an exhausting character.
The physical difficulties of the country, the absence of transport facilities, the
scantiness of population — and consequent scarcity of supplies — and the violent character
of the fevers which exposure in Indo-China is sure to induce, make it one of the most
trying portions of the globe to travel in. When Mr. McCarthy began his work in Siam,
moreover, the majority of the people inland knew very little about Europeans or their
habits, and the chiefs regarded them with suspicion and dislike. Moreover, the sextant
and the theodolite conveyed a general idea of magic, which was uncanny to the ordinary
hillman, and consequently, without doubt, viewed with disfavour by the spirits of the
forest, the river, and the mountain, as well as by the hardly less numerous petty officials
of the Lao States. With the most important landowners thus at first leagued against
him, even official documents with the Royal seals of the Bangkok Court upon them
failed to secure him from passive obstruction, and even active interference. Thus
Mr. McCarthy's claim that his work was carried out under much discouragement is, in
fact, not exaggerated, and no Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society has ever
better deserved the honour.
It is a pity that a record of such a really fine piece of scientific work should be
spoiled somewhat by the jerky style in which it is written, and a certain sense of incom-
pleteness which characterises the information the author gives regarding the country
in which he worked and the peoples inhabiting it. The ordinary reader will get a
somewhat confused idea of the geography and ethnology of Indo-China unless, he reads
with care. He will be rewarded here and there, especially if he has travelled under
difficult conditions himself, with some passages which refer to places which have hardly
ever been described before, and which singularly appeal to the imagination. Such, for
instance, are the descriptions of the uplands of the Chieng Kwang highlands, and the
scenes from some of the highest peaks of Indo-Chiua beyond the Me Kong. Indo- China
is very rich in beautiful scenes, but its beauties are often hard to win. The surveyor or
the miner, who must penetrate into the deepest recesses of nature, are those to whom
they are most open ; and among all the joys of earth there is none so keen as that of the
traveller standing upon the verge of the lonely glories of Nature. These moments are
evidently, from Mr. McCarthy's account, to be enjoyed in Siam, and fortunately too ; for
the conditions of inland travel are not too full otherwise of unalloyed pleasures.
Undoubtedly the most interesting portion of Mr. McCarthy's work is that which
deals with the very interesting races inhabiting the hill districts north of latitude 7°.
While the Lao or Tai people generally inhabit the elevated valley lauds, throughout
the rough forest tracks among the mountains a number of tribes are found living as a
rule a roving life, speaking different languages, and having different customs. Their
number and variety are a puzzle to the traveller, and it is very difficult to classify them,
or to come to any satisfactory explanation as to their relationship to one another. At
the same time it is possible to distinguish a group of tribes, generally known to the
Siamese and Lao by the prefix Ka, e.g., the Ka Yuen, Ka Hok, and some others,
[ 14 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 12-13.
including the Lauten, who aro a very primitive group wearing hardly any clothes,
worshipping only the evil spirits in the nature round them, and cultivating burnt forest
clearings with scanty crops of cotton, rice, or Indian corn. The other tribes are
generally more civilised, and are expert in silver work or embroidery, with which they
adorn themselves in the most quaint and picturesque costumes to be found in the Far
\-];^\. Several of the latter show distinctly Chinese characteristics, such as the Meo,
Yao, and others. To within the last six years a steady movement of these peoples has
been apparent from the unsettled territories of the Chinese frontiers on the north
and east to Siamese territory on the south and west. This movement has at present
ceasod, owing to the establishment of comparative security and peace around Tongkin,
and the extension of French rule to the left bank of the Me Kong. It will be interesting
to see what the future of these liberty-loving shy-maniiered mountaineers will be. A
complete and exhaustive study of them has yet to be made, and Avill be of the greatest
interest. Mr. McCarthy gives us much that is important regarding them, but he merely
whets the appetite on a subject with which comparatively few writers have dealt.
A number of photographs, and some pen and ink sketches, help to illustrate the text.
A good index and triaugulation charts, with the map constructed from the survey, add
greatly to the value of the work. H. W. S.
Burmo-Chinese Frontier.* Government Report.
Report on the Administration of the Chin Hills for the year 1899-1900. «|Q
Rangoon. 45 pages, price Is. 6d. 1900. 10
Report on the North Eastern Frontier for the year 1899-1900. Rangoon. 21 pages,
price ll^d. 1900.
Report on the Administration of the Shan States for the year 1899-1900. Rangoon.
112 pages, price IP. 6d. 1900.
In these three reports we have a complete account of the measures which are
being taken by the British Government to bring the wild tribes along the Burmo-
Chinese Frontier under control. But, as is usually the case with savages brought
under the influence of civilisation, the process of education is fatal to them. Thus
Mr. Hildebraud notices that the population in the States of Naungpale and Nammekou
has decreased 50 per cent, since 1899, and he goes on to say, "The chiefs and
" people are aware of it, of course, and are somewhat alarmed at it. They ascribe
" it to (a) the migration to Burma, (b~) to the many deaths among both children and
" adults. I am absolutely unable myself to account for such a very sudden change
" from what was apparently a healthy community in 1875 to what is now evidently
" but the remnants of a race very quickly dying out. The migration to Burma can,
" I think, scarcely account for more than 10 per cent, of the vacancies. The next
" thing that strikes one is the change in the people themselves. From being a blustering
" set of semi-savages, all going about armed to the teeth with guns, dahs, and spears,
" they are now a shrinking, timid people, going about almost entirely unarmed. I
" scarcely saw a gun or a spear the whole journey through these States, and I have
" formerly sat with hundreds of them standing round aiul wandering about my camp,
" not one of whom carried fewer than three spears and possibly two da/is, and most
" of them also with a gun. From living, as they used to do, by raiding their neighbours,
" and carrying men, women, children, and their cattle into captivity, they are now
" mere plodders of ^he soil, with no more predatory instincts apparent than in the
" peaceful law-abiding Shan or Taungthu. Their reformation, for the time, at any
" rate, is complete, ami it has been accomplished so suddenly that, accompanied as it
" is by so many deaths, it is rather painful to see it. They seem to have lost all heart,
" and I feel quite sorry for them." In fact, they are disappearing like the Tasmaniaus
before the advance of civilisation, and will in a short time be extinct. W. C.
[ 15 ]
1901,] MAN. [No. 14.
American Negro.* Du Bois : Eaton.
The Philadelphia Negro; a Social Study. By W. E. B. Du Bois, Ph.D. AM
Special Report on Domestic Service. By Isabel Eaton, A.M. (No. 14 of the IT"
Series in Political Economy and Public Law of Publications of the University of
Pennsylvania.) Pp. xx, 520.
Dr. Du Bois, who is now the Professor of Economics and History in Atlanta
University, records in this work the results of an inquiry into the present condition of
the negroes of Philadelphia, mainly conducted in the seventh ward of that city. He
hopes that his study will emphasize the fact that the negro problems are problems of
human beings, that they cannot be explained away by fantastic theories, ungrounded
assumptions, or metaphysical subtleties. The inquiry occupied fifteen months, and was
undertaken by the University of Pennsylvania at the instance of Miss Susan P. Whartou.
It is analogous to the work performed by Mr. Charles Booth, in his monumental
volumes on the life and labour of the people of London. The negroes are growing in
number more rapidly than the whites, and the proportion of women and of persons
between the ages of 18 and 35 is greater among them than among the whites. Their
death rate is high. The practical importance of a study of the present social condition
of a race, which, though it dwells with others in a large city, is separate from them in
almost every respect, is indicated by the observation that " the class of negroes which the
" prejudices of the city have distinctly encouraged is that of the criminal, the lazy,
" and the shiftless : for them the city teems with institutions and charities ; for them is
" succour and sympathy ; for them Philadelphians are thinking and planning ; but for
" the educated and industrious young coloured man who wants work and not platitudes,
" wages and not alms, just rewards and not sermons — for such coloured men Philadelphia
" apparently has no use." Though race prejudice is not as great as it used to be, it is
till powerful enough to keep down the progress of the negro, however capable and
intelligent he may be.
The method adopted was to select the ward of the city which contained the largest
population of negro descent, in which they amount to nearly one-third of the whole
population, and number nearly 9,000, or one-fifth of the negro population of the thirty-
seven wards into which the city is divided, and to visit every house inhabited by them
armed with six schedules of questions. This, it may well be believed, was a mission
requiring great tact and judgment, as some of the questions injudiciously put might
have raised feelings of resentment, and either answers might have been withheld or false
answers given. It is, perhaps, not surprising, therefore, though it is disappointing to
the anthropologist, that no anthropometric measurements or observations were attempted,
and the inquiry was made exclusively a sociological one. The educational condition
disclosed was relatively not unsatisfactory, 81^ per cent, of the whole being able to read
and write. The occupation of 61^ per cent, of the males and 88^ per cent, of the
females was that of domestic and personal service (as compared with 17 per cent, for
males and 38 for females in the whole population of all colours). The negroes of the
seventh ward group themselves into 2,276 families, of which 19 per cent, are so poor
as to earn $5 and less per week on the average. Much valuable information is given
as to their organised life, which mainly centres in the churches, almost wholly apart
from the whites ; as to criminality, pauperism, and alcoholism among them, and
generally as to their environment. Dr. Du Bois' general conclusion is that the negro
is " here to stay," and that it is for the advantage of both races that he should make
the best of himself, so that the white race ought to help him and not hinder him in
doing so ; but that the negro race has an appalling work of social reform before it.
A bibliography of books relating to the negro generally, and to Philadelphia negroes
in particular, as well as one of books and pamphlets written by Philadelphia negroes, is
appended. Miss Eaton's able Report pursues the inquiry further in the special direction
of negro domestic service, and contains a great number of valuable statistics and acute
observations. E. W. B.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, Her Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.C.
1901.] MAN. [No. 15.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
China. With Plate B. Read.
Relics from Chinese Tombs. Communicated by C. H. Read, F.S.A., President ^p
of the AnthropoJogical Institute. 10
A correspondent of mine in China, an English fit-suit missionary in the province of
Shen-si, sent home during the past year the contents of an early mediaeval Chinese tomb.
I fear that in the recent rising against foreigners, he, like many other worthy men, has
fallen a victim to the deep-seated hatred of the Chinese for the foreigner, and that this
may be his last consignment. The objects he sent are, from several points of view, of
high interest. They consist of two pottery bowls, a bottle or vase, and a mirror.
The latter is of the circular kind, fairly thick, and with a raised design consisting,
apparently, of animal forms, and an inscription on the back. It is of the
usual white bronze, and unfortunately the back is much worn, so that the inscrip-
tion is barely discernible, and has been declared to be illegible by all the Chinese
scholars to whom I have been able to show it. This is the more to be regretted,
as my correspondent states that it bears on it the name of an army leader of the
Fu-Taug dynasty, and that the interment is thus dated within the limits of this
man's life. There is a further difficulty that though the T'ang dynasty is well known
as a historical period, the term Fu-Tang is unknown to my Chinese friends. It seems,
however, probable that he refers to the T'ang dynasty, which dated from A.D. 618-923,
as the character of the objects would suit very well for this period.
The two bowls are of a dull buff clay very well made, in shape like a reversed
shallow cone, the whole of the inside and the outside nearly to the foot of each covered
with a thick dull red glaze, almost exactly the colour produced by the Meissen chemist,
Bottger, in his early essays at reproducing the Chinese ware, with the difference that
here the colour is that of the glaze, while his colour was that of the clay itself. The
vase is of a long oviform shape, with a small neck, of a grey ware, covered nearly to the
foot with a dull brown or invisible green glaze, filled with minute specks of a light tint.
Circular bronze mirrors of the kind now before us are very widely distributed over
Asia, and even into Europe. They occur with early bronze remains in Siberian finds,
where they are held to be objects of worship, they are found in Central Asia, are not
infrequent in the Caucasian tombs, called by Monsieur Chantre " Scytho-Byzautine," and
are often found in Southern Russia. In Japan they have been found by Mr. Gowland
in the dolmens, which he assigns to a period that ended in the 7th century of our era.
There is thus no reason, from the evidence furnished by the mirror, why the interment
in which it was found should not belong to the T'ang dynasty.
The vase, though of simple character and style, may equally be placed as far back.
Apart from pieces of a known later date, when ancient forms were imitated, and fanciful
glazes in vogue, the only vase comparable with it is one in the British Museum from
Corea, which had originally on it the dealer's label stating that it was " ten thousand
years old." Making the necessary deduction for the hyperbole of the Chinese vendor, it
may fairly be assumed that the vase, even if a comparatively modern copy, represented
to him and his customers what would be considered a very old piece. If we find that it
bears the same character in the make and general appearance as one that is found in
circumstances beyond suspicion, the later may reasonably be placed as of some consider-
able age. By itself, such evidence would justly be thought of little value, but in the
present case we have the added testimony of the other objects in the find.
The small red glazed bowls are of a type, as to manufacture and glaze, quite
unknown both to me and to several collectors of knowledge and judgment to whom
I showed them. It is but seldom, in my experience, that any of the ceramic
products of China can be safely assigned to any of the dynasties so early as the T'aug,
though the Chinese writers boldly claim that incomparable porcelain was made during
[ 17 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 15-16.
that period. Dr. Bushell, in " Oriental Ceramic Art," his magnificent work on the fine
collection of Mr. Walters of Baltimore, gives detailed accounts of the jade-like and milk-
white translucent wares of the T'ang dynasty, but says nothing of the humbler clay.
He states, however, that tea came into general use aboiit this time, and this grives us a
slender clue that it may be worth while to follow. The form of these two bowls is
precisely that of some of the archaic-looking tea bowls of Japan, and of these, one of the
most ancient and valuable kinds is known as Temmoku, a type admittedly copied from
the Chinese. Is it not possible that the bowls now in question are the tea bowis of the
T'ang dynasty, buried with their owner in company with his mirror and his wine bottle ?
Dr. Bushell makes another statement, that " Arab trade with China was very extensive
" during the eighth and ninth centuries," which may serve to explain the wide
distribution of the Chinese type of mirror over the rest of Asia, and thus provide another
small link in the chain of evidence.
Owing to the strong prejudice of the Chinese against excavations on ancient sites,
from the fear of disturbing their departed ancestors, remains of this kind are but rarely
to bo obtained, and the probable death of my missionary correspondent is, therefore, to be
regretted on other than personal grounds.
The dimensions of the objects are as follows: — Diam. of mirror, 4J in. ; diam. of
bowls, OTJ in. ; height of vase, 7| in. C. H. READ.
Obituary : Max Mtiller. Macdonell.
Fricdrich Max Miiller : born 6th December 1823, died 2Sth October 1900.
Communicated by A. A. Macdonell, M.A., Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the
University of Oxford.
With Friedrich Max Miiller, who died towards the end of last year, has passed
away a personality that exercised a wider influence in the world of learning than perhaps
any other scholar of the 19th century. The
only son of the distinguished poet Wilhelm
Miiller and of a daughter of President von
Basedow, prime minister of the small Duchy of
Anhalt-Dessau, he was born at Dessau in
1823. Losing his father when scarcely four
years of age, he was educated in his native
town till 1836, but spent the last five
years of his school life at Leipzig. Having
early shown a talent for music, he for a time
seriously contemplated taking up music as a
profession, but was dissuaded from doing so by
Mendelssohn. He decided to adhere to the
study of the classical languages, and entered
the University of Leipzig in 1841. But even
in his first term he did not limit himself to
Latin and Greek, as his lecture-book (Co/-
legien-Buch) shows. For, besides lectures on
Demosthenes, Aristophanes, Propertius, and
Scenic Antiquities, under Professors Hermann,
Uaupt, and Stallbaum, he attended no fewer
than seven other courses, including the Theory
of Musical Harmony, Hebrew Grammar, History of Old German Poetry, ^Esthetics,
Psychology, and, what will be specially interesting to readers of this journal, Anthropology
under Lotze. The as&iduity and wide range of his studies is sufficiently apparent from the
L 18 ]
1901.] MAN. ttfo. 16,
fact tluxt he attended no fewer than 49 courses of lectures duriug the five terms of his
University life at Leipcig. By the beginning of his second term, he was,however, persuaded
l>v Professor Hermann Brockhaus, the first occupant of the recently-founded chair of
Sanskrit, to devote himself to learning the classical language of ancient India. This
u:t- ;m extremely important step in his career, for Sanskrit was the starting point of his
work in four different branches of learning, in all of which he was destined to be a
pioneer. The first result of his Sanskrit studies was his translation of the now well-
known collection of fables, the Hilopadcs'n, which he published when only 20 years
of age. Having graduated Ph.D. in 1843, he spent the greater part of 1844 at
Berlin, where he attended the lectures, among others, of Franz Bopp, the celebrated
founder of the science of Comparative Philology, and those of Schelliug, the eminent
philosopher. To the early influence of the former may be traced his studies in the
subject which he represented in the University of Oxford for 32 years. To the
teachings of the latter was doubtless due his interest in philosophy, which he maintained
to the end of his life ; for the last book he published was an account of the Six Systems
of Indian Philosophy (1899).
Early in 1845 Max Muller went to Paris, where he came under the influence of
Eugene Burnout, eminent not only as a Sanskritist, but also as the first Zend scholar of
his day. At Buruoufs suggestion young Max Muller set about collecting materials for an
editio princeps of the Rigveda, the most important of the sacred books of the Brahmaus,
and the oldest literary monument of the Aryan-speaking family of nations. He accord-
ingly began copying and collating MSS. of the text of that work, and, in pursuance of
his enterprise, came over to England in 1846, provided with an introduction to the
Prussian Minister in London, Baron Bunseu. Receiving a recommendation to the East
India Company from him and from H. H. Wilson, the first Professor of Sanskrit at
Oxford, he was commissioned by the Board of Directors to bring out at their expense a
complete edition of the Rigveda, with the commentary of Sayana, the great 14th century
Vedic scholar.
In June 1847 he visited Oxford to be present at the meeting of the British Asso-
ciation, at which he delivered an address on Bengali and its relation to the Aryan
languages. As the first volume of his edition of the Rigveda was now being printed
at the University Press, he found it necessary to migrate to Oxford. Here he settled in
1848, and spent the rest of his life. In 1850 he was appointed Deputy Taylorian
Professor of Modern European Languages, succeeding in 1854 to the full professorship.
In 1859 he published his important History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, as far as it
illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmans. Dealing exclusively with the
Vedic period of Indian literature, this book contains much research on Sanskrit works
at that time accessible in MS. only.
On the death of Professor Wilson in 1860, Max Muller became a candidate for the
vacant chair, his claims being very strong on the score of both ability and achievements.
He was opposed by Mouier Williams, who had been Professor of Sanskrit at the East
India College at Haileybury till it was closed in 1858. The election being in the
hands of Convocation, came to turn on the political and religious opinions of the
candidates rather than on their merits as Sanskrit scholars. Party feeling ran high,
and large numbers came up to vote. Mouier Williams proved victorious, with a
majority of 223 out of a total of 1,433 votes recorded.
There can be little doubt that this defeat was a bitter disappointment to Max
Muller, and exercised a very decided influence on his subsequent career as a scholar.
It marks the second turning point in his intellectual life. Sanskrit studies had formed
his main interest for almost 20 years. Had he been successful in the contest he would
probably have limited himself almost entirely to his favourite subject, and would thus
have produced, during the latter half of his life, works of more permanent value in the
C 19 ]
MAN. [tfo. 16.
domain of research. But he would hardly in that case have acquired the world-wide
fame which he so long enjoyed.
His marvellous industry was now largely deflected into other channels. He began
to pay considerable attention to Comparative Philology, which in those days was much
more dependent on Sanskrit than it is now. He according delivered two series of
lectures on the Science of Language, at the Royal Institution, in 1861 and 1863.
These lectures, which were afterwards published in an extended form and passed
through a large number of editions, soon raised Max Miiller to the rank of the standard
authority on Philology in the estimation of the English public. Though much of what
is contained in them is now out of date, there can be no doubt that they not only for the
first time aroused general interest in the subject of Philology in England, but also
exercised a valuable stimulating influence on the work of scholars in the 'sixties and
'seventies. As, however, (he science of Comparative Philology has been transformed
during the last quarter of a century, it would have been impossible to bring these lectures
into harmony with the present standard of research without entirely rewriting them.
The fact that later editions have only been modified, has led to a good deal of confusion
on the subject in this country. It was in these lectures that Max Miiller first displayed
that power of lucid popular exposition and of investing a dry subject with abundant
interest, which has more than anything else contributed to make his name so famous.
Besides various essays on Language, which have appeared in a collected form in the
third volume of his Chips from a German Workshop (last edition 1899), Max Miiller
also published in 1888 a philological work entitled Biographies of Words and the Home
of the Aryas. Another work largely concerned with language is his Science of
Thought, the main thesis of which is the inseparability of language and thought. This
and most of his writings of a philosophical nature abound with clever and ingenious
ideas, but he can hardly be said to appear as a systematic thinker in any of them. For
his cast of mind was rather that of the poet than the philosopher. In 1868 Max Miiller
was appointed to the Professorship of Comparative Philology which was founded for his.
benefit at Oxford. This chair he held down to the time of his death, though he retired
from its active duties in 1875.
Max Miiller was not only the introducer of Comparative Philology into England.
He also became a pioneer in this country of the science of Comparative Mythology
founded by Adalbert Kuhn with his epoch-making work, Die Herabkunft des Fetters,
published in 1849. Beginning with his essay on Comparative Mythology, which
appeared in 1856, he wrote a number of other papers on mythological subjects,
concluding his labours in this domain with a large work entitled Contributions
to the Science of Mythology (two vols., 1897). His mythological method, based on
linguistic equations, has hardly any adherents at the present day. For most of his
identifications such as Greek Erinys rr. Sanskrit Saranyiis, have been rejected owing to
the more stringent application of phonetic laws which now prevails in Comparative
Philology. Nor does his theory of mythology being the result of a " disease of language "
any longer find support among scholars. Nevertheless, his writings in this field also
have proved valuable by stimulating mythological investigations even beyond the range
of the Aryan family of languages. Max Midler's linguistic and mythological theories
in the first place suffered from his investigations being limited to the Aryans. Having,
moreover, formed these theories before the appearance of the Origin of Species, he never
modified them in accordance with the doctrine of evolution.
His mythological work brought several essays on folk-lore in their train. The first
of these, dealing with Popular Talcs from the Norse (1859), was followed by others on
the Tales of the West Highlands (1861), Zulu Nursery Tales (1867), and Myths and
Songs from the South Pacific (1876). Another treated the subject of Folk lore itself
(1863). One of the most interesting and important was On the Migration of Fables
[ 20 ]
901] MAN. [No. 16.
(1870). It is bused chieHy on the investigations eontaiiied in Benfey's epoch-making
translation of the Sanskrit Panchatantra (1859), in which that great scholar traced
the westward wanderings of that collection of Indian Buddhist fables from the
6th century onwards and its far-reaching influence on the medijfval literature of
Europe.
Allied to Max Muller's mythological researches was his work on the comparative
study of religions. Here, too, he was a pioneer ; and the literary activity of the last
30 years of his life was largely devoted to this subject. This work was begun with
four lectures on the Science of Religion at the Royal Institution in 1870. These were
followed by a lecture On the Religions of the World delivered in Westminster
Abbey in 1873. Five years later he inaugurated the annual series of Hibbert Lectures
by a course on the Origin and Growth of Religion, as illustrated by the Religions of
India. Later, he discussed, as Gifford lecturer at Glasgow during the years 1888 to
1892, various aspects of religion, under the titles of Natural Religion, Physical
Religion^ Anthropological Religion, and Theosophy or Psychological Religion.
But of even more far-reaching influence than all these lectures was the great
enterprise which Max M filler initiated in 1875, and to devote himself to which he
relinquished the active duties of the Chair of Comparative Philology. This was the
publication, by the Oxford University Press, under his editorship, of the Sacred Hooks of
the East, a series of English translations by leading scholars of important non-Christian
Oriental works of a religious character. This undertaking has done more than anything
else to place the historical and comparative study of religions on a sound basis. Of
the 51 volumes of the series all but one (and the two concluding index volumes)
had appeared before the death of the editor. Over 30 volumes represent the Indian
religions of Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Jainism, being translations from Sanskrit,
Pali, and Prakrit ; but the series also includes versions of Chinese, Arabic, Zend, and
Pahlavi books. Max Miiller himself contributed three complete volumes and part of
two others to the series.
Though debarred by his defeat in 1860 from officially representing Sanskrit in
the University, Max Miiller continued to promote Sanskrit studies in many ways.
Besides finishing the sixth and last volume of his Rigveda in 1873, he published
several important Sanskrit texts. Thus, he initiated the Sanskrit series in the
Anecdota Oxoniensia with four publications of his own, partly in collaboration
with pupils ; and the three other contributions which have appeared, were all
undertaken at his instigation. In 1883 he published a series of lectures on the
value of Sanskrit literature, which he had delivered at Cambridge, in a volume entitled
India, what can it teach us ? The main importance of this book lies in the
" Renaissance Theory," which he here propounds. He endeavours to prove that for
several hundred years there was a cessation of literary activity in India, owing to
the incursions of foreigners, but that there was a great revival in the 6th century A.D.
This theory, though now disproved by the evidence of inscriptions, exercised a decidedly
stimulating influence on Indian chronological research.
Max Miiller was, moreover, always ready to help students of Sanskrit informally.
Thus, he gave up much of his valuable time to directing the studies of three
young Japanese who came to Oxford on purpose to learn Sanskrit, in order to
be able to read, in the original, Buddhist works which they knew in Chinese
translations only. All of these pupils published valuable work connected with
ancient India under his guidance. One of them, Buuyiu Nanjio, translated, at
liis instance, in 1882, the Chinese catalogue of the many hundreds of Buddhist
Sanskrit books, which were rendered into Chinese from the 1st century A.D.
onwards. Another, Kenyiu Kasawara, published in the Anecdota Oxoniensia, a col-
lection of Buddhistic Sanskrit technical terms. The third, Takakusu, at his instigation,
I 21 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 16.
translated from Chinese in 1896, the travels of the pilgrim I-tsing, who visited India
during the years 671-95 A.D.
It is known that in the 7th century, and later, Sanskrit was studied in Japan,
where Buddhism had been introduced by way of Corea. But Sanskrit learning had long
died out, and in 1879 there was no one in Japan who knew anything of the sacred
language of ancient India. Now, Sanskrit is being taught at Tokyo and elsewhere by
Max Muller'.s Oxford pupils, and there is every prospect of these studies leading to
important results which will throw light on the early history of the spread of Indian
civilisation over the countries of the farther East. This is especially likely now that
the news has arrived of a society having been founded in Japan to commemorate the
services of Max Miiller. One of its objects is the systematic search for Sanskrit MSS.
in Japan, Corea, and China. We know that hundreds and thousands of Sanskrit MSS.
were taken back by the numerous Buddhist pilgrims from the East, who in the early
centuries of our era visited India, the Holy Land of Buddhism. No trace of such MSS.
had been found, till, owing to Max Miiller's persistent efforts, a Sanskrit MS. of the
6th century, the oldest known at that time (1880), was discovered in Japan. A facsimile
of it is to be seen in the Bodleian Library. Max Miiller constantly urged scholars and
missionaries to search for rare and important MSS. in China, as well as in India. In
this way he himself acquired a valuable collection of about 80 Vedic MSS. from
India.
Max Miiller did much to advance the interests of learning not only by his writings,
lectures, and correspondence, but by his personal influence. Familiar from his earliest
days with court life on a small scale at Dessau, and aftenvards intimate with
Baron Bunsen, the Prussian Minister in London, Max Miiller became acquainted with
our own Royal family, and subsequently with many of the crowned heads of Europe.
It was thus, also, that the King of Siam came to subsidise a new series undertaken by
Max Miiller, under the title of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists, of which two
volumes had appeared before his death. So, too, an Indian Rajah came forward to
enable him to bring out a new edition of his Rigveda. It was also to Max Miiller's
personal influence that most of the European Sanskrit scholars who went out to India
in the 'sixties and 'seventies owed their appointments. He thus did much indirectly to
introduce scientific methods of research among the native scholars of India ; while his
edition of the Rigveda and his writings on Indian religion and philosophy led to a
revival of interest, among the Hindus, in their ancient sacred books, the Vedas. His
name, indeed, became more famous in India than that of any other scholar has ever
been ; and his house in Oxford was a regular place of pilgrimage to all natives of India
visiting this country. Max Miiller's personal influence also made itself felt by the
prominent part he played as president of societies and of Oriental Congresses.
His world-wide fame was largely due to his great ability, industry, and ambition,
as well as to his literary gifts and the wide range of his writings ; but it was undoubtedly
enhanced by a combination of opportunities, such as can rarely fall to the lot of any
scholar. When he began his career, Vedic studies were in their infancy, and he had the
good fortune to become the first editor of the Rigveda, the most important product of
ancient Indian literature. Again, nothing was known about Comparative Philology in
England when he came over to this country ; being the first in the field, he introduced
and popularised the new science, and soon came to be regarded as its chief exponent.
Moreover, he inaugurated the study of Comparative Mythology in this country. Lastly,
it was not till the latter half of the 19th century that the necessary conditions were at
hand for founding a science of Religion. Max Miiller was there to apply the stimulus
with his Hibbert Lectures, and to collect the necessary materials in the Sacred Books of
the East. Thus, there was a great opening in four highly important branches of
t 22 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 16-17.
learning ; hnf no <>i >ul<l have taken adequate advantage of them all, had lie not
Keen, as Max Miiller was, one of the most taleutcd aud versatile scholars of lin-
age. Though much iu his writings and methods may already !><• nipcrsedod, the far-
reaching influence which he has exercised by his works aud his personality in
promoting the study of man in many fields, will undoubtedly give him a strong claim to
the gratitude of posterity. A. A. MACDONELL.
17
California : Basket-work. Dalton.
AWr on (i S/xcimctt of Basket-work from California, recently acquired by the
Jirilish Museum. Communicated by O. M. Dalton.
An important addition has recently been made to the Ethnographical Department
of the British Museum in the shape of a large collection, chiefly from California and
Oregon, presented by the Rev. Selwyn C. Freer. The series was formed partly by
Mr. Freer himself, but
chiefly by his friend, the
Rev. R. W. Summers,
who resided in the above-
mentioned States for a
number of years as a
missionary. The collec-
tion is especially remark-
able for its baskets, and
its stone implements and
weapons. The former of
these two classes is large
and representative, fur-
nishing a most valuable
complement to the series
already iu the Museum,
part of which goes back
to the date of Vancouver's
voyage. One of the most
remarkable objects is a
flexible cylindrical basket
ascribed to the Umqua
Indians (figured here).
It has on one side human
figures, and on the others
representations of horses ?
and other animals, all
inwoven iu brown upon
a buff ground. This
specimen appears to be
of considerable antiquity?
and has been pronounced by experts, such as Mr. Wilcomb, of the Golden Gate Museum,
San Francisco, and Professor Dorsey, of Chicago, to be a rare and interesting example
of a now extinct industry. The objects in stone comprise a fine set of the hemispherical
mortars, with cylindrical pestles, which were excavated from graves in San Luis Obispo
and S Barbara counties. The series of lance and arrow-heads of finely worked chert
and obsidian i« very comprehensive, and includes several examples of remarkable finish.
[ 23 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 17-18.
Of the larger implements, some are very rudely chipped and have a certain resemblance
to palaeolithic forms.
Among other objects may be mentioned sinkers, hammer stones, shell bends,
plummet-shaped stones supposed to be charms, and a few objects in bone. The
collection further includes a number of ethnographical objects from the more easterly
States of the Union, including a few fine Catlinite pipes. Collections of this kind have
a special importance on account of the parallels which they furnish with the industries
of the late palaeolithic and neolithic ages in Europe. We have here, continuing down
to a comparatively recent period, the manufacture of implements and utensils which
offer many analogies to those with which the later European bone caves, for example,
have made us familiar. Implements of bone are far less numerous, but among objects
of this material we may mention unpierced needles, small tubes or cylinders with rudely
incised lines, flat implements for smoothing mats, and awls. In addition to the large
stone mortars, there are similar objects of smaller size, and red mineral paint, probably
used for personal adornment. The peculiar skill shown by these Indians in the manu-
facture of watertight and other baskets suggests we have here another parallel to a
prehistoric industry. The ingenious and artistic people who lived in Western Europe
at the period of La Madelaine may well have manufactured baskets of e jual perfection,
and equally adapted to take the place of pottery.
Mr. Freer's generous gift has most opportunely enriched a section in the Museum
which has hitherto been far from complete. O. M. DALTON.
Stoneheng-e. Lewis.
On the damage recently sustained by Stonehenge. Communicated by A. L. •« Q
Lewis, F.C.A., Treasurer of the Anthropological Institute. ID
The end of the 19th century has been signalised by — amongst other things — the
fall of a part of Stonehenge, a misfortune which may not be without its compensating
advantage if it should be the cause of
the necessary measures being taken to
preserve what is left of this unique
monument in an intelligible condition.
Stonehenge, it will be remembered,
consists of a number of comparatively
small stones standing in the form of a
ON. N>" » ^ ^ <a ~\ horse-shoe with the open end to the
f) ^* • V^ ^ _ m north-east, outside which were five
" trilithons," or sets of two upright
stones, each supporting a huge cross-
piece ; these were the largest stones of
all, and only two sets of them remain
complete, the last great change at Stone-
henge having been the fall of one of
in them January 1797. Outside these
was a circle of small stones, and outside
these again a circle of larger upright
St°UeS' 3°iue(1 afc the tOP bX CrOSS fetOU6S 5
both these circles are so defective,
especially towards the south-west, that
it has been doubted whether they
ever were complete. It is one of the uprights of this outer circle (marked A on the
plan — No, 22 on Petrie's plan) that has now fallen inward, carrying with it the capstone
PLAN OF STONEHENGE.
A. Stone «mo fallen. BJi. 8to»n
//•hie/I fi>ii in /7J>7.
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 18.
which connected it with tho adjoining stone, and which has been broken in two by
striking in its fall the remains of tin- trilithon which fell in 1797.
It is, perhaps, fortunate that llic-c stones have fallen instead of the remaining stone
of the central trilithon, the downfall of which has long been expected on aeconnt of its
leaning position, an oeriirrenre which, if not prevented, will cause much more damage
VIFAV OP STONKHI:N<;K HIOM THK WKST.
A. Stone now fallen, BB. Stones which fell lit 17!i7.
than has been caused for centuries, and the practical question for archaeologists is what
is to be done to prevent it ? Of course, no one advocates " restoration " in the sense of
adding new stones to supply the places of those which have disappeared ; but, inasmuch
as the exact original position of almost every existing stone is perfectly obvious, and
inasmuch as exact surveys have been made and published both by Sir Henry James on
behalf of the Ordnance Survey,* and by Professor Flinders Petrie,f there should be no
objection to setting the leaning stones upright, so as to prevent their falling and
breaking themselves and others, and to setting up those that are quite fallen, except those
that are too much broken to be capable of being joined together. Such fragments should
be left where they are, as also should any the precise original position of which cannot
be ascertained. Next comes the question of keeping the stones in their position when
they have been restored to it ; and the best way to do this would be to dig out the whole
interior down to the solid chalk, underpinning the stones while the work was going on,
and to fill it up with concrete. In the digging out it might be expected that some relics
would be fo.md which might throw light on the date if not on the purpose of the monu-
ment ; but the objection will no doubt be made that future generations might think that
the concrete was part of the original work. This would be less likely to happen if the
concrete were covered for its better preservation with half-an-iuch of the best asphalte,
such as is used in paving the London streets, under which boxes with documents might
l>e buried for the benefit of any future excavators.
* Plan* and Phnfognijihx of Stinn'/n'/ifji' und of Tiirnxtirhn n in t/ir Island of Lewi*. 4to. Ordnance
Survey : Southampton, 1867.
f Mo/fheityc : I'lanx, Dcsr nation*, and Tl«'<>rii'x. 4to. Londuii : Stanford, 1880.
[ 25 J
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 18-20.
If it were possible to keep things as they are, it might be preferable from an artistic
point of view to do so, but it is not possible. If something be not done to prevent them
further falls will happen, and where will be the poetry in a shapeless heap of broken
stones ?
It must, however, be remembered that Stouehenge, though an object of national
concern, is private property. A. L. LEWIS.
Folklore : Ireland. Hartland,
On certain Wells in Ireland. (See MAN, 1901, 11). Communicated by .•*»
E. Sidney Hurtland, President of the Folklore Society. \\J
Professor Rhys will find in Dr. C. M. Browne's report on The Ethnography of the
Mullet, Inishkea Islands, and Portaclotj, County Mayo, in the Proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy, 3rd Series, vol. iii., page 634, an account of the well on Tunis
Gloria, or Inishglora, as Dr. Browne gives it, mentioned in Sir Henry Blake's letter.
The well, it seems, is dedicated not to St. Bridget, but more appropriately to
St. Brendan. The image referred to appears also to be of St. Brendan (see page 633).
The image on the island of Inishkea, also referred to by Sir Henry Blake, is now no
longer there, having been thrown into the sea by the parish priest. Dr. Browne, however,
gives an interesting account of it.
May I take the opportunity of calling the attention of anthropologists to
Dr. Browne's reports on the small islands off the West Coast of Ireland ? At least
six of them have been published in the proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, and
they are full of interest in all departments of the science. In many respects they are
model reports. The first of them — that on the Aran Islands — is by Dr. Haddon and
Dr. Browne. The work begun in collaboration has been continued by Dr. Browne
alone. E. S. HARTLAND.
Palmistry. Keith.
The Anatomy of Palmistry. Abstract of a lecture delivered by Dr. Arthur
Keith (of the London Hospital Medical College) at the Whitechapel Museum and Ofl
Free Library. January loth, 1901.
Under the title given above, the lecturer dealt with results which he had obtained
during a recent investigation into the physical meaning, development, and comparative
anatomy of the lines of the hand.
He showed : (1) that the lines which are present in the hand and the creases which
occur at the knees of trousers and elbows of coats are of the same nature, and have
equally a physchological meaning ; (2) that the lines of the palm were developed
towards the end of the second month of foatal life, and were the result of retention of
the foetal form of skin along these lines ; (3) that the foetal lines, although in the main
corresponding exactly to the position in which flexion folds were required in the fully-
developed hand, did not correspond to it exactly in some hands ; (4) that the lines in
the hands of apes correspond to those in man — in many cases with great accuracy — the
so-called " marriage line," "line of fate," " circle of Venus," &c., with all the evidence
of divorce and unkind fate, being present in the simian just as in the human hand ;
(5) that certain lines present in the human foetal hand and lost iu the adult represented
simian lines ; (6) that the phrenological interpretations put by palmists on the various
conformations of the lines of the hand broke down absolutely when put to the test of
practical experience ; (7) that the evident success of palmists was due to a play on the
complex and equivocal characters of the events which make up human life.
[ 26 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 21.
Folklore : South Africa. Hartland.
On some Problems of Early Religion, in the light of South African Folklore. f\+
Abstract of the Presidential Address delivered by Mr. E. Sidney Hartland, F.S.A. £. I
at the Annual Meeting of the Folklore Society, January 16th, 1901. (To be published
in full in Folklore, Vol. XII., 1901.)
After a tribute of sorrow for the losses sustained by anthropological science during
the year, in the deaths of Lieut.-General Pitt Rivers, Miss Kingsley, Dr. Ulrich Jahn,
Professor Max Miillcr, and Mr. Frank dishing, Mr. Hartland turned to the outlook of
folklore at the opening of the twentieth century. A hundred years ago Brand was
apologising for his investigation of the causes of " vulgar rites and popular opinions."
Before his words were published Scott had issued the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,
and the brothers Grimm the first volume of their Kinder mid II<tus»iarchen. With
these two works and Brand and Kills' Observations on J'ojnilur Aiitu/iiities, the founda-
tions of the science were securely laid, but nearly two generations were to elapse before
Maine, Maclenuan, Morgan, and Tyler bearan to build upon them. In view of the
results of the researches initiated by these distinguished men we needed little encourage-
ment to anticipate an early solution of the great enigmas of human civilization and the
history of religion. He was content to believe that in good time all the important issues
would be determine*!, though that would have to be preceded by arduous inquiry,
perhaps in directions hitherto uuthought of. Not until our own time had it been possible
to enter on the inquiry into the beginnings of religion in a scientific manner. Hypothesis
after hypothesis had been framed, only to ba destroyed by criticism This should not
discourage us, nor should it obscure the portions of truth they contained.
After referring to Mr. Lang's book on The Making of Religion, Mr. Hartland
took np Mr. Marett's paper on Pre-animistic Religion, which had appeared during
the past year in the Transactions of the Society (Folklore, XI., 162 ff.) and, ex-
pressing general agreement with the theory of Teratism there put forward, proceeded
to an examination of the evidence afforded by the Bantus of South Africa as to their
belief in a Supreme Being. He dealt successively with Callaway's BtKffiotu System oj
the Amazulu, the evidence of Moffat and other missionaries to the Bechuana and
Basil to, and M. Junod's recent work on the Baronga, arriving at the conclusion the
Bantus had no distinct belief in a Supreme Being, and that the evidence pointed to
the gradual growth of a belief in a god, a process not yet complete. Judged by
Mr. Payne's canon (History of the New World called America, I., 276 ff.) the Bantus
had all emerged from savagery and were on the lower stage of barbarism. Thev
must have developed from wandering hordes of savages, and their religion must have
undergone a corresponding evolution. Remains of totemism and mother-right were
to be found increasing in volume from the more advanced to the less advanced members
of the race. These were examined at some length, and the question was then put
how it was that ancestor-worship had developed and supplanted totemism. This he
attributed to the growth of the patriarchal system, acting on the beliefs already
prevalent in the continued existence of the dead and in transformation and imperma-
nence of form ; and he proceeded to explain the mode in which it was possible the
change had come about. This, of course, was a mere hypothesis. He did not pretend
to have solved any of the problems he had touched, but simply to suggest some wavs
in which the folklore of South Africa might contribute to their solution.
Most of his illustrations had been t:iken from trills in British territory. The
opening of the new century found us in a position in South Africa which was unique in
its opportunities for the advancement of anthropological science. The Anthropological
Institute and the Folklore Society had combined to urge upon the Government to seize
those opportunities in the two States lately added to the Empire. This was essential,
alike in the interests of government and of anthropological science. Other nations, the
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 21-22.
Indian Government, and even our own colonies, were recognising the theoretical import-
ance and practical value of anthropological inquiries ; and surely the mother-country
would not be content to be left behind. The urgency of the case was all the greater,
because the evidence was gradually being effaced by civilization. The same considera-
tions touched everybody. The same duty to preserve the evidence of our past lay upon
all of us individually. We could wait for the framing of hypotheses ; we could not
wait for the collection of evidence which was so rapidly passing away.
Mr. Hartland concluded by urging upon the Society and upon individuals to
ascertain and record the facts as the most important duty before them, iu view of the
march of civilization and the changes which have proceeded so rapidly during the
nineteenth century, and which the twentieth is certain very soon to complete in this
country, if not elsewhere.
REVIEWS.
Wales : Ethnology.* Rhys and Brynmor- Jones.
The Welsh People. By John Rhy.s, M.A., Principal of Jesus College, and on
Professor of Celtic in the University of Oxford ; and David Bryumor-Jones, L.L.
LL.B., M.P. 1900. London, F. Unwin. Second and revised edition. 8vo., pp. xxvi,
678. Price 16s.
This is a valuable and instructive volume. One hardly knows whether to call it a
book ; it is rather a collection of chapters or essays on various subjects connected with
the Welsh people. Thus, the first two chapters are devoted to the ethnology of ancient
Wales and to the Pictish question, and set forth Professor Rhys's views as to the
uon- Aryan character of the language of the Picts, whom he sometimes speaks of as the
Aborigines. One of two interesting maps represents the supposed ethnological status of
the British Isles in the first century A.D., the aborigines (or their language), being
shown as occupying almost the whole of Scotland beyond the Forth, and the greater
part of Ireland, though small portions of the latter country are set down as Goydelic,
and Wexford and Wicklow shires as Brythouic or Gallobelgio. Physical anthropology,
by the way, is entirely neglected in this volume ; otherwise the prevalence of bloud
coloration in the county Wexford might have been used to support the Galatic
attribution of the district. The presence of what we provisionally call Iberian types iu
the British Isles was recognised by somatologists before philologists began to find
traces of pre-Keltic speech ; and I still hold to my prediction that some day the Ugrian
or Mongoloid types which occur in Wales will be correlated by the philologists with
vestiges of Ugrian language, and that when they succeed in doing this they will show
little gratitude for the hint.
Great stores of learning and ingenuity are developed and utilised in the Pictish
chapter ; I note especially the argument from name-systems which occupies the terminal
portion of it. Professor Rhys seems to omit all mention of the bronze-using race. At
least, he dates the advent of the Goydel about the oth or 6th century before Christ,
though with the qualification, " or perhaps earlier." Now the date of arrival of the
bronze men is generally (I do not say whether rightly or not) put much earlier than that.
He identifies the Fir Domnaan with the Goydelic Damnouians.
A great part of the book is taken up with the political history of Wales ; and the
naive and candid partiality of the writer of these chapters is sometimes amusing. The
ruling race produced some very creditable specimens, such as the good Howel Dda, the
lawgiver, and the gallant Grufrydh ap Llewelyn, whose head his traitorous subjects sent
to Harold Godwinson, and such as (he last two Llewelyns ; but on the whole it was
a stock of valiant, sanguinary, treacherous, aud poetical ruffians, from the Gildas-
[ 28 ]
1901.} MAN. [Nos. 22-23
abominated Maelgwn to David the Last, the trebly-dyed traitor who deservedly swung
ou the Shrewsbury gallows, but with whom the author evinces a little misplaced
sympathy.
The elaborate and discriminative character of his fellow countrymen drawn by
Giraldus is, of course, quoted ; and though some of the virtues and vices alleged by
him may have been fairly attributable to local and temporary circumstances, there is no
doubt that, in the main, the picture is correct, even at the present day. Thus, the
eloquence, the savoir fa>'rc, the poetical and musical talent, the quick and lively temper,
are still there. I have not Giraldus at my elbow, b"ut I think the author of this chapter
misquotes him somewhat. lie says, " They were immoderate in their love of food and
intoxicating liquors." What Giraldus did say was, I think, that they did not waste
their substance in feasting, as the English did ; that they were temperate from habit and
economy, but would gorge themselves at another's expense.
One cannot help having some doubts, which are not altogether unshared by the
authors, as to whether the elaborate code of Howel Dda was ever put thoroughly into
force. And the land system of Wales, though it bore a general resemblance to that of
other so-called Aryan peoples, was so peculiar and complicated that it must have been
difficult to carry out in troublous times. Professor Rhys, by the way, after stating that
the Aryan, by which he means the dolicho-blond, type, is rare in Wales, proceeds to
extend the assertion to England generally, wherein I think he is wrong.
Professor Rbys's view as to the non-Aryan character of the aboriginal language,
and its influence on the idioms of the Neo-Keltic tongues, is carried out further in a most
interesting appendix by Professor Morris Jones. He has no hesitation or difficulty in
tracing much of the popular Welsh syntax to a Hamitic, Berber, or Egyptian connection ;
and this applies also to Gaelic.
It may be noted that the authors put the probable population of the 13 Welsh
counties, from the llth to the end of the 13th century, at something under 150,000.
This means much less than 20 to the square mile ; and I am inclined to think it an
insufficient estimate. Firstly, ou the analogy of other pastoral countries ; secondly,
considering the necessity of a large population to supply men for the savage and deadly
warfare, both intestine and external, which was constantly carried on; and, thirdly,
l>ecause the evidence of surnames shows that since the days of Bos worth Field, and even
earlier, the descendants of the mediaeval Welshmen have been continually migrating into
England, where their representatives now amount to several hundreds of thousands.
JOHN BEDDOE.
Arabia.* Bent.
Southern Arabia. By Theodore Bent and Mrs. Bent. London, Smith, Elder
& Co., 1900 (xii + 455, portrait, maps, and illustrations).
The interest of this book consists in the Hadhramut chapters. Those dealing
with Bahrein and Mascat might have been omitted, for they add nothing to what
is known from better equipped travellers. The excavations in the island were fruitless ;
and the descriptions of scenery and life both there and in Oman are not above tourist
level. The accounts of Dhofar and the Gam country, and of the Eastern Sudan, were
worth rescuing from magazine pages, since most of the ground is new and it is pretty
thoroughly covered, though not of much interest. The chapters on Sokotra and the
Fadhli and Yafei oases, near Aden, it is impossible to criticise in face of the pathetic
appeal which closes them.
Theodore Bent will always be remembered as the second European traveller, and
the first Englishman, who ever got into the main Hadhramut valley. In attaining
his end he showed immense energy and courage. He and his wife assumed no
[ 29 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 23-24.
disguise, — the better plau, as many recent Arabian travellers, Pelly, Doughty, the Blunts,
Huber, von Euting, and Baron Nolde have found. Mr. Bent visited the upper towns,
Koton and Shibam, but did not, like his predecessor Leo Hirsch, reach Siwun and
Terim, nor the reputed natural wonders of Bir Borhut. Indeed, three quarters of the
great Wady have yet to be explored. Mrs. Bent Avas able to see a little harem life,
closed to Hirsch, and. with their photographs of Kotou and Shibam, the English
explorers have advanced our knowledge. Considering, however, the peculiar advantage
they enjoyed in being under the protection of a Sultan duly impressed with the British
raj in Aden and India, and in having with them a Moslem Indian surveyor and his staff,
and considering their own natural pluck and enterprise, it is the more pity they went up
so ill prepared in the language and knowing so little of previous Arabian travel. In
both respects they are far behind Hirsch, and their book, beside his, has little value. In
the preliminary notes on the population on p. 79, the Bents perhaps show acquaintance
with the standard treatise ou the Hadhramut, that issued in French by the Javanese
Dutch official, van den Berg, in 1886, but they never allude directly to it, and never
seem to follow the obvious and useful plan of checking its hearsay statements by
personal observation. Had a scholarly method of comment on Niebuhr, Wellsted,
Von Wrede, van den Berg, and Hirsch (whose book appeared in 1897) been adopted
as the basis of the narrative, this section of the book would have itself acquired
standard authority. As it is, the travellers apparently had not realized what it was
essential to observe and record, and what, on the other hand, is commonplace of all
Arabian travel ; and the trivialities of caravan life, already rendered more than familiar
by Burckhardt, Palgrave, and Doughty, to mention only the greatest names, fill
two-thirds of the account, suggesting in every paragraph unfortunate comparisons with
the deeper knowledge, the truer sympathy, and the sense of style that inspired those
brilliant narratives.
Petty mistakes in Arabic, and even in Greek, serve as warnings against implicit
faith in the anthropological evidence recorded. The most valuable savage lore is
contained in the account of the naked Gara tribe, who encourage the milk pro-
duction of their cows by giving them a stretched calf-skin to lick. What is said
of jinns, afrits, and relics of stone worship, evinced by Bedouin behaviour to tomb-
stones, is not new, but may be compared with Doughty passim. The list of Mahri
words in use in Sokotra is welcome, so little being known of what is probably a last
relic of the Sabaean tongue ; but it must be accepted with reservation. The Sokotra
camel marks are a very useful addition to our knowledge of primitive Arab script, but
the explorers came on very few Himyaritic monuments in the Hadhramut, the best being
the altar facing p. 145. It remains to be seen, however, whether the rest of the Wady
will not materially add to the collections of Halevy and Glaser. One would have
likod to hear more of the megalithic monuments and the rites at Kabr Houd and Kabr
Saleh ; but these folklore and religious questions of the interior seem to hnve appealed
iess to the explorers than the identifying of Ptolemy's harbour in the Frankincense
country. H.
Egypt: Sesostris.* Sethe.
Sesostris. By Dr. Kurt Sethe. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Alter-
tumskunde Aegyptcns, Baud II. Heft. 1. 1900.
Egyptian history, in the traditional form which passed current among the Greeks,
possessed no better-known name than that of Sesostris. Round that name clustered
legends as numerous as those of the Arthurian cycle. Yet, in modern times,
Egyptologists have always been in doubt as to the identity of the king who bore it.
Manetho, indeed, assigns him to the 12th dynasty, in the place which has been given by
[ 30 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 24-25.
science to the kings generally known as Usertsen IT. aud III. Most Egyptologists
have, however, rejected this view, because of the dissimilarity of the names Sesostris
aud Usertseu ; and have imlined towards an identification with Rameses II., the name
of that monarch bein«r sonu-timcs written in away which was considered to represent the
ancient form of Sesostris. In an admirable study, Dr. Sethe shows Mauetho to have
been correct, as indeed he usually proves to be. Usertsen should be read Sen wosret,
the element " Usert " or " wosret" being the name of the goddess, and therefore l>eiug
placed first in the hieroglyphs, honoris causa. The degeneration of Sen-wosret into
Sesostris is next traced. The success with which this is done is the best confirmation
of the soundness of the philological method which Dr. Sethe himself has done so much
to establish.
From the name, Dr. Sethe turns to the legends, aud, after sifting aud comparing
these in their various forms, seeks to trace them to their roots. In most cases he finds
in the actual history of the kings called Sen-wosret the germs from which the legends
sprang. It is impossible here to deal with the details of the investigation ; it may,
however, be noted that the stories of conquests in Asia, are, according to Dr. Sethe, due
to confusion with legends of Sheshouq. Of the book as a whole, it may be said that
the main thesis is convincing and final, and the detailed elaboration is full of new and
suggestive points. A. H. GARDINER.
Mesopotamia: Archaeology.* Sayce.
Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs. By the Rev. A. H. Sayce. QP
London, J. C. Nimmo, 1900. 8vo, pp. vii, 273. Price 3s. 6d. L\)
This is the first volume of a series, to be edited by Professor Craig of the University
of Michigan, which will be felt by the large section of the reading public to supply a
real want. " The Semitic Series," as it is to be termed, will consist of at least thirteen
volumes, and will deal with all the branches of the Semitic race in a popular but
scientific manner.
Professor Sayce seems to have taken his task much too lightly, with the result that
the work may in some respects be held up as an example of what no one, not even a
writer who knows his subject, should put before the public — a piece of book-making, and
a bad one at that. We find the same examples doing duty more than once ; but let that
pass. The errata are remarkable; we read of " an inscription in uniform characters.'
The word " cuuei " occurs in the middle of a sentence, where it has no earthly meaning.
On p. 266, under superficial measures, we read : — " Time was reckoned by the double
hour, aud in early times the weight was divided into three watches." Of course, the
sentence as originally written referred to measures of time. The carelessness which
allowed such an incongruity to pass without correction is characteristic of the whole
book, so far as manner goes.
The matter is fortunately more reliable. Some of the views on mythology are
perhaps hardly what we should expect in a work dated 1900. Tammuz, for example,
is rent by a boar's tooth, and the reader is given his choice between two explanations of
the myth — the boar is either the winter or the parching heats of summer. Dr. Frazer
has evidently lived in vain, so far as Professor Sayce is concerned.
The idea of the series is an excellent one, and we trust that the editor will insist on
a reasonable standard of typographical accuracy in future. N. W. T.
1901.] MAN. [No.
Religion: Asia.* Forlong.
Short Studies in the Science of Comparative Religions, embracing all the
Religions of Asia. By Major-General J. G. R. Forloug, F.R.S.E., F.R.A.S.,
M.A.I., &c. (Quaritch.)
The title of this work would seem to be unduly modest, inasmuch as it consists of
xxviii 4- 663 large and closely-printed pages. It is only in reference to the magnitude
of the subject, of which it treats that it can be described as " short." In an equally
modest preface the author explains that it is rather for the general reader than the
specialist, and is intended to help him to some definite and useful conclusions on the
whole question of the origin and development of religion, and on its parts. A very
useful part of the work, from this point of view, consists in three sets of chronological
tables which General Forlong has constructed. The first sums up the results of his
first study on Jniuism and Buddhism, prehistoric and historic, commencing with the
Chinese patriarchal King Fu-hsi in 3370 B.C., following the development of Jaiuism in
India and Bactria from the 21st century B.C., through varying circumstances, to its
full establishment throughout Upper India in 526 B.C., and giving contemporary
records of the events in other countries bearing upon the development of religion, and
the dates when other teachers preached Buddhistic doctrine, to its comprehension in
Greece in the 4th century B.C., until Asoka became the Emperor of Magadha, and
virtually of Northern Hiudostan, in 259. Here a subsidiary table gives the chronology
of the events of his reign from his conversion to Jaiuism in 256 to a life of piety, mercy,
and tenderness to all having life, to the edict of 232, which describes his former religion
as sin, and proclaims Buddhism as the religion of chief excellence. This was a time of
great Buddhist missionary activity, leading to its adoption in China in place of Jaiuism
about 200. In 169, Jews brought back from the East a knowledge of Eastern faiths.
In 70, a liugam is worshipped in Bactria as a tooth of Buddha. For 500 years the
mythology of Buddhism goes on increasing. The dispersion of Buddhism becomes
accelerative early in the Christian Era by the efforts of Brahmanism to expel it from
India, until finally the translation of Buddhist scriptures and commentaries becomes
active at about the same time that the Christian gospels are disseminated. This brief
summary shows what a wide expanse of the World's religious history is comprehended
in the first study. Its conclusions are confirmed by the interesting lecture on
" Coincidences," delivered some time ago by Professor Max Miiller.
The second set of chronological tables is appended to a study of the historical and
religious development of the Indian Archipelago and adjacent States, called Trans-
India, commences with the occupation of Tonkin in 2357 B,C., proceeds rapidly to the
development of the wealth and civilization of India in 500 B.C., the civilization of
Trans-India by the Hindoos in 100 B.C., the embassy from Rome to Cochin China in
222 A.D., the failure of Theodosius's cruel attempts to suppress paganism in 384, the
acceptance of Buddhism by Japan in 552, the peaceful spread of the Indian faiths in the
7th century, the attempt to efface them in Tonkin in 767, the concession of home rule
there in 875, to our own times.
The third table treats mainly of Mazdean times, beginning with Turanian migrations
towards India in the 24th century B.C., and leading through the teaching of Pythagoras
in 545, the building of the second temple at Jerusalem, in the 4th century B.C., the
foundation of the Parthian empire in 261, its extension by Mithradates II. in 127, its
conquests in Syria, Bactria, "and the Puujaub in the 1st century B.C., to the commence-
ment of the Christian Era, the siege of Jerusalem, the foundation of the Sasaniau
Empire in 228, the conversion of Coustantiue, the growth of the Romans, the claim to
papal supremacy, the Mahamadan hejira, and the end of the Sasanian dynasty in 650.
This table illustrates the Trans-Persian Zarathustra or Zoroaster and his faith in Ahura
or Aurhra Masda, one supreme God, giver of life and wisdom. E. W. B.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's I'rinters, East Harding Street, E.G.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 27 28.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Australia. With Plate C, 1-2. Balfour.
./ Sn-nii-iK'cli HOOIIH rtiin/ of unusual form. ( 'oiniiiimicated by Henry Balfour,
M.A.. Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
I am anxious to draw attention to the implement shown in Plate C, fig. 1, in order
that I may ascertain whether any similar boomerang exists in other museums or collec-
tions. The specimen is in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, having formerly l>een in Mr.
Norman Hardy's collection. Instead of being cut out of a single piece of wood specially
selected for the purpose, as is the case with the swan-necked boomerang as usually seen
(one of which is figured for comparison, Plate C, fig. 2), this example has been apparently
made from an ordinary boomerang having but slight curvature, and the spur at the end
is formed by fixing with gum a flat piece of wood to the boomerang head. The spur
is painted in red and white patterns, and the boomerang is coated with red ochre. The
spur is protected with a sheath of melalcuca bark. The hook-like spur is 6| inches
long. This specimen was procured from natives of MacArthur River, Gulf of Carpentaria,
N.T., 8. Australia. I should be curious to ascertain whether others of similar construction
have been recorded, and also whether this example is to be regarded as intended for
ceremonial use ; the painting seems to suggest this. The specimen of ordinary type
figured with it is from the tableland between the Roper and MacArthur Rivers. H. B.
Australia. With Plate C, 3-5. Balfour.
Three Bamb u Trumpets from Northern Territory, South Australia. Commit- OQ
nicated by Henry Balfour, M.A., Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. L.O
I have recently been able to secure for the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford three
examples of the trumpets made by natives of Northern Territory, South Australia, in the
region between Ports Essington and Darwin (Plate C, 3-5). Though characteristic of
this particular region, comparatively few of these instruments have found their way into
museums. They are of interest as being of very limited range, and as being wind
instruments of music, a class which is very poorly represented among native Australians.
Wooden tubes, ilpirra, hollowed out by white ants, were obtained by the members of the
Horn Expedition in Central Australia. These were used for singing through, and not
for blowing as trumpets (Spencer and Gillen, p. 607). W. E. Roth mentions emu
calls consisting of hollow logs, 2^ to 3 feet long, which are blown into to produce a
sound, as being used throughout North- West Central Queensland (Ethnological Studies,
p. 97). Unless one includes the " bull-roarers" as wind instruments, as one should do,
I do not recall any other wind musical instruments in AustraMa excepting the bambu
trumpets of the Northern Territory. Coppinger (" Voyage of the ' Alert,' " 1883, p. 204)
saw in a camp of the Larikia tribe, Pori, Darwin, " pieces of hollow reed about 4 feet
" long, which they blew like cow-horns." R. Etheridge describes and figures
(" Macleay Memorial Volume," 1893, Linn. Soc. N.S.W.) three bambu trumpets
obtained by Mr. II. Stockdale from the Alligator tribe, Port Essington, varying from
3 feet to 3 feet 3 inches in length, and from quite straight to strongly curved. All arc
engraved on the surface. J. E. Partington figures (" Album of the Pacific," I. ser.,
353, fig. i.) a straight example from Port Essingtou, called cbero, which is in the British
Museum ; also (III. ser., pi. 136, figs. 2 and 3) a specimen (37 inches) from the Gulf of
Carpentaria, oolomba, " blown like a bullock horn," and one from Western Queensland
(8 feet 6 inches), of which it is said, " the performer sings into one end." Both tlic.-<>
instruments are in the Adelaide Museum. Of the specimens which are figured here
[ 33 ]
1901.] MAN. [tfos, 2&-29.
(Plate C), number 1 is of small size (31 £ inches), very slightly curved, . reddened all
over, and scratched and dotted over the surface. Number 2 is of large size (3 feet
10| inches across the curve), is strongly curved, and tapers somewhat from end to end.
The surface is scraped, reddened, and finely engraved in places, figures of the dugong
and turtle being discernible ; black gum has been smeared on the larger end. The native
name is given as mam-ma-lie. Both these were procured by Mr. J. V. Parkes, Inspector
of Mines, in 1891, near Port Essington, and were in the collection of Mr. Norman
Hardy recently presented to the Pitt Rivers Museum by Mr. R. F. Wilkins.
The third specimen (No. 3) is nearly straight, 4 feet 3| inches long, tapering
slightly. The silicious cortex is scraped away in bands at the nodes, the intervening
spaces being roughly engraved in zig-zags. The lower end has been coated with
" blackboy " gum. I purchased this specimen from an English dealer, and it probably
comes from the Port Essington district.
In all the specimens the ends are cut off square, and the nodes have been broken
through, so that the instruments are merely plain tube-trumpets. H. B.
India : Madras. Fawcett.
Notes on the Dombs of Jeypur, Vizagapatam District, Madras Presidency. QQ
Communicated by F. Fawcett, Local Correspondent of the Anthropological *•**
Institute.
The Dombs are an outcast jungle people, who inhabit the forests on the high lands
fifty to eighty or one hundred miles from the east coast of India, about Vizagapatam.
Being outcast, they are never allowed to live within a village, but have their own little
hamlet adjoining a village proper, inhabited by people of various superior castes.
It is fairly safe to say that the Dombs are akin to the Panos of the adjoining
Khond country, a pariah folk who live amongst the Khonds, and used to supply the
human victims for the Meriah sacrifices. Indeed the Khonds, who hold them in con-
temptuous inferiority, call them Dombos as a sort of alternative title to Pands. The
Paidis of the adjoining Savara or Saora country are also, doubtless, kinsmen of the
D6mbs.
In most respects their condition is a very poor one. Though they live in the best
part of the Presidency for game, they know absolutely nothing of hunting, and
cannot even handle a bow and arrow. They have, however, one respectable quality,
industry, and are the weavers, traders, and money-lenders of the hills, being very
useful as middlemen between the Khonds, Savras, Gadaben, and other hill-people, on
the one hand, and the traders of the plains on the other. I am informed, on good
authority, that there are some Dombs who rise higher than this, but cannot say whether
these are, or are not, crosses with superior races. Most likely they are ; for most of the
Dombs are arrant thieves.
It was this propensity for thieving, in fact, which had landed some hundreds of
them in the jail at Vizagapatam when I visited that place lately, and gave me the
opportunity of recording their measurements, and of making some notes of their
customs ; and these measurements and notes I now submit for what they may be
worth, as bearing on the Dravidian problem of Southern and Central India.
Tribal Divisions. — With one exception, all the individuals in the tabular list given
below, are Paidi Dombs. The one exception is No. 22 in my notes, who is an Augnia
Domb. Between Augnia and Paidi Dombs there is no intermarriage, and the Augnia
are reckoned inferior " because they eat frogs." Both, on the other hand, eat beef,
which, it is hardly necessary to say, is eaten in Southern India by none but those on the
lowest step of the social ladder. No doubt there are other tribes of Dombs also besides
[ 34 ]
1901.]
MAN.
CNo. 29.
iln I'nidi ;uiil Augnia ; but these are the only tribes with which I have come in
contact,
Anikropometric Observations. — The tabular analysis which follows gives the results
(in rriitimrtivs) of my inurements of the Dombs in the jail at Vi/agapatam : -
MEASUREMKM
(in ccntiiuHn
Average
of 10.
Average
of 25.
Maxi-
mum.
Mini-
mum.
Mean
above.
Mean
below.
Average
to Hc-ight
= 100.
Stature
160 0
161-9
170-0
152-3
1H3-2
158-2
Height, sitting
79-7
81-5
86-4
72-6
83-5
78-7
50-3
„ kneeling
117-4
119-2
123-8
112-2
122 -3
116-5
73 •«
Span -
169-8
171-8
183-3
156-5
176 • 5
164-7
106-1
( 'lu st measurement
78-2
78-3
81 -3
74-1
80' 1
76-0
48-4
Shoulders, width
38-4
38-7
41-9
36-2
40-3
37-3
23-9
Left cubit - -
45-4
45-6
48-5
41 -1
46-9
44-1
28-2
.. hand, length
17-9
18-2
19-4
17-1
19-0
17-5
11-2
„ „ width
7-5
7-6
8-5
7-0
7-9
7-4
„ „ midfinger
10-8
10-9
11 -6
10-2
11-1
10-7
6-7
Hips, width*
25-8
25-4
28-3
22-7
26-4
24-4
15-7
Left foot, length*
24-6
25-0
27-0
23-4
25-8
24-4
15-4
,. „ width -
8-3
8-5
9-3
7-8
8-9
.8-2
Cephalic length
18-6
18-8
20-0
17- 6
19-2
18-2
11-6
„ width -
14-3
14-3
14-9
13-8
14-5
14-0
„ index
76-7
75-6
81-9
70-2
78-6
73-3
Bigoniac length
10-7
10-8
11-4
10-1
11-0
10-5
Bizygomatic length
13-0
13-4
14-2
12-6
13-6
13-0
8-3
Maxillo-zygomatic index -
82'1
81 -2
87-8
75-6
83-3
79-2
Nasal height
4-3
4-4
5-1
3-8
4-7
4-1
2-7
„ width -
3-6
3'8
4-3
3-3
4-0
3-6
1
„ index
85/4
86-5
100-0
64-7
92-5
79-9
Vertex to tragus
12-4
12-6
14-0
11 -5
t!3- 1
12-3
7-8
„ chin
18-2
18-5
19-8
17-0
19-0
18-0
11-4
Midfinger to patella
11-5
11-5
15-2
6-0
13-8
9-6
7-1
Weight (Ibs. avdp.)
103-9
105-7
121 -2
86-5
112-5
99-5
* N.B. In seven individuals the left foot was longer than the hips were wide.
Colour of the Skin. — Of the total number, 34 '9 percent, were between Nos. 28
and 43 of Broca's colour-types ; 21 " 7 per cent, were of No. 28 ; 21 '7 per cent, of
No. 35 ; 21-7 per cent, of No. 43.
Colour of the Eyes. — Of the total number, 4 per cent, were darker than No. I. of
Broca's colour-types ; 32 per cent, were of No. I. ; 28 per cent, were between No. I. and
No. II. ; and 36 per cent, were of No. II. or lighter.
General Physical Characteristics. — I append more detailed descriptions of five
individuals, taken at random from the first dozen in my list, as follows : —
No. 1. — Glabella and orbital ridges prominent ; nasal notch deep. Hair on the
head plentiful ; no hair on the cheeks ; slight moustache and beard ; none on tiie
chest; none visible on the arms ; moderate hair on the legs. Ear lobes ami
helix of left ear pierced ; this applies to all the individuals examined. Second toe
slightly longer than the big toe.
[ 35 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 29.
No. 2. — Orbital ridges fairly prominent ; nasal notch deep. Hair on the head
plentiful and somewhat grey ; none on the cheeks ; slight moustache and beard ;
none on the chest ; hair scarcely visible on the arms ; moderate to slight on the
legs.
No. 3. — Glabella and orbital ridges not apparent ; nasal notch slight. Hair
on the head plentiful ; none on the cheeks ; slight moustache and beard ; none on
the chest or arms ; slight on the legs. Tattooed on the right fore-arm.
No. 5. — Glabella and orbital ridges scarcely apparent ; nasal notch deep. Hair
on the head plentiful, and mixed with grey ; none on the cheeks ; very slight
moustache and beard ; none on the chest and arms ; a few hairs on the calves of
the legs. Tattooed.
No. 8. — Glabella not apparent ; orbital ridges very slight ; nasal notch very
slight ; nasal line slightly depressed (this is unusual) ; nasal spine not apparent.
Hair on the head plentiful and greyish ; none on the cheeks ; slight moustache
and beard ; no sign of hair on the chest ; scarcely apparent on the arms ; very
slight on the legs.
Some of those who were measured subsequently were more hairy than these.
No. 19, in particular, was abnormally hairy in the armpits, and rather thickly covered
on the abdomen and legs. But he was fair of colour, and probably a cross. The
blackest individuals, on the other hand, seemed to have diverged least from a common
type, and these, as a rule, had little or no hair on the cheek, slight moustache and beard,
no hair on the chest or arms, and very little on the legs.
I have noted that these Dombs are uncommonly like the ordinary Madras Pariah,
but slightly fairer ; all had, like the Pariah, a very strong and unpleasant odour. They
were an ill-made and poor-looking lot of men ; one only, out of 25, being really well-
shaped and sturdy. One only showed signs of incipient baldness. The teeth of all
were excellent.
Tattooing. — This is done by Gojjias, or rather by the women of that people.
The native name for the tattooing is bana. The patterns, of which examples are given
below, are extremely rude. No. 1 measured 7 cm. from top to bottom, the strokes
.V.
Jfi '.
:-*is •
*«Ttfs
8 *
O
U v
I I
' I
I 1
f I
1901.] MAN. [No. 29.
represent a scorpion, ami the dotH jasmine flowers. No. 2 represents " flowers." No. 3,
on the left forearm, represents a scorpion and some stars. No. 4, also on the left
forearm, represents the moon and stars. No. 5 is known by the name Kattari, but I
( ould not discover what it is intended to be. No. 6, of uncertain significance, was
ti ttooed (10 x 7 cm.) on the left forearm. No. 7, which closely resembles No. 3, and
measures 4x5 cm., on the right forearm of the same individual. Nos. 8, 9, and 10 are
unexplained. No. 10 is sometimes ornamented also with dots. No. 11, tattooed 011 the
left deltoid, represents a man, the moon, stars, and a necklace. No. 12 was tattooed on
both shoulders of one man. Its elements closely resemble those of No. 11, and represent
a man and a woman, several moons, the sun, a necklace or chain, and more stars. These
patterns were said to be, one and all, purely ornamental, and not in any way connected
with totems or tribal emblems.
Personal Names. — The following were the names of individuals who were
examined : — Korkori Bahama, Batra Billai, Takiri Bondari, Kosalia Bhimadu ; other
family names noted are Kiira, Bago, Thsila, Bishau, Nagabu, Beukiti, Ghoru, Maudi,
Cheli ; other personal names are Niro, Budra, Bakida, Sukkumon, Porya, Dhimabhandu,
Godru.
Marriage Customs. — The Dombs observe the general rule of Southern India. The
children of a brother and sister may marry, and always do so, if it can possibly be
arranged, as this is the " proper marriage " ; but the children of brothers, or the
children of sisters, never intermarry. A man may marry the widow of his elder brother,
but not of his younger brother. The family name already mentioned is called vamsha ;
and no persons of the same vamsha can marry. The tribe, however, is etulogamous ;
a Paidi, for example, must marry a Paidi. The girl joins her husband's vamsha ;
inheritance is through the father ; and it is his name that the children bear.
There is no limit to the number of wives ; and a man may have as many as he can
support ; but the first marriage alone seems to involve a real ceremony. The headman
of the caste people in the village arranges the marriages, and gives his consent ; and
receives two new cloths after the ceremony from the father of the bride. Marriages
are always arranged by the elders. The bridegroom takes a mat, a fan, and some
saffron, and, followed by some of his relatives, goes to the bride's house. There the
headman sees what he has brought. A new cloth is put on the bride, and her hands are
joined in those of the bridegroom. A feast follows in the bride's house. Then all go
to the bridegroom's house, where they wait until they have had three square meals.
The marriage of a second or third wife is sufficiently marked by a simple feast to
the caste people. The bride may be older than the husband, but her age is not
considered ; nor is it of any consequence whether she has attained puberty.
Fertility. — It was noted, in the case of individual No. 13, that there was an
average of four children in the families of No. 13 himself, and of his three brothers and
sisters. The largest family consisted of nine children, seven boys and two girls.
Religion. — 1 could learn but little of the religion of the Dombs. Their chief god —
probably an ancestral spirit — is called Kaluga. There is one in each village, in the
headman's house. The deity is represented by a pie-piece, placed in or over a new
eartheru pot, smeared with rice and saffron powder. During worship, a silk cloth, a
new cloth, or a wet cloth may be worn ; but one must not dress in leaves. Before
mangoes are eaten, the first fruits are offered to the moon, at the full moon of the month
Chitra.
Tattoo. — Monkeys, frogs, and cobras are taboo, and also the sumari rree (Cassia
fistula), which bears a flower very like that of a laburnum. The big lizard, cobras,
frogs, and the crabs which are found in the paddy-fields, and are usually eaten by jungle
people, may not be eaten.
[ 37 ]
1901,]
MAN.
[Nos. 29-30.
Death Ceremonies. — Of these also I could learn but little. The dead are either
buried, or, in the case of a rich man, burnt ; in the latter event, a feast must be given to
the caste people. For cremation the dry wood of any tree, except the sumari, may be
used. When the deceased is a father, a mother, or a wife, the hair on the head,
moustache, and armpits is shaved off on the sixth, eighth, or twelfth day after
death.
Customs. — The lunguti, or small cloth worn over the groin by the males among the
Hindus everywhere, is never worn among the Dombs by men, but only by children.
The hair is worn long ; but of the hair on the face only the moustache is not shaved.
Shaving is performed every eight days. Men are said to shave also the parts about the
groin ; but not the women,, as is the general rule in Southern India. F. FAWCETT.
New Zealand. Edge-Partington.
Note on the Matuatonga in the Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, n**
Communicated by J. Edge-Partiugtou. OU
Among the many collections made by the late Sir George Grey, and given
to various institutions, there is a small but very interesting one in the Art Gallery of
Auckland, N.Z. This collection contains perhaps the most sacred of all Maori relics
FIG. 1.
(fig. 1-2). It is a figure standing about sixteen inches high, representing a human
form in a squatting position, with hands upon the breast. I am indebted to Mr.
Josiah Martin, of Auckland, for the following note.
The image is a Matuatonga, or representation of the reproductive powers of
nature, and is carved from a red volcanic stone foreign to New Zealand. It was
given to Sir George Grey b/ the old tohunga, or priest, of the Island of Mokoui,
oo Lake Rotorua, under the following circumstances. The old man, finding that his
[ 38 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 30.
influence with the young people was being undermined by the Missionaries, sent for
Sir George Grey, then Governor of New Zealand, and explained that this and other
sacred relics had been brought by the Maori priest in the canoe from Hawaiki when
the Arawa first landed on the island ; these relics had been kept sacred and secret
none but the
highest chiefs
and the i<>-
hunga being
allowed to see
them; and
works of heal-
ing and other
miracles were
said to be per-
formed by their
aid. In order
to satisfy the
desire of the
people for an
occasional
glimpse of the
sacred and my-
sterious em-
blem, a copy
was modelled
but of much
larger dimen-
sions (fig. 3).
This figure is
•i feet 6 inches
in height ; it
weighs about
1^ tons, and is
made of a rock
found in the
neighbourhood.
This did not
satisfy all the
votaries, who
enquired as to
how so large
a figure could
have been
FIG- 3-( hidden uude
the mat of the priest who had possession of it on board the Arawa canoe. The
explanation was such an one as would under the circumstance be expected, that the
figure, although at one time no bigger than a man's hand, had grown as the Maori
race increased. The old tohunga asked Sir George to accept the charge of these
precious relics, as the most terrible disaster would befall the Maori people should their
gods (Atua) be profaned. Sir George took charge of the smaller relics, and advised
that the large figure should have secret burial. This was done, Later, however, its
C 39 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 30-31
whereabouts becoming known, it was disinterred by some , Europeans ; but by the order
of the Government it was returned to the Maoris and reburied in its old site on the
Island of Mokoia. J. E%-P.
Tattling-: Pacific. Woodford.
Note on Tat it-patterns employed in Lord Howe's Island. By C. M. Woodford.
Communicated by C. H. Read, F.S.A.
The following is an extract of a letter from Mr. C. M. Woodford, dated Tulagi,
Solomon Islands, 5tb November, 1900 : —
*'J have lately paid a visit in H.M.S. Torch to Lord Howe's Group, or Ontong
Java. I went there to hoist the flag, as it has been ceded to us by the Germans. I
DETAIL OP
PATTERN ON
ARMS AND LEGS
FRONT VIEW.
BACK VIEW.
send you herewith a sketch of the usual pattern of tatuing employed there. I sketched
it from life, and it agrees almost exactly with a similar sketch I made fourteen years
ago."
[ 40 ]
1901.] MAN. [No ». 32-33.
New Hebrides. Edge-Partington.
Feathered Arrows from /•.'*/> //•//// Sn>it<>, Xcir Ilchrith-s. Communicated l»y
>} . I'Mge-Partinglon.
Some years ago I purchased from a missionary resident in the Loyalty Islands
some feathered arrows which he had obtained from a vessel trading in the New Hebrides.
A selection of these I figured in my Ethnographical Album, 2nd Soil -. Plate 72. In
the Catalogue of the Museum (rodeffroy, Plate XXII., Fig. 9, :i feathered arrow is
figured as corning from the New Hebrides (?). I have lately been in communication
with Mr. Charles Hedley, of the Australian Museum, Sydney ; he has kindly furnished
me with a short copy of a paper read by our Fellow, Mr. Norman Hardy, before the
Limiican Society of New South Wales, when he exhibited feathered arrows which he
had himself obtained on the island of Espiritu Santo. He considers that these arrows
are an indigenous production and without any foreign suggestion. The shafts, he says,
are formed from a reed (P/iragmites cowmunis), the feathers are those of the common
fowl and are set parallel to and bowed from the shaft, and are lashed on by narrow strips
of smooth fibre, probably from the stem of the banana plant. J. E.-P.
REVIEWS.
Ontario. Boyle.
Archaeological Report, 1898. Being part of Appendix to the Report of the QQ
Minister of Education, Ontario. Printed by order of the Legislative Assembly. 00
Toronto, 1898. 8vo, pp. viii, 211 (including index). With 19 plates and 24 illustrations
in the text.
Archceolof/iral Report, 1899. Briny part of Appendix to the Report of the Minister
of Education, Ontario. Printed by order of the Legislative Assembly. Toronto, 1900.
8vo, pp. iv, 199. With plans and illustrations in the text.
These Reports are the two -latest of a series compiled by Mr. David Boyle, the
curator of the museum at Toronto. They are records of the objects acquired from year
to year by the museum, which under the wise policy of the Hon. Dr. Ross, formerly
Minister of Education and now Premier of the Province of Ontario, and the skilful
management of Mr. David Boyle, is rapidly becoming one of the most important on the
North American continent. It is particularly rich in objects illustrating the culture of
the Canadian aborigines. The systematic exploration of prehistoric sites under the
direction of Mr. Boyle and a competent staff is not only increasing the wealth of the
museum, but is adding year by year to our knowledge of the predecessors of the present
population of the Province. The more remarkable of the objects obtained by these
explorations are figured, with plans of the sites and views. These illustrations greatly
augment the value of the Reports.
During the last two or three years a further step has been taken. Following the
example set by the Bureau of Ethnology and several of the museums in the United
States, an effort has been made to acquire and embody in the Report information as to
the present state of the aboriginal populations in the Province. Mr. Boyle himself
undertook the study of the pagan Iroquois. With the assistance of Mr. Bnmt-Sero, a
Mohawk, and Ka-nis-han-don, a Seneca chief, through whom he was enabled to get a
large number of details and ascertain the meaning of ceremonies he witnessed, he has
produced in the Report for 1898 a most valuable monograph on the religion of the
Iroquois as now practised. Iroquois paganism is not to-day what it was three centuries
ago, before the Jesuit missionaries had penetrated into the Canadian wilds. Prophets
[ 41 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 33
had at various times ere then appeared ; but they had effected little if anything towards
raising their fellow-countrymen in faith or morals. The teaching of Christianity, how-
ever, proved a new and potent influence. Mr. Boyle adopts the view — and it is, I
believe, the better opinion — that the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, was unknown to
the American tribes until the white man set foot on their shores. The acceptance of the
idea of the Supreme Being has introduced a new force into aboriginal religion. A
succession of prophets has arisen in various tribes during the last two centuries, all of
whom " have been consciously or unconsciously indebted to the white man very
considerably for the tone and tenour of their teachings."
The pagan Iroquois of whom Mr. Boyle writes follow the teachings of Ska-ne-o-
dy-o, who received his revelation in the year 1790. The object of these teachings is to
preserve the Indians free from contamination with white men. Mixed marriages, cards,
drink, and European musical instruments and medicines are forbidden. Gambling
according to native fashion is, however, encouraged. Certain religious festivals are
enjoined. Stress is laid upon marriage, hospitality, and a high general morality ; so
much so, says Mr. Boyle, " as to make one sometimes doubt the propriety of applying
" the term ' pagan ' to them [the Iroquois], although this name does not necessarily
" imply anything disreputable."
The author gives a detailed description of the Midwinter Festival, at which the
White Dog is burned. The reason for the sacrifice of the White Dog is unknown.
Mr. Boyle discusses the question without coming to any satisfactory conclusion. As at
present observed, the animal is strangled and then thrown on the fire with a quantity of
tobacco as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit, with prayers for various blessings, of which
health, abundance, and content are the chief. Other festivals here described are the
Spring Sun Dance, the Green Corn Dance, and the Feast of the Skeleton. An account
of the important Society of the False Faces is also given, together with the myths
relating to it. Nor are these the only important subjects dealt with. Among others may
be mentioned as of special interest, the Gentile organisation and government of the
Iroquois, their music, their personal names, and the origin and meaning of Niyoh, the
word now used for God.
Iroquois music is further described in the Report for 1899. Graphophone cylinders
have been used to take down the songs. These have been reduced to our notation by
Mr. Cringan, and are given, to the number of 47. Still more interesting is Mr. W. E.
Connelly's article on the Wyandots. It contains a careful account of the clan system
from the oldest records to the present day, and of Wyandot government and proper
names.
This bare enumeration by no means exhausts the interest of the Reports. It is
sufficient to indicate their value to anthropologists. Special reference, however, should
also be made to the excellent reproductions in the Report for 1898 of photographs of the
Iroquois, both individuals and groups, and of their dwellings. They are a fine, intelli-
gent looking people, some of them even handsome according to European standards.
In the publication of these valuable Reports the Government of Ontario is giving
a lead to the Colonial Office of the Imperial Government. Enlightened statesmanship
demands something more than the annual publication of statistics of trade and police.
E. SIDNEY HARTLAND.
[N.B. — By the courtesy of Mr. Boyle, and of the Honourable Richard Harcourt,
the successor of Dr. Ross as Minister of Education in Ontario, a limited number of
copies of these Reports have been placed at the disposal of the Anthropological
Institute, and may be obtained by students on application at 3, Hanover Square,
London, W. — ED.]
[ 42 ]
1901.] MAN. [No, 34.
Asia. Futterer.
Durch Ante HI l-'.rfithrniKiin, l-'<>rschiiugeii. und Sammlunycn (Hand 1. QA
Gentiraphischc Charakter-Bildrr). Von Dr. K. Fnttcrer. With 203 Illus- OH1
trations in the Text, 40 Plates, two Coloured Plates, MIK! Map. Berlin, Reimer, 1901,
pp. xxv, 545. Price 20 marks.
Dr. Futterer, Professor of Geology and the allied studies in the Grand-Ducal
Technical High School at Karlsruhe, gives us in this stout volume of 570 large octavo
p:i«;es, the first fruits of the great Asiatic expedition of 1897-99, which was conducted
by his friend Dr. Holderer of Heidelberg, and in which he took part as geologist,
geographer, anthropologist, and general historian. Even the natural history department
fell largely to his share ; most of the flowering plants from the Gobi Desert were
collected by him ; the unbroken record of daily meteorological observations from
Russian Turkestan to Shanghai, together with numerous determinations of altitudes
and latitudes are amongst the more important results of his untiring energy,
and of a fortunate arrangement with the leader of the expedition, by which our
author was enabled to devote most of his time to exclusively scientific work.
The rich and extremely diversified materials thus collected along a route extend-
ing from the Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean will ultimately form the subject-
matter of three uniform volumes, the contents of which are thus distributed :
I. Geographical descriptions, incidents of travel, natural history, and ethnographic
details, illustrated by numerous reproductions of photographs, nearly all taken by
Dr. Futterer himself ; II. Geological observations and the discussion of the more
important general problems suggested by them ; III. Essays on the meteorological,
palseontological, zoological, and botanical results of the expedition.
Of this encyclopaedic programme most of our readers will be mainly interested
in that section which has already appeared, and is comprised between the two covers
of the volume under notice. Here has been brought together a great quantity of
valuable ethnological matter carefully collected from regions which are seldom visited
by good observers, although presenting many points that are attractive to the
anthropological student. This will be at once apparent when it is stated that the
route followed by the expedition traversed the whole of Western (Russian) and
Eastern (Chinese) Turkestan, skirted the northern and more thickly inhabited districts
of the Tarim (Lob-uor) basin, penetrated eastwards to Hami (Khamil), crossed the
Gobi wilderness from this place in a south-easterly direction to the Kuku-Nor
province of North-eastern Tibet ; here struck again eastwards over the Ala-shan range
into Kansu ; thence to Si-ugan-fu, earliest seat of the Chinese race in the Wei-ho
valley, and so on through the heart of China (just before the present troubles) to
the great city of Han-kow, and down the Yang-tse-kiaug to Shanghai. Thus were
offered and largely utilized endless opportunities of studying in their homes a great number
of peoples, such as the Turkomans, the Usbegs, the Tajiks, Sartes, Galchas, Kirghizes,
Duugaus, Taranches, Kashgarians, Kalmaks, Eastern Mongols, Tanguts, and Chinese
peoples, showing collectively almost every imaginable shade of transition between the
two great Caucasic and Mongolic divisions of mankind. Unfortunately, owing to the
lack of interpreters, and the coyness or superstitious fears of the aborigines, especially
in the more remote eastern lands, the attempts to procure anthropometric data mostly
proved abortive. Hence the accurate measurements, which are here conveniently
tabulated in the appendix, are mainly confined to the Central and West Asiatic
peoples, including various groups of Kirghizes, Sartes, and Kashgarians. But
these measurements extend in some instances to such minute details — colour of
exposed and covered parts, cranial and pelvic indices, length of the extremities, of
femur, tibia, digits, nails, texture of the hair, shape, position, and colour of the eye,
and so on — that they may be fairly described as exhaustive. In fact, »o far as
[ 43 ]
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 34-35.
regards their physical characters certain uatives of Chinese Turkestan are now better
known to science than perhaps any single inhabitant of these islands. In other respects,
also, the picture is often very complete, and we learn, for instance, that the term Sart
appears to have no ethnical value, though this was no doubt already known in a
general way from other sources. The information on this subject embodied in the
text is supplemented in a note by further particulars from F. von Schwarz's
valuable work on Turkestan (Freiburg, Baden, 1900). Although not without historic
significance, Sart denotes at present little more than the settled as distinguished
from the nomad populations in Ferghana and surrounding lands. Those more
specially so designated are the mixed Aryan (Galcha) aborigines of the secluded
upland valleys of the Oxus, many of whom, as we learn from Ch. de Ujfalvy,
still speak archaic forms of the old Aryan stock language. But the word has a
wide range, and now comprises not only the majority of the inhabitants of the towns and
villages in Russian Turkestan, but also numerous communities in the Tarim basin, in
Kashgaria, Bokhara, North Afghanistan, and Semirechinski-krai. Most of the so-called
Usbegs, who have abandoned the nomad life and intermingled with the primitive Aryan
peoples of these regions, are scarcely to be distinguished from the Sarts and the closely-
allied Tajiks of Persian speech. But miscegenation of long standing prevails every-
where in the Western and Central lands, where the Mongol element is chiefly betrayed
by the almond-shaped oblique eyes, while " the farther they recede eastwards the nearer
" do the tribes approach the genuine Mongol type, indicated by a lower stature, broader
" face and mouth, flatter nose, and scantier beard." The same phenomenon, which is
here well illustrated by reproductions or several of the photographs taken by the author,
was observed by Captain Youughusband, who, advancing from the opposite direction,
remarks that "as I proceeded westwards I noticed a gradual, scarcely perceptible, change
" from the round of a Mongolian type to a sharper and yet more sharp type of
" feature As we get further away from Mongolia we notice that
" the faces become gradually longer and narrower" (The Heart of a Continent,
p. 118). Hence, when the expedition reached the Koko-Nor district of North-east
Tibet, it found itself surrounded by races of distinctly Mongol type. Here the
dominant people are the Tanguts, who are fully described and recognised
with Prjevalsky and Rockhill to be a characteristic branch of the Tibetan family.
Amongst these wild predatory tribes Dr. Futtercr met with a more friendly reception
than most of his predecessors. They willingly accompanied him in his frequent excur-
sions off the main route, took an active part in the work of collecting, and became quite
expert in discovering geological specimens, even in localities where the explorer has
himself failed to find any.
Students requiring to consult this storehouse of anthropological lore will be grateful
to the author for a more copious index than is usually supplied to German works of this
character. A. H. KEANE.
India: Bibliography. Campbell.
Index- Catalogue of Indian Official Publications in the Library of the British QT
Museum. By Frank Campbell. 1900. London, Library Supply Association. 00
4to, pp. . Price 42s. nett.
The size of the catalogue, which has been compiled by Mr. Frank Campbell (lute
of the British Museum Library), and represents the labour of 13 years, is a fair
indication of the enormous mass of Indian literature which now exists, as it is also a
measure of the difficulty which besets any ordinary " reader " in extracting the special
[ 44 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 35-36.
document \vliicli lie may rfi|iiirc to illustrate any p;irt iciilar subject, unless lie is fully
posted both ill the iiiiine of the originating department and in (In- exact title of the work.
It is hardly necessary lo eniphasi/e the value of I IK- assistance thus aHbrded by
Mr. Campbell's catalogue, although il is (necessarily ) incomplete, and does not claim to
represent even the whole, of the llriliidi Museum collection. What it does claim is to
provide a reference for "the more modern portion of the collection of Indian official
" publications ixsttcrl in India subsequent to the mutiny, so far as the documents hiive,
" been deposited in the library of the British Museum." "Reports issued as 'English
" parliamentary papei > ' are not included except in rare instances, but there i.s a
" considerable representation of Departmental Reports issued in London in connection
" with the India Office." Works of a semi-official nature have also been included in
certain instances. From u casual glance at the contents it would certainly appear that
Mr. Frank Campbell's work is sufficiently comprehensive to be a most valuable index to
Indian literature generally, and that he has earned the thanks not only of the casual
reader, but of many Indian officials for a work which will lighten their labour
considerably. T. H. HOLDICH.
New Guinea. Fellows: Le Hunte.
Despatches from His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of British New g\*\
Guinea. No. 28 (14th April), No. 35 (25th April), No. 36 (1st May), and 00
No. 44 (21st June) of 1900.
The first of these despatches (No. 28) encloses the following account by the
Rev. S. B. Fellows, of the Kabilula — Atonement or Peace-making Ceremony — of the
Natives of Kiriwina (Trobriaud Group), who were lately at war.
" Atonement or Peace-making Ceremony of the Natives of Kiriwina. — Taolu came
to ask me to accompany him on the morrow to the Kabilula. We arranged to meet
at the inland village of Obweria. I was there early, and about 9 o'clock Taolu
arrived with a numerous retinue, all fully armed with spears and shields and long
knives. Taolu carried no weapons, but I noticed that in addition to the ordinary
ornaments by which a Guiait, is distinguished, he was also wearing the sacred
emblems of royalty — the armlets and wristlets previously held by Enamakala and his
predecessors for many generations in the office of supreme Guiait in the ruling Labai
family of Kiriwiua. As Obweria was the first village in Tilataula territory entered
by Taolu, he was here formally received by a Tilataula chief. This man, named
Kunoi, rushed into the centre of the village, and gesticulating like a madman, never
ouce looking at Taolu, but addressing him, and him only, all the time. In effect, he
said: 'Taolu, we are glad to see you. We acknowledge you as our GH'UIH, in
' succession to Ennmakala. We have had enough of fighting, and everything is ready
' for making the atonement to-day. All the Tilataula chiefs are waiting for you at
' Kiibwaku. Let us go and make peace. Then come back and live in your village,
' Omarakana, and rule the country as a Guiau should. Make peace and keep the
' peace ; put away all the spears so that there be no more war.' Then striking his fore-
head with the palm of his hand — the usual pledge of a chief that he would defend from
danger — he made a leap to where Taolu stood, grasped his hand, and drew him to the
path leading to Kabwaku. As a dramatic performance, Kunoi's action was perfect ;
its effect on the men standing round was electrical. They simply roared out their
acclamation to the GninK, and shouldering their spears, they crowded pell-mell into
the narrow track after their leaders. Beyond the village the procession was marshalled.
A band of warriors took the lead, headed by a sorceror, who, with his continuous
incantations, cleared our path of all evil spirits. Following these came about twenty
[ 45 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 36.
women, carrying on their heads the appeasing gifts for the Kabilula, then the chiefs
with more warriors, and behind came the crowd.
" Going in single file the column stretched out to a great length. At frequent
intervals a wave of cheering ran down the line. The excitement increased as we went
along, and reached its climax in deafening acclaim as we entered Kabwaku, where
Taolu was welcomed by Moliasi in fine dramatic style. This was a proud day for so
young a chief as Moliasi ; and he was equal to the occasion. In the Kabilula, equal
presents are given and received on both sides, but the defeated chief, after seeking and
receiving permission, has to come to the village of his conqueror, and there make his
offering of atonement.
" A clear space was quickly made in the middle of the village in front of Moliasi's
house. The multitude of armed men with their spears in their hands eagerly crowded
round. At one end of the rough circle stood Moliasi, stern and silent, surrounded by
other chiefs of his side ; at the other end Taolu and his friends were busy unpacking
their things. The proceedings were opened by Taolu rushing into the ring and
carrying aloft a valuable armlet which he laid on the ground, at the same time crying
out in a loud voice 'Kam lula, Moliasi ' (thy atonement, Moliasi). He immediately
turned and retired, and the armlet was instantly snatched up and handed in by one
of Moliasi's men. Again and again Taolu repeated this performance, each time
bringing only one vaigua (article of wealth) and calling out the name of the chief to
whom he was giving it. Some of his friends also did the same. In this way between
thirty or forty different vaigua, consisting of armlets, old stone tomahawks, necklaces
of native money, &c., &c., were presented and received. Then Taolu ran in and made
a speech to Moliasi and his people, simulating furious passion as he sprang from side
to side of the circle, and swung his arms about in energetic gestures. He addressed
them as Bodagua (my younger brothers), and said, ' I am weak to-day through the
4 death of my elder brother, Enamakala. Had he been alive to-day he would have
4 brought more vaigua than you have men. I have brought you my own vaigua as your
' lula ; let that suffice. We are living in the bush, permit us to return to our villages.
' Put away your spears and let us work at our gardens that there may be plenty of
4 food for ourselves and our families.' Then Moliasi and other Tilataula chiefs began
to present the return lula to Taolu. In the same manner, one by one, article for article,
they laid down the exact equivalent of the vaigua they had received. After this they
made their speeches, all of them definitely accepting Taolu as their Guiau.
44 One old chief, Mosituli, told Taolu that this had been a young men's war and so
the Kabilula was held in a young chief's village. A young chief, Meiosovalu, the right-
hand man of Moliasi, said that though he was young when Enamakala and his men had
driven his people out of their village, he remembered the death of his relatives and the
burning of his home. It was to take the mapula (payment) for this that he had fought,
but the present Kabilula settled all.
" An attentive hearing was given to my address, but the united yell at the end
might easily have startled anyone not used to the noisy style of Kiriwina natives. I
pleaded the claims of law and order and religion.
4' Then Taolu made his way into the midst of Moliasi's men, and, holding high a
stick of tobacco, he called out, 4 Which of you will take this tobacco and distribute
it so that we may smoke a pipe of peace together ? ' Twenty eager hands were
stretched out to grasp it. With the acceptance of this tobacco the Kabilula was
completed, and the ceremony concluded."
No matters of anthropological interest are contained in despatches No. 35 and 44,
but No. 36 contains the following : —
44 Notes on the Tribes of the Morehead River. — The tribes met with on the Upper
Morehead are named Sanana, Tugari, and Pirara, after the names of their villages.
[ 46 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 36-37.
They are apparently subdivisions of the Babiri tribe. Indications point to the probability
that their populations were comparatively much more numerous than at the present day.
Without doiilii tlifii numbers have been diminished by the frequent onslaughts of the
Tugeri tribe from Dutch New Guinea ; but these depredations have forced them to
scatter, and it was not possible to arrive at so much as an approximate estimate of the
population during u flying visit.
" In stature these natives are of a slightly taller average than the so-called Bug!
tribe (see below). Their muscular physique is also superior to that of the latter people.
The men, for the most part, go stark naked, but some of them wear a grotesquely large
pubic shell, which, however, is as often to be seen hanging at the side or at the back as
in its proper position. The hair is curly, and generally worn in thin plaits, into which
is woven some vegetable fibre. These fibres extend below the limit of the hair and
depend gracefully more than half-way down the back and over the shoulders. The hair
is shaved from off the upper part of the forehead. There septums of their noses are
invariably pierced, and many of them in addition (particularly the Pirara natives) have
large holes punctured vertically through the nostril. There was a noticeable scarcity of
body ornaments among them. In no case that came under notice was anything worn
in the nose. They vary in colour from a dark copper to black. Their facial features
differ to such an extent that no characteristic type could be detected. Some have
pinched crabbed features, while others have a fine and gentle yet strong countenance,
and between these two several others approaching one or the other extreme were
observed. The older men wear beards, which are neither trimmed nor cut.
" The women, of whom only three were seen, wore petticoats of grass. Their hair
was cut moderately short.
" A short vocabulary of their common language was taken, which may be useful as
an addition to that taken by Sir William MacGregor. The name given by these people
to the Morehead River is Totogaba."
N.B. — The Bugi tribe (above mentioned) consists now of the remnants of the
original mainland tribe of that name, the Wasi tribe from Strachan Island, and others
whose persecution by the Tugeri invaders has induced them to gather together for
refuge at Bugi, where they have protection under a small detachment of armed native
constabulary. S. H. RAY
France : Reindeer Period. Girod and Massenat.
Les Stations de VAge da Renne dans les Vallees de la Veztre et de la
Corrtze. Documents recueillis et publies par Dr. Paul Girod et Elie Massenat.
Laugerie-Basse ; Industrie, Sculptures, Gravures. Paris, J. B. Bailliere et fils, 1900.
4to, pp. viii -f 101, with 110 plates and 42 pp. of explanation.
For some tive-aud-thirty years M. Massenat has been a diligent explorer of the
caves and rock-shelters in the valleys of the Vezere and the Correze. Preliminary
notices of his work have appeared from time to time, but no detailed and systematic
account has yet been published. His very extensive collection is now in the care of
Prof. Girod, of Clermont Ferrand, who has co-operated for many years with
M. Massenat. They believe that the time has come for the preparation of a complete
work, dealing exhaustively with the subject ; and they accordingly propose to issue
a series of monographs describing all the stations which they have explored and all
the objects which have been collected. The volume before us is the first of the series.
It is devoted to the station of Laugerie-Basse, a locality of singular interest, inasmuch
as it presents a typical illustration of the life and industry of the Magdaleuiau age.
[ 47 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 37-38,
As this is (lie first instalment of the great work which it is proposed to publish, it
contains some preliminary matter of a general character, including a brief survey of
the prehistoric remains throughout the valleys of the Vczere and the Correze. About
I860 Jouannait found worked flints in certain caves in Dordoghe. But as far back
as 1842 the College of Brire had acquired the natural history cabinet of the little
College of Azerac, and it was found that this collection contained a number of objects
worked in flint and in reindeer-antler, together with reindeer bones, evidently of local
origin, but without any record of their discovery. A new epoch in the history of
archaeological work in Perigord was opened up, however, in 1862, when Edouard
Lartet had his attention directed to the Dordogne caves through some specimens sent
to Paris by Abel Laganne, of Les Eyzies. Everyone knows how Henry Christy
threw himself into the work, conjointly with Lartet, and how the results were eventually
given to the world in the famous Rcliquia: Aquitanicce.
It was about 1865 when M. Massenat commenced his researches by investigating
some stations on the Correze, whence he proceeded to the stream of Planchetorte, where
his work was carried on partly in association with Philibert Lalande. Passing on to
the Vezere, he set himself to explore patiently and systematically many of the stations
which had previously been subject to only hasty examination. From his wide know-
ledge of the relics of the so-called " Reindeer Age " he is led to recognize three epochs
corresponding with those of de Mortillet, but named according to the typical stations.
Instead, therefore, of the terms " Magdaleniau," " Solutriau," and " Mousteriau," he uses
respectively the terms "epoch of Laugerie-Basse," "of Cro Magnon," and "of LeMoustier."
The station of Laugerie-Basse was originally explored by Christy and Lartet, and
by de Vibraye ; but M. Masseuat has perseveringly continued the work in a most
detailed and careful manner. The results are fully set forth in the present work. The
wealth of material discovered at this station is illustrated by no fewer than 110 quarto
plates, lithographed by Dr. Girod, representing a great series of implements in flint,
quartz, ivory, and reindeer-antler, together with a number of interesting engravings and
sculptures of the Reindeer Age. F. W. RUDLER.
Savoy : Ethnology. Pittard.
Note Prcliminaire sur I' 'Ethnologic de la Savoie et de la flaule-Savoie. Qfl
Eugene Pittard. (Extract from Le Globe, Geneva, June 1900.) WU
This note is intended to indicate the present state of the author's investigations
into the Ethnology of Savoy, and to express the conclusions he has so far arrived at,
subject to revision in a larger communication to be subsequently made in collaboration
with Dr. J. Garret. M. Pittard shows that palae-ethnologists have found that a
brachycephalic group inhabited the lake dwellings of Savoy in the early polished stone
period, and were displaced in whole or part by a dolichocephalic people who also lived
as lake dwellers. Towards the end of the Bronze Age, this part of Europe was iuvaded
in force by a brachycephalic population from across the Alpine passes. The author
describes the ethnic distribution in Savoy as based on Lagneau's researches, deals
briefly with the Burgundiau invasion of the 5th century of our era and with the
Saracen occupation, and passes on to craniological evidence. M. Pittard having studied
165 skulls from this neighbourhood, finds they fall into two definite groups, a
dolichocephalic of 15 and a brachycephalic of 126 crania respectively. The
brachycephalic skulls being also leptoprosopic and leptorhine are closely allied to
those of the Valais, the Grisons, and Auvergne. The dolichocephalic group, relatively
so feebly represented, is regarded as Burgundian. At first sight it would seem that
among the present population of Savoy brachycephaly is associated with short stature
and with relative blondness. F. C. S.
Printed by EYKE AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.C.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 39-40.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
East Africa. With Plate D. Sharpe.
A Carved Stool and other objects from British East Africa. Communi-
cated by Alfred Sharpe, C.B., Assistant Commissioner of Uganda.
The three objects described below were obtained by Mr. Alfred Sharpe, C.B.,
A Distant Commissioner of Uganda, were exhibited on his behalf at a meeting of the
Anthropological Institute on November 27th, 1900 ; and have been presented by him to
the British Museum. The following brief account of them is compiled from the objects
themselves, and from memoranda supplied by Mr. Sharpe : —
No. 1 is a stool of soft white wood, artificially blackened on the surface. It is
25 inches high, and consists of a squatting female figure resting on a plain, solid,
circular pedestal, and supporting with upraised arms a plain circular seat, the upper
surface of which is slightly concave. The female figure is remarkable for the elaborate
representation of prominent cheloid ornaments on the flanks and abdomen, and for the
peculiar treatment of the hair, which is well shown in side and back view. (Plate D.)
The stool comes from the district immediately west of the Luapula or Lualaba
river, immediately after its exit, towards the north, from Lake Mweru. The natives
there constantly make'these stools, of different sizes and patterns. Mr. Sharpe adds that
he has seen some beautifully carved ones at the trading station of the African Lakes
Corporation at the north-east corner of Lake Mweru.
No. 2 is a double gong, 16J inches high, of peculiar form, hammered together out of
two thick sheets of soft iron. It has no clapper, and was, apparently, intended to be
struck from without. It comes from the town of Kazembe, just south of Lake Mweru.
Kazembe's is one of the oldest known " dynasties " in the southern half of Central
Africa. Dr. Livingstone, when at Kazembe's, traced back a number of generations of
" Kazembes," each succeeding chief being called by the same name. A Kazembe was in
full swing at the time of Lacerda's journey in 1797 (see Burton's Land of the Cazcmbes,
p. 4) ; and when there in 1890, 1892, and 1899 Mr. Sharpe saw abandoned sites of
several old towns of the Kazembe's. Kazembe, the present chief, told Mr. Sharpe that
his ancestors came from Mwata Yamvo, on the Kasai. Many of the customs at
Kazembe's are more similar to those of the west of Africa than to those of the eastern
half of the continent. The natives say that these bells are not made now, and that they
are very old. Mr. Sharpe saw two or three of them.
No. 3 is a perforated stone object like the head of a hammer or mace. It is
6£ inches long, 3 inches broad, and 1^ inches thick. This object comes from the
" Marnbwe " country, which lies near the south end of Lake Tanganyika, 2,000 feet
above the lake, and 5,000 above sea level. The natives find these objects in the ground,
but do not know their origin, and call them miala ya mlunga, i.e., " Stones of God,"
meaning " supernatural stones." They are sometimes round, instead of oval, and
sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, than this example. Similar stones were found by
Theodore Bent at Zimbabwe, and there are similar stones in the Gizeh Museum at Cairo,
which were taken from Egyptian tombs of early date. Mr. Sharpe knows of no other
localities in Africa, except those mentioned above, where these stones are found.
Egypt: Prehistoric. Randall-Maclver.
A Prehistoric Cemetery at El Amrah in Egypt : Preliminary Report of Mf\
Excavations By D. Randall-Maclver, M. A., Lay cock Student of Egyptology at T"U
Worcester College, Oxford.
The village of El Amrah lies about six miles to the south of the famous site of
Abydos, where Professor Flinders Petrie has for the past two seasons been engaged in
[ 49 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 40.
unravelling the difficult history of Egypt's earliest kings. It has been known for some
years that valuable prehistoric cemeteries existed in the neighbourhood, but their precise
character could hardly be appreciated, inasmuch as nothing had been published which
could be called a record of the excavations made there. It was with some nnxiety that
Mr. Anthony Wilkin and I, to whom Professor Petrie entrusted this part of the
concession granted to him by the Department of Antiquities, commenced our season's
work. A site which had been already dug no less than four times, first by uative
plunderers, and then by professed archaeologists, might well have been supposed to be
entirely exhausted. I am happy, however, to be able to state that our success has far
surpassed our modest expectations, and purpose in the following pages to give a brief
resume of results which will soon be published in full in the official memoir of the
Egypt Exploration Fund, at whose expense the work is being conducted.
The cemeteries on which we have been engaged are situated close to the cultivation
on the table land,
between two wide
valleys which run
down from the
upper desert a short
distance north of
El Amrah. Here
a tract of many
acres of broken
ground testifies to
the cupidity, if not
to the knowledge
of previous grave-
hunters. At the
south-west corner
sherds of broken
pottery showed that
many at least of
the graves were of
prehistoric date, and it was at this point that we began to excavate on December 22nd.
It soon became evident that a
large number of graves had
not been opened, while others
had been insufficiently cleared.
After a mouth's work three
hundred graves had been fully
registered from a piece of
ground measuring only about
15,000 square yards. This
proved to be the entire extent
of a small but highly interest-
ing prehistoric cemetery, which
may have originally contained
some 600 or 700 graves. In
date it ranged from the very
earliest "New Race" times I-'K;. 2. CI.AV MODKF, <n KIM:.
through the entire middle
period down to the beginning of ' the " Late Prehistoric." The graves yielded not only
a great quantity of the objects familiar to all who have studied this period (pottery,
[ 50 ]
Flft. 1. CLAY MODEL OF A HOUSE.
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 40.
Fi<;s. 4-6. MACE HEADS.
ivories, slate palettes, <fce.), but also ,-i certain number which arc wholly new in character.
The most interesting arc those which hear directly upon the life of the, people who lived
in the ci try at that time. In the nihhish of a plundered grave was found a fragment
which evidently represented
a house, the uext day more
pieces were turned out which
lii well together and almost
complete the whole. The
house (shown in fig. 1) In
oblong in shape, sloping hack
from the hasc and recurved
at the top. From its form it
may lie supposed that it was
built of wattle and mud ; at one end is depicted a door (probably of wood), and at the
other two small windows. No roof was found, but if it is permissible to judge from
the construction of graves which occur in our second cemetery, it must have consisted of
houghs on which was laid a wattle-
work of twigs covered with mud.
The "New Race" had probably
even more occasion to use boats than
the modern Egyptians, for there is no
doubt that the country was far more
swampy then than it is now. • It is
thought that some of these boats
are represented on their well-known
"decorated" pottery. In our first
cemetery were found pottery models
of two, if not three, different kinds,
but they do not resemble those figured
on the pottery. Again, that the
u New Race" were a hunting people
has long been known from their
carvings and drawings, as well as inferred from the objects which occur in the graves.
But it must now be added that they were a pastoral people ; for in no less than three
graves were found pottery groups of kine. The grave from which the best group came
(sec fig. 2), was that of a man who held in his hand a model baton of clay, the stem of
which was painted with a spiral red band
like a leather thong, while the head of it
was in the form of a mace and decorated
with black lines ; some fine pottery com-
pleted his tomb-furniture. Of weapons of
war and the chase figs. 3-11 will give a
fair idea. The breccia axe (fig. 3), the
mare-heads (figs. 4-6), and the forked
hunting-lance of Hint (figs. 7-11) all came
from the same grsive, which, indeed, con-
tained five of these lances, a remarkable
outfit at a time when they must have been very rare and costly. The weapons ami
implements in these graves are generally of stone. Copper is always rare, though
occurring occasionally even in the earliest stage of the prehistoric. Fig. 12 shows a new
type of copper dagger found in a plundered grave of the middle Prehistoric period.
Flint implements of one class or another occur in almost every grave, though the fine
FIGS. 7-11. FOUKKD IH;NTIN<;-[,ANCKS or FLINT.
Km. 12. iiA(i(;i:K or
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 40
FIGS. 13-14. BASKETS.
specimens are, of course, uncommon. In several cases a small sheaf of flakes has been
found lying between the hands and head ; and one grave, from the number and variety
of the flakes and implements found
in it, would seem to have been that
of a professional flint-knapper.
Other crafts are represented by
the excellent cloth used to wrap
round the body, by baskets such as
those shown in figs. 13 and 14, and
by clay bases which probably served
in the manufacture of pottery. With
regard to the pottery itself this
cemetery yielded a considerable
number of new varieties and one quite new class of ware.
The dolls shown in figs. 15 and 16 may be taken to represent the inhabitants of
the country, to such extent at least as their
artistic skill could interpret their own con-
ceptions. It is worth remarking that the
peculiar " sheath " which they wear, and the
strongly-curled hair, are the essential features
of the figures carved on the splendid proto-
dynastic slates (Journ. Anthr. Inst., xxx,
PI. B., C., D.).
After this cemetery was finished, another
was started some two or three hundred paces
to the east of it. The ground between is
full of 18th dynasty burials, and it appears
at the moment of writing as if the two pre-
historic patches were quite separate and
independent.
The eastern cemetery is of very compre-
hensive character. It begins with burials of
almost, if not quite, the earliest type, and
continues down to the 1st or Ilnd dynasty.
In comparison with the other cemetery it
has not been much plundered. Up to the
date on which this is written (February 17th)
rather more than 100 new graves have been
opened. One of these has produced the most
valuable find of the season, namely, a slate
palette which is conclusively dated, by the
pottery and stone vases occurring with it, no less than by its own characteristic form,
to the middle period of the Prehistoric (60 in Prof. Petrie's sequence-
datings). It bears in relief upon the face the brief inscription given
in fig. 17, and is thus by far the earliest example yet found of the
use of hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphic writing has been known to exist
in a well-developed form as early as the 1st dynasty, but this slate
belongs to a period considerably before Menes, the first king of the
1st dynasty.
An especially interesting point in connection with the eastern
cemetery is that the range and variety of the burials have made it
possible to trace the evolution of all the types of early tomb-construction. The bodies
[ 52 ]
FIGS. 15-16. CLAY DOLLS.
FIG. 17.
HIEROGLYPHIC.
1901.] MAN. [No. 40.
are invariably buried in a contracted position, and the stages through which the toml.
developed may be provisionally stated as follows : the first stage is the only one which
has not yet been noted in this part of the ground, though it is of frequent occurrence iu
the western cemetery : —
1. The earliest burials of all are in very shallow round graves. The body was
generally wrapped in the skin of a sheep or goat.
2. These are succeeded by graves several feet deep, and of a roughly oval or
oblong shape. The body was commonly wrapped in cloth and laid on a reed
mat, which was then folded round it. Sometimes the reed mat was further
laid on a tray of twigs, and very rarely on a wooden dug-out bier.
3. Graves of the same depth as the last, in which the beginnings of a slight
recess occur, iu which the body is laid ; while the larger pots are outside the
recess.
4. Graves 5 or 6 feet deep, with a well-marked recess cut out for the body. The
recess is sometimes fenced off by upright wooden baulks.
5. A regular pit, about 6 feet deep and 2 to 3 feet iu width, with a recess bricked
off from it. The recess contains a clay, a wooden, or a pottery coffin, either
oval or oblong, and one or two pots, which are almost the only tomb furniture
found with this class. Such graves are very late in the prehistoric series,
approaching closely to the period of the 1st dynasty, or. even entering
into it.
From this point the solution branches off into two distinct lines. The pit with
chamber becomes the regular well with chamber, a type which prevails from the IVth
dynasty onwards all through Egyptian history. On the other hand the bricked recess,
considered in itself apart from the well or pit, becomes the brick tomb which forms
our sixth stage.
6. Four-sided tombs, consisting of brick walls sunk a few feet below the desert-
surface. At first these contain a coffin either of mud or of wood. Some-
times the coffin is replaced by a plank lining fastened against the walls ; this
feature has been found also in Prof. Petrie's Royal Tombs of the 1st Dynasty.
Sometimes, again, there is no coffin, but the body is wrapped in cloth and laid
on a reed mat as in the earlier graves.
N.B. — The burials under inverted pots which frequently occur in this cemetery do
not fall naturally into any stage of the tomb development. They should perhaps
be regarded as cheap varieties of the pottery coffin.
The first stage in the history of this brick construction is a plain four-sided
enclosure, larger or smaller according to the importance of the grave. The smaller
graves are covered with mud bricks supported on more piles of bricks built up from
the floor. For the larger a regular roof is made of unbarked boughs or trunks ,of trees
of 2—4 inches diameter laid across the width of the grave. On these is then laid a
wattlework of twigs or reeds, and the whole then covered with several inches of
plastered mud.
7. A natural development of such graves as those of the sixth class ensues when
niches are walled off to receive the offerings put with the deceased person.
First of all a small dividing wall is built at one end or the other, thus barring
off a small section of the whole length.
Next, this section is itself divided by a small cross-partition, so as to form two
niches. A greater elaboration still is reached when more niches are inserted in other
parts of the tomb, and thus a natural progress is made to the complicated arrangement of
the Royal Tombs of Abydos. The most detailed arrangement that has yet been found at
El Auirah was that of a large brick tomb which has just been worked. It was a
large room about 5 feet deep and 5 feet below the surface of the ground, with two
[ 53 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 40-41.
cli;iuil)crs lit the south end for offerings, ami :i third chamber at the north-east corner for
the body of a cow. A staircase 24 feet loug gave entrance to the tomb from the
western side. From this tomb, which had been plundered very recently, we obtained
fragments of fine stone vases, and half of a beautifully-inscribed steatite cylinder.
DAVID RANDALL-MACIVER.
Siam : Celadon Ware. Lyle.
The Place of Manufacture of Celadon Ware. By T. H. Lyle. A 4
The following are extracts from a letter from Mr. T. H. Lyle, 1st Assistant,
Consular Service, Siam, to Mr. Thomas Boyuton, F.S.A., of Norman House, Bridliugton
Quay, Yorks. The letter is dated " H.Ii.M. Consulate, Nan, via Moulmien. May 12,
1900":—
" I have not been entirely forgetful of my promise to try to obtain for you a
perfect specimen of Celadon ware. I am sorry to say that my efforts have been
unsuccessful ; but having had the opportunity to inspect the kilns where this ware
was manufactured, I fancy you may be interested to have an account of my visit.
These kilns are situated in a province of Siam, known as Sawaukalok, possessing
a capital of the same name, on the River Mee Yome, distant north from Bangkok
more than 200 miles. This Sawankalok, according to Siamese history, was an old-
time capital of Siam, and must have been possessed of a highly cultured and artistic
population, as the imposing ruins of numerous magnificent temples testify. A friend
and myself rode together from Sawankalok up the River Mee Yome for a couple
of hours before arriving at the district which we desired to inspect. The roatl was
simply a track through jungle and forest, and followed the course of the river. At
a convenient shallow, we crossed to the west bank, and plunging straight into the
jungle, were conducted to a large mound, 50 or 60 yards from the river bank.
" The whole district is a mass of forest and undergrowth, and as — at first sight —
one perceived merely large trees and vegetation springing from a slight rise in the
ground, one's natural impulse was to ask ' Where are the kilns ? ' That question
speedily solves itself. These mounds, which average 20 to 30 feet in height, and vary
from 60 to 100 feet in circumference, consist of bricks, pipes, earth, debris, and broken
pots. Everywhere the ground is streAvu with fragments of pottery ; one could gather
sufficient to macadamise the roads of all Bridlington, but there is hardly a piece as big
as this sheet of paper [5 ins. X 7 ins.], and a perfect specimen does not exist. The
mounds or kilns number several hundred ; many of them are so overgrown as to be
almost unapproachable. They stand in a close double line, at intervals of 20 to 40
yards, for over four miles. The hundreds of people who, at one time, found employment
in these manufacturies are vanished ; countless fragments of pottery are the only relics
of this once high-class industry. We had a number of men with us, and diligently
hunted and dug amongst one or two of these ' scrap-heaps,' though our efforts were only
partially successful. One or two badly-damaged specimens and wasters came to light,
the most perfect find being three or four white glazed tiles. Local officials, learning of
my desire for this pottery, gave me one or two pieces in fair condition which I now
have by me.
" The manner of digging, no less than the tools employed, and the lack of
enthusiasm amongst the natives, render it very difficult to do any systematic excavation
in these mounds. Each man scrapes away with his hands, after loosening the earth
with a ' spade ' rather bigger than a tablespoon. My visit took place in the hottest of
the dry weather, when the ground is parched and burnt almost to brick, and several
battered specimens were hopelessly cracked and spoilt in attempting to draw them out
[ 54 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 41.
of the hunl soil and (Ittftriti in which llicy were embedded. Altogether, with 1O or
12 men working all day, the total amount of earth actually excavated equalled that
which one British navvy could have torn up with a pickaxe in 10 minutes.
" In the case of the one or two mounds to which \ve confined our attention the
month and root' appear to have collapsed owiug to the destructive action of the trees
and vegetation, rather than to faulty construction. White ants, too, have carried up so
much earth when taking refuge upon them during wet weather, that it is in many oases
impossible to determine whether the roof has given way. I strongly suspect that
scientific investigation would find many of the kilns practically complete. In one
instance a section of the roof was uncovered and visible, and I was struck with the fact
that tile kiln was evidently not a straight arch blocked by a perpendicular wall at each
end, but was rather a perfect dome, on the beehive plan.
" We were puzzled for some time to conjecture the use and duty of the numerous
' pipes ' which lay strewn around. The pipes are brown in colour, and glazed ou the
outside ; one end widens out considerably. They are of all lengths and sizes. One
large specimen which I brought away with me measures '22 inches in length (end
broken), 2] inches in diameter at the narrow end, and 4^ at the base. A small one
measures ijj inches in height, 1 inch at top, and 1 1 at base. After some little conjecture
we discovered beyond doubt that these pipes were the stands upon which the raw
howls, ttc., had been placed within the kilns. Fragments of the bases of bowls were
picked up with a circular mark plainly visible where they had rested upon the stands: in
some instances the top of the stand had broken oft' and remained adhering to the bottom
of the specimen. The pipes had been built up exactly like a gun barrel, by a circular
corkscrew manipulation of the (day — traces of the process are plainly manifest — and mv
friend and I came to the conclusion that some of these kilns must have been devoted to
the burning of these " -lands ' only.
"The fragments of pottery exhibited countless species of pattern, in 'ink,' fancy
(lower patterns, wheels, plain and fantastic grooves, and moulding in relief were equallv
plentiful. Of the battered specimens I procured, 1 endeavour here to give you an idea
of the different shapes. None of these specimens are intact, all of them are damaged
nid chipped, some badlv. Manv of thorn are wasters. I hav< a specimen of four
[ 55 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 41-42.
bowls, like the one to the left in the photograph, which have collapsed and fused
together.
" I have come to the conclusion that an absolutely perfect bowl, with moulding in
relief, like that I gave to the British Museum, is not to be procured, or rather is not in
existence. Whether I shall ever find myself in that district again I do not know, but
if ever a chance presents itself of again visiting these wonderful kilns, I shall surely
avail myself of it."
Georgia : Folklore. Thomas.
Animal Folklore in Georgia. Collected by M. Sakkokia ; communicated by M ft
N. W. Thomas. T"£
Among the answers I have received to my questions on Animal Superstitions
the following are of some interest : —
1. If a cow or a bull bellows at someone, they say in Mingrelia that the person will
soon die ; to prevent this they kill the animal ; the more economical spirits only pull out
a tuft of hair and put it under their foot. This means, " May the animal be killed and
" his hide be used to make my boots ? "
2. After New Year's Day certain birds and young animals have the power to
" conquer "''human beings, if they are seen on an empty stomach. The way to prevent
FIG. 1.
FIG. 2.
this is to eat a little bread on getting up, and then, when you see a sucking pig, &c.
for the first time, you say " I have conquered you." If you are conquered by a goat,
your tongue will speak against your will the whole year ; a fowl will cause hunger
and a feeling of discomfort ; a thrush, cold in the head ; a yellowhammer, grief ; and a
sucking pig will cause you to be dirty.
3. On the first Saturday in Lent, called in Mingrelia " the Saturday of prayer for
" domestic animals," the peasants make cakes in the shape of cows, sheep, goats, &c.,
and put them in a deep wooden bowl. After the prayer the members of the household
eat these cakes without using their hands. The basin is put on the ground and each
person goes on all fours, imitating the animals in movements and cries. In Georgia the
cakes are made at New Year.
[ 56 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos.'42-43.
4. In Mingrelia Turks are said to appear after death in the form of young dogs.
5. To protect the houses and gardens, skulls and stones with holes in them are put
on poles (Fig. 1). For this purpose a cross of wood is also put up on July 20th and
August 15th, when the witches hold their assemblies ; a long pole is taken and split at
the top ; a cross piece is put in the split, and a crown of thorns hung on it (Fig. 2).
6. If a dog tries to jump over a paling between two houses, and sticks on the top
with his body more on one side than the other, death will visit the house in the garden
of which the greater portion of the dog is.
7. If the cuckoo is heard in the mountains on March 2oth the mountains will yield
a better harvest than the plains.
8. Catch a tree frog when you hear it for the first time in spring, and in doing so
prevent it from uttering a sound ; it should next be buried until only its bones remain,
and then should be dug up and thrown into water ; those that float should be charred ;
a little of the resulting powder thrown on the person or dress of the lady you love will
prevent her from loving anyone more than yourself. The bones of the wagtail have the
same magic power.
REVIEWS.
Religion. Frazer.
The Golden Bough : A Study in Magic and Religion. By J. G. Frazer, M Q
D.C.L., L.L.D., Litt.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. London, Mac- 1*0
millau, 1900. Second edition, revised and enlarged, 3 vols., 8vo, pp. xxviii, 467 ;
x, 471 ; x, 490. Price 36*. net.
When the first edition of The Golden Bough was published in 1890, it was obvious
that, whether the author's theory of the meaning of the succession to the Ariciau
priesthood, which it was written to expound, were proven or not, an important con-
tribution had been made to our knowledge of savage rite and savage myth. The
criticisms bestowed on it were of the most various description ; but, however they
might differ, they were at one on this. Dr. Frazer attempted no immediate answer to
objections. He wisely refrained from controversy. Taking note of the different points
to which exception was taken, he bided his time until, with his unrivalled industry and
the discoveries continually made, he should have an opportunity of restating his position
and buttressing his arguments by further evidence. The time at length arrived ; and
he has now put forth a second edition double the length of the first, and strengthened
on many points by illustrations often drawn from sources little known to English
anthropologists.
What is the result ? Hardly any part of the work has been left untouched.
Paragraphs, pages, whole sections have been interpolated, and much has been rewritten.
But while a great deal of valuable matter has thus been introduced, and clearer expression
has been given to many of the author's ideas, the argument for the main theory has
hardly been advanced at all. We seem to be no nearer the decisive solution of the
riddle. And if Dr. Frazer's explanation holds the field, it is rather because no other
explanation, intelligible on the known principles of savage belief and custom, has been
offered, than because of its own cogency.
On many of the side issues, however, an advance has been made. Additional
illustrations and fuller argument have thrown a brighter search-light upon many customs.
Ev.eu where we cannot accept the author's conclusions, the additions to his collection of
facts are helpful, and his arguments set the point under discussion in sharper relief.
True, the very wealth of his anthropological learning impedes the hasty reader, who
" cannot see the wood for the trees." But the book is not for the hasty reader. The
author of set purpose has multiplied his evidences, and courted the discussion of side
[ 57 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 43,
issues. Recognizing the hypothetical nature of much that he has put forward, he
expresses tiie hope that though his hypotheses be superseded, his " book may still have
its utility and its interest as a repertory of facts." This hope at least will be realized.
And Dr. Frazer is so candid and courteous in the presentation of his argument and the
discussion of doubtful points, that perhaps I may be excused for taking advantage of
.the opportunity to mention one or two points on which I find myself unable to agree
with him. and which consequently I must for the present consider as at least doubtful.
The first relates to the essential distinction between magic and religion, and the
priority of the former in the order of evolution. Is there any evidence of this priority
beyond the practices of the strange tribes of Central Australia ? The "primitive"
character of these tribes does not seem to me so fully established as Mr. Frazer thinks.
Further information on their beliefs, the meaning of their rites, and the influences to
which they have been subjected is highly desirable. In any case the foundation seems a
small one on which to build so large an inference. Magic is not more widely prevalent
in the world than the savage interpretation of external phenomena in the terms of
human consciousness, aud the doctrine of spirits. The practical application of the
interpretation and the doctrine in question is what Dr. Frazer calls religion (i, 63), aud
I see no reason to suppose that it came into existence later than magic. I use the words
magic and religion in Dr. F razor's sense, as opposed to one another. It is convenient to
do so, because, at least in their developed forms, there is an ideal distinction between
them. But in fact, magic interpenetrates all religious, and the antagonism, frequently
so pronounced, doubtless as the author sees, " made its appearance comparatively late in
the history of religion." Moreover, this very antagonism is often rather the hostility of
a State religion or a popular worship to an unpopular one, than the opposition of really
irreconcilable principles. The author has given examples of the mixture of religion and
magic in the cults of ancient India and Egypt, and even among the peasantry of Europe.
But without trenching on ground it is desirable in these pages to avoid, I may point out
to him that magic, as he defines it, is by no means to be confined to the peasant classes
or to the non-official forms of Christianity, while the relations of the witches of Europe
to the devil, as they appear in folk-tales and in the witch-trials, assuredly come within
his definition of .religion. The savage, it is admitted, knows no distinction between the
natural and the supernatural. The beings whom he imagines, whether we call them
gods or spirits, have powers over the forces of nature which only exceed his own, if they
do exceed them, and do not differ in kind. While he invokes these beings for help, he
also tries his own powers in the same breath. The finest gradations divide prayer from
spell, the act of worship from the rite of imitative magic. " The functions of priest and
sorcerer " are " not yet differentiated from each other," because magic and religion,
growing from the same root, have not yet bifurcated.
Dr. Frazer has honoured me by devoting many pages of his third volume to the
confutation of heresies of which I have been guilty. I am happy to confess that he
has brought forward a mass of evidence as to cairns and the practice of adding to them,
which will necessitate reconsideration of my theory on the subject. With regard to the
practice of hammering a nail into the Cella Jovis, which I treated as analogous, I do not
think he has been quite so successful. He has neglected the important point that the
wall into which the nail was fastened was that of a sacred building. The knocking of
nails into sacred buildings or trees, or into the statues of gods, cannot have been
intended simply to transfer some evil to them. There is often no evil to be got rid of.
There is none, for instance, in the marriage-rite at Montbeliard. The Lapalud near
Angers, and the Stock im Eiseu at Vienna are not sheathed with nails for any such
purpose. The petitions implied by the pins in the statue of Saint Guirec, or the nails in
a West African idol, have often nothing to do with the removal of any definite ill ; still
less are they intended to stick lh« ill into the object of worship. If I understand
L -53 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 43.
Dr. Fra/er correctly, lie assent* to the analogy of these |>ni<-tices with the Roman
custom, though unable to accept my general explanation of them. Hut he himself
offers no explanation which will cover them.
Again, we are at issue on the meaning of the " Sin-eater." Here the attack w:i*
mine, for I had ventured, somewhat rashly perhaps, to question his application of a
similar rite reported by Dubois. In a note (iii, 18) he mentions the divergence of
interpretation, and refers to certain customs as bearing out his view. But he does not
discuss the Bavarian custom of making and eating Leichen-nudeln, in which tin-
declared intention was the exact opposite of sin-eating, and other customs to which I
had ventured to call attention.
In these cases it may be that neither of us took into account the possibility that
more than one train of savage reasoning has converged on the same or the like ceremony.
I think Dr. Frazer has forgotten this possibility again in his explanation of the practice
of passing a child through a split ash-tree. It is idle to deny (and I have not denied)
that many medical prescriptions in favour among the peasantry of Europe contemplate
the transfer of the disease to a tree, or to some other human being, or one of the lower
animals — in fact, to any convenient object. But it seems impossible to account in the
same way for all the prescriptions which at first view seem alike. And 1 endeavoured
to explain the practice in question as a mode of uniting the sick child for his or her
benefit with the healthy young tree. Dr. Frazer contends it is a case of transfer of
disease, and adduces in illustration a number of cases from savage life of passing through
cleft trees and other symbolical apertures for the purpose of getting rid of dangerous
spirits or of disease. We may admit the meaning of all of these examples to be what is
here attributed to them, and yet we shall be none the nearer the explanation of passing
the ruptured child through the tree. For all the examples omit the essential condition
of the success of the rite, namely, that the tree shall reunite and flourish, because the
child's life is henceforth bound up with it. The suggestion (iii, 397) " that with the
" disease the sufferer is supposed to transfer a certain vital part of himself to the tree, so
" that it is impossible to injure the tree without at the same time injuring the man," does
not meet the difficulty, since in undoubted cases of transfer of disease or -riddance of
spirits we do not find this essential condition. We cannot, therefore, refer the rite at
the split ash to the same origin as the latter. Different trains of thought have produced
similar rites.
It may be true that none of the side issues to which I have referred are essential to
Dr. Frazer's main argument. Yet they seem to me to exhibit a weakness which runs
through much of the work. It is forgotten that we cannot assume that the same
motives have in all circumstances led to actions which bear an outward likeness to each
other, or that one action or rite may be due to the concurrence of more than one line of
reasoning. The section on Lityerses contains an example of a mistake of the same
kind, namely, the confusion, of two distinct and disparate, though similar rites. After
comparing, I think rightly, the story of Lityerses with certain European harvest-customs
wherein the pretence is made of putting a man to death, and after showing that in the
modern customs the victim is treated as an embodiment of the corn-spirit, he goes 0*1 to
say (ii, 237) : — " it is desirable to shew that in rude society human beings have been
" commonly killed as an agricultural ceremony to promote the fertility of the fields."
But of all the cases he cites, with one doubtful exception, the Mexican is the only harvest
custom. It may be conceded that in all the others the promotion of the fertility of the
fields is beyond question the object. It does not foHow that that is the object of the
European harvest customs, or that it was the object of the hypothetical Phrygian
custom which is handed down to us in the story of Lityerses. Rather we may presume
it was thought that the harvest was not properly reaped unless the spirit of the corn was
secured and slaiin with it. The slaughter of the spirit of the corn in its full strength
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 43-44.
may have been & necessary preliminary to its rising again in undiminisbed vigour the
following year. All that Dr. Frazer says about the parallelism of Lityerses and Attis
(ii, 250) may be perfectly accurate. His interpretation of both may be accurate too.
But it does not seem to be assisted by the examples he has given of savage rites
practised at or near seed-time. Lityerses was, not a Meriah.
Few anthropologists, I imagine, are in the habit of reading the Analecta Bollan-
diana. It is therefore to be regretted that Dr. Frazer has omitted to give us the date
and other particulars of -the manuscript of the .Acts of Saint Dasius. If this account
of the martyrdom of a Roman soldier be in the main authentic, it throws an unexpected
light on the Saturnalia. But the evidence for the authenticity is not before us.
A priori the story does not seem very probable ; while on the other hand the untrust-
worthy character of many of the " Acts " of early Christian martyrs is well known. I
regret the omission all the more because the section on the Saturnalia, which is entirely
new, contains some of the most suggestive speculations of recent years, and the story of
Saint Dasius is not the least important link in the chain of evidence in support of them.
I trust I have not successfully concealed in these brief and discursive remarks my
great admiration for The Golden Bough. If I cannot accept all the author's conclu-
sions, if I hesitate to admit that his main theory is proven, I am none the less ready to
acknowledge his mastery of anthropological problems, his skill in their discussion, his
fertility in suggestion, and his almost boundless industry and learning ; I am none the
less ready to acclaim the value of the contribution which these have enabled him to make
here, as elsewhere, to anthropological studies. The new edition has greatly enhanced
the debt which all students owe to him. And insensible must be the ear in which the
music of many an eloquent page does not ring and ring again long after the book has been
closed, and doubts as to this point or the other have been busy in the mind.
E. SIDNEY HARTLAND.
Folklore. Rhys.
Celtic Folklore : Welsh and Manx. By John Rhys, D.Litt., Professor of
Celtic, Oxford. Two vols., 8vo. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1901. Pp. xlviii,
718. Price
A suggestive book, containing not only a quantity of new and old material
carefully recorded and commented on, but also a deal of new thought on matters
anthropological and even historical connected with the traditions referred to. The
pleasant and unaffected style make its perusal agreeable, and the learning and ingenuity
of the writer are as evident as ever.
The topics treated are Welsh " Undine " stories ; Welsh ideas respecting the
Tylwyth Teg or Fair Family, and their descendants, fairy wives and cattle, changelings,
dances, mermaids, afancs, or lake Kelpies, a set of Rip- Van-Winkle tales, the Wild
Hunt, familiar spirits, auguries, All -hallows' customs, Tom-Tim-Tot stories, the March-
Minos legend, phantom funerals, and other death portents. Chapters IV., V., are
concerned with Manx folklore — fenodyree [brownies], sleih beggey [little folk or fairies],
witches, sacred days, healing wells, qualtagh [first foot], &c. Chapters VI., VII., deal
with the sacred springs, the drowned lands of Wales, water horses and water gods,
the Welsh cyhiraeth and mourning spirit [ban-shee], and the identification of Seithennin,
son of Setthyn Saidi, with the name of the levravrfov people of Ptolemy \_Septant(?
they would be in Latin], Goidels driven west, of whom the greatest hero was Setanta
beg [the little Setantian], Cuchulind himself ; the parallelism of Donwy with Danubios
[Danube], of Brun de Morois with the King Gwyn ap Ntfl and of his steed Du y
Moroed with Per rival's demon charger.
[ 60 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 44-45.
Chapter VIII. discusses the Welsh Cave legends, and unfolds a curious history, in
which we find Owen Redhand, Froissart's Yvain de Gales, becoming a Welsh Sebastian
or Barbarossa or Holger danske, and actually ousting Arthur himself, who had replaced
the Kronos sleeping, as Demetrius told the Emperor, with his mighty vassals round
him in the keeping of Briareus. Chapter IX. treats of the great legendary Hunting
of the Magic Boar, a story which belongs, as Dr. Rhys proves, to the Goidels
originally, and helps with much other evidence to show that the Goidelic tribes, of
what is now Wales, were gradually absorbed by the adoption of the Brythonic speech
among the surrounding Britons. Anglesey, Snowdon, Bedgelert, are Goidelic districts,
and the Goidels seem to have kept their speech and nationality down to the 7th century
in spite of their defeats. The early British ideas of a soul and its persistence through
transformation and transmigrations are treated in Chapters X. and XI., as well as the
remains of Non- Aryan beliefs connected with " Druidism," the Shamanism that prevailed
in Hibernia, where it still persists in a slightly altered form, and in the far west of
Britain.
The evidence in favour of pre-Celtic races, one of dwarf kind, another with Berber
affinities, is marshalled as far as it can be drawn from the folklore of the country,
e.g., the Coritani-Coraniaid are dwarf magician people to the bigger people about
them, as the Eskimo are to the red man. As soon as accurate measurements have
determined the chief typical strains surviving among us to-day, the evidence of linguistic
and folklore as to the strong non-Aryan elements in the population of these islands,
will, we can hardly doubt, be abundantly confirmed. But, of course, we are too poor a
nation to utilize our abundant opportunities, to pursue Galton's experiments, or make
anthropometric investigations on a scale beyond private means.
The excellent bibliography and list of Welsh folklore books arranged by counties,
the full index, and careful references, greatly enhance the value of these well printed and
handsome volumes. F. Y. P.
Morocco : Language. Stumme.
Handbuch des Schilhischen von Tazerwalt : Grammatik, Lesestiicke, Gesprache, M r
Glossar. Von Dr. Hans Stumme, Privat-docenten an der Universitat, Leipzig. rO
Leipzig, Hinrichs, 1899. 8vo, pp. vi, 249. 12.80 marks.
Dr. Stumme is well known to students of the dialects and folk-literature of North-
West Africa, and has laid them now under still further obligations by this learned,
scholarly, and compendious treatise on one of the most interesting of African languages.
Three branches of the Libyan group of speech are commonly spoken within the
political boundaries of Morocco ; and are named respectively after the Riffs of the coast-
land, the Berbers (in the narrower sense) of the interior, and the Shluhs of the south.
These branches differ from each other about as widely as do the Romance languages of
Southern Europe ; and, like these, each includes a number of local dialects which are
often so strongly marked that the speakers are barely intelligible to one another.
In the case of the Shluhs, needless confusion has been introduced, in addition, by
the fact that their name was originally merely a word of contempt (silfi) applied by the
Arab invaders to any Libyan or Berber marauders who harried their settlements ; and
has only gradually become restricted to certain tribes who have resisted Semitic
influences most obstinately, and clung longest to their ancestral speech. Even so, many
of the so-called " Shluhs " of Tripoli, and even of Southern Tunis, are unintelligible,
both to one another, and to the Shluhs of Morocco ; with whom they seem to have little
more in common than the Kabyles of Northern Algeria have with the Riffs of the
Moroccan coast.
The subject of the handbook under review is the special dialect of the district of
Tazerwalt in Southern Morocco, which has attained a wide distribution outside its own
[ 61 ]
1901.1 MAN- [Nos. 45-46,
country, partly because Tazerwalt is the headquarters of the troupes of travelling acrobats,
who wander all over the East, and have been known to perform in Europe, and even in
America ; partly because the Tazerwalt Shluhs have accumulated a very considerable
literature of ballads and other poems, and of the proverbial sayings of the acrobats'
patron-saint, Sidi-Hamd-u-Musa, whose tomb is shown and venerated at Ileg in the
Tazerwalt country. These numerous compositions have attained a wide celebrity
among Libyan-speaking peoples, and have provided the materials for a sort of koine
dialektos between tribe and tribe, so that a knowledge of the Tazerwalt- Shluh dialect
is of great importance to anyone who travels or trades among the peoples of Southern
Morocco, and of the hinterland of French Africa and Tripoli.
Many of the poems and folk-tales of the Tazerwalt-Shluhs have been published
already, for the most part by Dr. Stumme himself ; and it is greatly to be hoped that he
may be able before long to add yet another instalment from the great store of material
which he has collected.
His present work is an important contribution to the study of the language itself,
and consists of : (1) an elaborate grammar (pp. 1-128) with a series of short exercises in
Tazerwalt-Shluh appended ; (2) a very practical phrase-book for the use of travellers,
traders, and medical men (pp. 131-154) ; and (3) a full glossary with etymological notes
(pp. 155-246), which includes a complete vocabulary to the author's previous publica-
tions already mentioned, and omits only such groups of words — plant names, insect names,
and the like — which only a specialist requires, and which a specialist will inevitably
discover at first hand for himself. The Shluhs themselves use the Arabic character
— the Tuareg script apparently not going so far north-west ; but this mode of transcrip-
tion not being sufficiently accurate for phonetic study, as the sample printed in section 21
will show very clearly, Dr. Stumme has wisely printed in Roman character throughout.
Even so, diacritical marks, not a few, were perhaps inevitable ; and perhaps even more
might have been done to facilitate, for a beginner, the pronunciation of words like
adagddhtntfkt (p. 9), or glb$adan (p. 147).
We may, perhaps, be permitted to regret that Dr. Stumme has not seen his way to
include in his Handbook more frequent comparisons of the Tazerwalt-Shluh with other
branches of the Libyan-Berber group ; which would have made his work of importance
to a larger circle of readers. But perhaps we may regard the extreme care which he
has taken to confine himself to the special dialect under consideration, as a hint that the
comparative study of it is only deferred for awhile.
In conclusion, may we congratulate Dr. Stumme on the statement, made in the
preface, that he has lectured for two terms on Berber languages to an eager audience in
the University of Leipzig. Truly the Germans know that business is business ; and
that if you are going to study or trade abroad, it is as well to make yourself understood
to the people of the place. There is plenty of room for all, however, among the
Tazerwalt-Shluhs, and we heartily recommend Dr. Stumme's Handbook to the
" Commercial " if not to the " Philological " Faculty of any British University.
J. L. M.
Language : Assam. Hamilton.
An Outline Grammar of the Dafla Language as spoken by the Tribes M Q
immediately South of the Apa Tanung Country. By R. C. Hamilton, Indian rU
Civil Service : Shillong, Assam Secretariate Press, 1900. Hvo. 127 pages, price 1 rupee.
We have here an excellent grammar of a language closely allied to the Miri and
Cacbari. The author has added an interesting collection of phrases and short stories,
with a complete vocabulary. W. CROOKE.
_\ : .
[ 62 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 47-48.
Melanesia : Ethnography. Foy.
Tdiiz-nhjrctf ram /ii.sitHirr/i-Arr/ii/irl, AV.v.w///, mid Huka. By VV. Foy.
Pp. viii, 40. Sc'voiiteen plate.-. ;iiul two blocks in the text. Forming Vol. 1,'J ol'
Piiblikationen aiis »len K. Ethnographuchea Museum 211 Dresden. Price £•'* l"»s.
Ethnologists owe a deep debt of gratitude to Dr. Meyer and the Dresden Museum
for i his sumptuous series. It makes accessible to the world by means of photographs
the most interesting and important objects in the Museum, ami elucidates them by a
descriptive text which is concise and yet sufficient. In the volume before us this is,
preceded by a general introduction, in which the author rejects as premature all attempts
at interpretation which are not founded on an exact knowledge of the individual trilies.
The mere occurrence of similar motives in ornament is in itself no more a proof of
intercommunication between the parts of the world where they are found than is the
occurrence of similar customs ; the connection can only be established by exact studies
dealing with larger areas than any man can cover single-handed. Conclusions based on
facts gathered in one field are too often recklessly applied to explain similar elements in
other fields, which, when they are more closely examined, are shown to belong to quite
a different circle of ideas. Thus, the assimilation of the Duk-duk costume to certain
African costumes i.s readily proved to be fallacious by the undeniable fact that the
Duk-duk costume is intended to represent a gigantic cassowary. It may be true that the
African mask -costume has developed from the " Hiittenmaske " ; but to derive Oceanic
mask-costumes from the same source is a mere speculation, which, so far from being
based on facts, runs counter to much that we know. Our material is everywhere so
incomplete, that a single new discovery may overthrow the most carefully built-up
fabric.
Most ethnological museums contain examples of the very remarkable and elaborate
masks and dance ornaments that come from Northern Neu-Mecklenburg (New Ireland),
and it is very convenient to have a number of these extremely varied objects carefully
described. In connection with these objects the author has given a valuable essay on
the .fish-motive, which is so constantly present. They are illustrated on Plate xiii.
There is another study on the variations and the development of the depending birds
which are represented under and over the months of many of the figures and masks
from North Neu-Mecklenburg and elsewhere. Plate xiv. illustrates this thesis.
The bodv of the book is taken up by descriptions of masks and other objects used
in dances in North Melanesia, and its value is enhanced by discussions on the ethno-
graphical relations prevailing in the islands, by invaluable bibliographies, to which an
appendix will be found in Globus, 1901, p. 97, and by the reproduction and description
of similar objects from other groups for purposes of comparison. Those who know the
publications of the Dresden Museum, most of which are, in whole or in part, from the
pen of Dr. Meyer, will he fully prepared to believe that it is worthy of its predecessors.
A. C. HADDON.
Folklore : England. Gomme.
Old English Singing Games. Collected by A. B. Gomme, illustrated by Edith M Q
Harwood. London, Allen, 1900. Crown oblong, pp. 55. Price, 5s. iO
Mrs. Gomme has in this book presented the public with a children's book of games
and tunes which may be read by older people too. In England the development of
children's games is not officially promoted as it is in Germany, and it is a matter for
regret t hat an occupation which educates as well as Minuses should not receive more
attention in England. This hook will give those people some material to work on, who
would he glad to do something in this direction. The little people for whom it is
intended will only regret that it is not longer. N. W. T.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 49-50.
India. Waddell.
Among the Himalayas. By Major A. L. Waddell, LL.D., F.L.S., &c.
London, Constable (Philadelphia, Lippencott). 1900 (2nd edition). 8vo,
pp. xvi, 452. Maps and many photographic illustrations. Price 6s.
Major Waddell's book gives an interesting account of that part of the great
Himalayan system which is included within the little State of Sikkim. If he has struck
out no very new or original line of his own, he has at least illustrated a subject well
which must ever possess a strong fascination for the mountain-climbing Englishman.
The geographical position of Sikkim on our Indian frontier, which invests it with
the command of the most direct approaches to Lhasa, renders it important both
politically and strategically, and Major Waddell appears to have made a fairly exhaus-
tive enquiry into the general physiography of the State with a view to future
possibilities in the matter of a great high road northwards. His first excursion was
from Darjiling by the Tibetan trade route to Gantok, and thence to the quaint native
capital of Sikkim (the residence of the King), Tumlong. This took place about ten
years ago. Meanwhile this route has developed rapidly, and it will not be long before
a cart road connects Silligori (the terminus of the Northern Bengal Railway) with
Gantok, if indeed it has not already done so. The existence of such a road would
naturally discount any other proposed line of trade route outside Sikkim territory.
From Tumlong he passed by the Lachun valley to the glacial regions of the Doukia
pass, and then returned southwards over the line taken by our troops under General
Graham when they turned the Tibetans out of Sikkim into Chumbi in 1887.
It is, however, amongst the glaciers and snows of the north west, lying in the cold
shadow of Kancheujunga and its kindred peaks, that the attraction of Major Waddell's
story chiefly lies. Kanchenjunga is barely 1,000 feet lower than Everest (29,000 feet),
and its dominant position facing the forest clad slopes of Darjiling invests it with
peculiar grandeur. Everest lies on the borderland between Nipal and Tibet in a
position so remote as to be practically inaccessible to European exploration, and it is
only doubtfully visible from the neighbourhood of Darjiling. Major Waddell enters
into the question of Everest's claim to be considered the highest peak in the Himalaya,
and his conclusions appear to be those of Indian surveyors, i.e., that the claim is justified
by the great mass of existing evidence.
The "book is well illustrated. Major Waddell is something of a geologist and
botanist as well as an artistic observer ; nor has he altogether neglected the claims of
anthropology. There are some capital photographs illustrative of the distinctions in
dress and feature between the Lepchas, Nipalese, and Tibetans whom he encountered,
and the result is a useful contribution to our general knowledge of the physical
characteristics of these people. T. H. H.
Language : General. Sweet.
The History of Language. By Henry Sweet, M.A. London, 1900. (The r A
Temple Primers : J. M. Dent & Co.) bU
This little book forms an extremely useful introduction to the principles of
Comparative Philology. The earlier chapters deal with the definition, scope, methods
and development of language generally. In those following, the author gives a brief
sketch of the structure of the Aryan or Indo-Germanic Family of Languages and a
discussion of its affinities to other Families, especially the Altaic and Sumerian. The
concluding chapters refer to the Individuality of Language and the connection between
Language and Nationality. Considering the condensation required to bring such a
wide range of subjects within the limits of a small primer the author has succeeded in
making his statements very clear and in adequately illustrating them. S. H. RAY.
Printed by ETRK AKD SPOTVISWOODB, His Majesty's Printers, Bast Harding Street, E.C.
1901,] MAN. [No. 51.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
New Hebrides. With Plate E. Balfour.
Memorial Heads in the Pitt-Rivers Museum. By Hoary Balfour, M.A.
A considerable uuraber of the heads detached from the grotesque effigies set
up in memoriam of departed relatives by natives of the island of Malekula, New
Hebrides, have reached the various European museums, and of these many have been
figured and described. It might appear unnecessary to figure one of these in this journal,
were it not for the fact of its presenting a feature which I have not hitherto noticed in
other examples. As usual this particular example (Plate E, Figs. 1 and 2) consists of a
human skull exhibiting well-marked artificial deformation, the facial portion overlaid with
a composition chiefly of vegetable matter in such a manner as to reproduce the human
features, colour being applied in a bizarre fashion as though the face were painted for a
dance ceremony. Although it would probably be difficult to find two of these heads
which resembled each other at all closely, still the features are as a rule treated in a rude,
grotesque, and conventional manner, but little suggestive of any attempt at portraiture.
Instances, however, occur in which it seems likely that there has been a deliberate
attempt to reproduce, as far as native skill would allow, the characteristic features of the
deceased. The present specimen is a good instance in point. Allowing for the difficulties
necessarily encountered by the native artist in the reproduction of the human face in
plastic materials, one may well admit a considerable success in this example, the realism
of which is far more apparent in the specimen itself than in the photographic reproduc-
tion. If one may still be inclined to doubt that there is exhibited an attempt at
portraiture, one interesting feature may surely dispel the scepticism. The person
represented evidently suffered from the form of malformation known as hare-lip, and
this has been most faithfully represented in a very realistic manner in the facial
reproduction which embellishes the skull of the deceased. This certainly seems to point
to an attempt to make the face of the effigy recall the peculiar features of the deceased to
whom the figure was erected. Hitherto, I have not come across any similar instance of
the representation of a malformation in these Malekulan heads, but others may exist,
and a comparative study of the available heads would undoubtedly prove of interest.
This specimen, as well as the two about to be described, was collected by Mr. Norman
Hardy, and is one of some nine or ten of these Malekulan heads in the Pitt-Rivers
Museum at Oxford.
The two heads represented in Figs. 3—6 belong to a class which is less often to be
seen in museums. They are, in fact, distinctly rare. Like the Malekulan heads they are
memorial effigies, and the skull of the deceased person so honoured forms the basis upon
which the features are built up in a hard black composition. These heads from
Rubiaua, Solomon Islands, arc more elaborately finished than those from the New
Hebrides, considerable pains being taken in inlaying them with small shaped pieces of
pearl shell. The eyes are of white shell with black centres, and the hair is represented
by a kind of wig of vegetable fibre. That shown in Figs. 3 and -i exhibits a somewhat
grotesque treatment of the features, in which may be seen a style of representation of
the human form which characterises tho little grotesque heads which are attached to the
prows of canoes, commonly referred to as "canoe -prow gods," in which a stereotyped
traditional style is manifest, affecting much of the art of the northern islands of the
Solomon group. The other head (Figs. 5 and 6) exhibits a far less conventional
treatment, the features being realistically represented with considerable skill, suggesting
that in this example there has been an attempt at making a portrait study of the
deceased. The ./hole work has been effected with more care and skill, and it appears to
be the work of an artist of far greater capability than is the case in the other head. I
am unaware how many of these memorial heads from Eubiaua are preserved in museums,
[ 65 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 51-53.
Imt I believe that they are few, and is is to be hoped that they may all be figured
together for purposes of comparison. Portraiture in savage art is a subject well worthy
of comparative treatment, and this class of objects would form most useful and
instructive material. HENRY BALFOUR.
Script. Herzog.
On the Survival of Pre-Hellenic Signs in the Island of Kos. By Dr. Rudolf r ft
Herzog, Docent in the University of Tiibingen. <J£
In searching the island of Kos for inscriptions in the summer of 1900, 1 had the
opportunity of making a careful study of the Turkish castle in the town of Kos
(Stanko). This castle was built by the Knights of St. John, and its walls are
constructed for the most part of ancient stones. The occurrence of other blocks of the
same kind scattered about the circuit of the town makes it practically certain that
they are derived from the town and harbour wall, which according to Diodorus, XV., 76,
were built in 366 B.C. to protect the newly-founded capital. The blocks in question
bear large, boldly-cut mason's marks or quarry marks, which represent for the most part
single letters, or ligatures, of the Ionic alphabet, of
the forms which suit the date of the wall. Some of
the signs, however, cannot be explained from this
alphabet ; the most important, which are represented
by many examples, are represented in the figure, and
may very well have maintained themselves as fossil survivals from the Pre-Hellenic,
i.e. (in Kos), the Kariau period of the island. The first sign may be explained with
certaiaty as the Karian " double-axe " (Xajfyfcf), and occurs also in the Pre-Hellenic script
of Crete (Evans, Journal of Hellenic Studies, XIV., p. 349 (22), XVII., p. 386 (19)).
The second sign also is found in Crete (I.e., XIV., p. 349 (9), XVII., p. 386 (16)). The
second, third, and fourth signs might in themselves be brought into connection with
Hellenic alphabetic signs.
I prefer not to attempt to interpret the signs, or to make any further inferences
from their discovery ; but perhaps the record of it will be a distinct contribution to the
burning question of the Pre-Hellenic script in the southern islands of the ./Egean.
R. HERZOG.
Religion. Cumont.
Note on the Acts of St. Dasius. By Franz Cumont. Communicated by JLQ
J. G. Frazer. 00
The following note on the authenticity of the Acts of St. Dasius has been written
by Prof. Franz Cumont, who edited them, in reply to the suggestion made by
Mr. Hartland in the review of the Golden Bough (Man, 1901, 43).
Je comprends d'autaut mieux les doutes exprimes par M. Hartland dans le Man
que je les ai d'abord partages moimeme. C'est uue serie d'observations d'un de mes amis
qui m'a converti et m'a fait attribuer aux Actes de St. Dasius une autorite que je leur
refusals d'abord (cf. Leon Parmeutier, Revue de Philologic, t. XXI, p. 143, ss.). Les
mauuscrits qui nous racoutent le martyre du saint lie sont, a la verite, pas auterieur;-
au XIe siecle, mais il existait deja a cette epoque plusieurs recits differeuts et leur
source commune doit etre beaucoup plus ancieune. Des indices serieux teudeut a
prouver que la redaction grecque de ces actes remoute au Vc on Vle siecle, et 1'original
latin, dont cette traduction derive, est certaiuement encore sensiblement anterieur.
St. Dasius est nomme dans le martyrologe hieronymien et il est demontre que les
donnees de ce document hagiographique qui sont relatives a 1'Empire d'Orieut, deriveut
d'un martyrologe grec redige a Nicomedie entre 362 et 411. La mort du martyr qui
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 53-54.
eut lieu *'le 20 uovetnbre 303 ap. J. C. 1111 samcdi, a la quatrietne heure, le viugt-
" quatrieme jour de la lune" n'est douc pas bieu eloiguee du plus ancien texte
historique qui en fasse meutiou.
J'ai lougtemps hesite a admettre qu'au lVe siecle de notre ere uue victime lnnnaiue,
fut-elle volontaire, ait pu etre immolee aux dieux. Mais la persistance de pratiques
aussi cruelles est attestee jusqu'a la fin du paganisme par de uombreux temoignages.
La collection de textes la plus complete a etc reunie par Chwolsohn dans sou livre sur
les Sabiens (Die Ssabier, t. II, p. 142 ss. fiber Menschenopfer in der spdtcren Zeit des
Hcidentums). Elle pourrait encore etre enrichie de nouveaux exemples. En ce qui
concerne specialement Saturue, Sextus Empiricus au II* siecle de notre ere (Hypot.
Ill, 208 et 221) nous dit positivement qu'on "immolait un homme a Kronos," et
St. Cyrille (Adv. Julian, p. 128 D) nous raconte qu'a Rome meine, le jour des
Saturuales, on livrait au Forum uu combat de gladiateure et que le sang du champion
vaincu coulait a travers des dalles percees de trous sur un persouuage place au-dessous
dans une fosse et cense representer Saturue. C'etait evidetnmeut uue sorte de sacrifice
analogue au taurobole, et si uue pareille immolation a pu avoir lieu au coeur de Rome,
je ne vois aucun motif pour refuser de croire que la soldatesque des garnisons du
Danube ait pu mettre a mort " le roi des Saturnales." Remarquons-le, ce roi se
devouait lui meme, et la devotio a toujours ete considered dans 1'antiquite comme un acte
louable, en particulier dans Tannee. FRANZ CUMONT.
China. Bushell.
Relics from Chinese Tombs. (See MAN, 1901, 15.) By Dr. S. W. Bushell,
C.M.G. '
Mr. C. H. Read has described, in a most interesting article published in the
February number of Man, the contents of an early Chinese tomb sent to him by an
English Jesuit missionary from the province of Shensi, which he has since presented to
the British Museum. One of the bowls and a vase of glazed pottery are well figured
in Man, 1901, Plate B, together with a bronze mirror dug up with the earthenware,
which is of special importauce as an aid to fix the date of the interment. Mr. Read's
missionary correspondent states that it bears on it the name of an army leader of the
Fu-Tang dynasty, who would have lived towards the close of the period A.D. 618-934.
I have been permitted to examine the mirror, which is unfortunately so much worn
that the inscription running round the field on the back, outside the raised animal forms,
is almost entirely defaced. The animal forms are of astrological character, representing,
probably, the four quadrants (Cf. Mayer's Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 307), or
divisions of the twenty-eight constellations of the luuar zodiac ; the serpent coiled round
the tortoise and the dragon being comparatively distinct, while the phrenix and the tiger
are obliterated. The only two characters of the almost illegible inscription which I am
able to decipher are ssu p'tnig (pTj ^), the " four quarters " of the world ruled by
the above zodiacal signs. The inscription would appear to be astrological rather than
personal. The style of the writing seems to be that of the Han dynasty (B.C. 206 —
A.D. 220) with its curved outlines, the strokes being more angular during the T'ang
dynasty and more like those of the modern characters. The archaic ornamental scrolls
of the borders round the rim of the mirror point also to the Han dynasty, as may be seen
by a glance at the figures of similar mirrors of the period included in the Po Ku Tou
and other illustrated Chinese books on bronze antiquities.
With regard to the pottery, there is no reason, as far as I know, why it should not
be attributed to the same early period. The vase, with its stippled brownish-black
glaze shot with invisible green, stopping short in an irregularly curved line before it
quite reaches the foot, would certainly be referred by a Chinese collector to the Han
dynasty. The material generally ussd in the production of the colour being an impure
[ 67 ]
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 54-56.
native cobaltiferous ore of manganese coataiuing iron, the iron gives a brownish tinge
to the black body and changes the cobalt to green.
The small red glazed bowls are of a much rarer type, and I have never seen their
like in any Chinese collection. Of finished technique, they exhibit a smooth glaze of
remarkably uniform colour, due, doubtless, to iron peroxide, one of the earliest pigments
used in Chinese ceramics. Arc they not, by the way, wine cups, buried with the
owner's wine vessel ? The wine cup of the Han dynasty was usually fashioned of
glazed earthenware, replacing the bronze, jade, and horn cups of earlier times ; under
the T'ang, wine cups were made of gold, chiselled silver, carved rock-crystal and other
hard stones, glass and porcelain, and under the Sung (A.D. 960-1279) self-coloured
porcelain came into general vogue, such colour being selected as would enhance the
natural tints of the wine or tea for which they were intended to be used.
The prevailing colour of the pottery of the Han dynasty was a bright green
monochrome tint, produced by the addition of copper oxide to a siliceous flux. A dull
black comes next, being that of the lac-black circular dish described in the T^ao Shuo,
the well-known Chinese book on pottery, as having been discovered in the tomb of the
Empress Tao Hou, a consort of the celebrated Wu Ti (B.C. 140-87) of the former Han
dynasty. From the evidence of this recent find it seems that we may venture to add
a pale vermilion to the brief list of self-coloured glazes of this early period.
S. W. BUSHELL.
New Zealand : Maori Art. Haddon.
On the Origin of the Maori Scroll Design. By A. C. Haddon, Sc.D., F.R.S. r P
It looks as if Mr. Edge-Partington's efforts to get at the origin of the Maori wU
scroll design are likely to be crowned with success. In the last number of the Journal
of the Anthropological Institute (Vol. XXX, Plate E), he figures two old Maori carvings
with the manaia design. In the accompanying text (J. A. /., XXX, Miscellanea, No. 40)
he speaks of this as a " mythical monster " ; but the manaias which he figures appear
to me as if they might very well be degraded and conventionalised representations of
birds. If this should prove to be the case, we have not far to seek for the origin of the
bird, for the sacred bird of the West Pacific, that which possesses mana (spiritual or
magical power) in an eminent degree, is the frigate bird (Fregetta aquila). Assuming
this identification to be correct we have a further argument in favour of a Melanesiau
element in the population of New Zealand. A. C. HADDON.
Pacific: Forgeries. Edg-e-Parting-ton.
Note on Forged Ethnographical Specimens from the Pacific Islands. fLf*
Communicated by J. Edge-Partington. UU
As the number of collectors of ethnographical specimens from the Pacific Islands
increases (as it is evident that it does, to anyone who attends the sale-rooms) so also
does the supply of objects. It is evident, therefore, that a large proportion of this
supply must consist of forgeries. Mr. Basil Thomson in his handbook to Fiji, published
by the Canadian-Australian R.M. Steamship Line, draws attention to this in the
following words : —
" Fijian weapons are, moreover, nowadays generally forgeries. A year or tAvo ago
a Government official, passing through a remote and primitive village at high noon, when
all the inhabitants were away in their plantations, peeped into a house, and saw rows
upon rows of clubs and spears suspended from the roof. For the moment he thought
he had discovered a secret plot against the Government, but an aged crone who sat
blinking in a doorway enlightened him. They had been made the week before, and had
just been dug up from the black mud of the marsh, where they were dyeing for the
white tourists in Suva. The commonest forgery is the cannibal fork."
[ 68 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos, 56-57,
At a recent sale the imost obvious forgeries from New Guinea were offered and
eagerly bought. I had occasion a short time ago to write to Mr. Hedley, of tho
Australian Museum, Sydney, for information as to feathered arrows from the New
Hebrides. In his reply, Mr. Hedley says : — " We found out the locality for those
" feathered arrows. I am told that you collectors have created such a demand that
" they are being made for trade already." I hope this may be a note of warning to
many collectors. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON.
W. Africa. Dalton.
On Carved Doorposts from the West Coast of Africa. By 0. M. Dalton, r ^
M.A., F.S.A. Of
The appended photograph repre-
sents two modern doorposts obtained
by Mr. F. Rohrweger, C.M.G., in
the interior to the north of Lagos,
the precise locality not having
been ascertained up to the time
of writing. The carving is in the
style characteristic of this part of
Africa, and offers several points of
ethnographical interest. The design
consists in each case of three tiers of
human figures separated from each
other by discs, the whole being cut
from the solid block. In Fig. A all
the figures but one have the same
tribal cicatrices upon their faces,
three vertical marks on the forehead,
and three horizontal on the cheeks.
The one exception is the prisoner in
the middle tier, who has no marks
on the forehead, while those on his
cheeks are vertical instead of hori-
zontal. This difference of marking
suggests that the prisoner is of a
different tribe to his captor, and recalls
similar differences in such of the
Benin bronzes as represent incidents
of capture. In Fig. B (though the
photograph unfortunately does not
show it), the marks on the cheeks are
both horizontal and vertical, with the
exception of those of the lowest figure,
which resemble those of Fig. A. The
object carried by this figure, as also by
the man in the bottom tier of Fig. A, is
a drum suspended from the shoulder ;
iu the middle and upper tiers of
Fig. A, two of the men carry guns.
These doorposts are now in the British
Museum. O. M. DALTON.
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 58,
South Africa: Bushman. Beddoe.
Description of a Bushman Skull. By John Beddoe, M.D., F.R.S. p Q
The skull which is the subject of this note was presented to Dr. Beddoe by UD
Major Ryder, who obtained it in the neighbourhood of Keuhardt, where the " wild "
Bushmen have been extinct many years, though some of those surviving in a " tame "
condition may be pure-blooded. There are many Bushman drawings, or rather sculptures,
on the rocks about Pietrooisberg, near Keuhardt ; in these the animals are represented,
Major Ryder says, with wonderful accuracy and spirit, but the human figures are
apparantly conventional, mere things of dots and lines. The Bushman graves are
regarded with superstitions dread by the Bastaards and other natives.
The skull is perfect, only wanting the mandible. In the vertical aspect it is
phasnozygous and sphenoid, with smoothly rounded prominence of the occiput ; in the
occipital broad and flat ; in the lateral low, flattened, with rather low but vertical
forehead, and prominent occiput with lambdoid flattening. The orbits are low, squarish ;
the nasal notch almost absent, the nasal opening short and broad ; there is considerable
alveolar prognathism. The palate is elliptic ; the teeth are much ground down, but
without decay. Frontal and coronal sutures obliterated ; sutures generally simple and
uncomplicated. Bones posteriorly rather thin and light : weight 18 ounces. I am not
sure about the sex.
MEASUREMENTS.
Lengths - Glabello-max. - 175
Glabello-inial - 166
Nasio-alveolar - 52
Basio-alveolar - 95
Breadths - Fronto-minimuni 95
Bijugal - - 104
Bizygomatic - 118
Maximum - 131 (p)
Mastoid - - 111
Exterior orbital 111
Fronto-inial
Ophryo-max.
Basio-nasal
- 170
- 175
- 95
Stephanie - - 105
Auricular (meatus) 86
„ (fossa) 104
Asterial - . 102
Interior orbital - 98
Arcs - Circumference - 496
Sagittal arc, 132 f + 111 p + 75 + 40 + 34 f + 95 = total 487.
Transverse arc, 288 + 109 = 397.
Inferior frontal arc, 264. Occipital arc, 258 ?.
Superior „ „ 277. 0. Thomas's arc, 107 to 100.
Orbit, 38-30. Nasal, 34-29. Foramen, 32-28.
Indices - Latitudinal, 74' 85. Altitudinal, 66 • 28. Orbital, 79.
Capacity - Estimated (Topinard) 1 1 76.
[ 70 1
Nasal, 85.
J, BEPDOE,
1901.] MAN. [No. 59.
REVIEWS.
Sweden : Physical Anthropology. Retzius.
Crania Suecica Atttiqua, cine Darstellung der Schwcdischen Jtfenschen-schadel,
aus dem Steiti-zeitalter, dcm Bronze-zeitalter, und dem Eisen-zeitalter, SfC. By
Gustaf Retzius. With 100 pages of photogravures, and other illustrations. Stockholm,
1900.
" Exegit monumeutum aere perennius," may be said of Gustaf Retzius ; but he
has erected the monument at least as much to the memory of his illustrious father,
Anders Retzius, as to the credit of his own labour and accuracy and scientific
accomplishment.
This is a sumptuous work, fit to be compared to the finest pieces of anthropological
literature that our own country has produced, the Crania Britannica, to wit, of Barnard
Davis and Thurnam, and the Excavations of Pitt-Rivers. It contains, besides maps and
other illustrations, 100 plates, every one comprising two admirably executed photographs
of crania, of the natural size, and as viewed from a distant focus, so as to obviate almost
wholly the usual error of foreshortening. One result of this improvement in method, by
the way, is an apparent increase in the proportion of phaenozygous crania, the zygomata
standing out further than they would do in photographs taken in the ordinary way. I
will return to this point presently.
The author begins with a short but comprehensive account of our knowledge of
physical anthropology in Europe, treated historically, and starting from the point where
Anders Retzius struck upon his brilliant idea of the important difference between long
and broad skulls. He shows the originality of this idea, and how Blumenbach looked
much to the face and forehead, but rarely depicted a full profile, and never the vertical
aspect. He shows too, incidentally, how comparatively small was the material accessible
to Retzius, and how much bis keen insight enabled him to make of it ; and how much
nearer he came to the truth, as we now suppose it to be, than could have been looked
for. Nor are other Scandinavian anthropologists neglected, and we find much valuable
material from Sveu Nilsson, Arbo, Eschricht, Von Diiben, Barth, Bruzelius, &c., bearing
on the subjects in hand, which may be briefly summarised as the plausibility and value
of the distinction drawn by Anders Retzius between long and short skulls, and the
anthropological history of Sweden, and incidentally of Denmark and Norway. A series
of maps, that of Anders Retzius, my own, Ripley's, and Deuiker's, show the progress of
our knowledge as to the local distribution of brachykephaly in Europe. The third
chapter consists of an elaborate and most interesting description of the sepulchres whence
the crania subsequently pourtrayed were derived, including the huge gang-graves of the
Stone period, which much resemble the longbarrovvs of our own neolithic folk, and the
large oblong kists, belonging more especially to the earlier Bronze periods of Montelius,
and containing the remains of whole families or little communities. In the later Bronze
period, as was the case with us, the use of cremation destroyed the continuity of historical
craniology ; and in Sweden the record of the Iron period was much impoverished by the
same custom.
G. Retzius says very little as to the size of the long bones ; apparently he is
engaged in a separate study concerning them. Meanwhile, what little he does say leads
one to infer that they do not indicate gigantic or even tall stature, as we count tallness,
but that they may probably yield support to Professor Pearson's theory of the evolution
of stature.
The author is not very fond of averages, and with his hereditary view as to the
duplicity rather than the multitude of types, he avoids summarising and averaging his
totals, I have, therefore, worked some of these out for myself.
[ 71 ]
1901.]
I find for the —
MAN.
[No, 59.
—
Number
of Skulls.
Length.
Breadth.
Index.
Stone Age •
44
184-6
137-9
74-7
Bronze Age -
21
187-8
138-85
73-9
Iron Age
52
183-7
136-1
74-1
The following refers to the more perfect male skulls only : —
Indices.
Len°th
TJpioVit
Lat.
Alt.
Stone Age
15
187-46
141-2
138-1
75'3
73-65
Bronze Age
10
192-
139-8
138-6
72-8
72-2
Iron Age
13
189-1
140-6
139-
74-35
73-5
Zygomatic breadth, with the maximum in the same skulls : —
—
Number.
Zygom.
Maximum.
Stone Age
15, including conjectural
128-2
139-
Bronze Age
" i) ?t
128-2
136-8
Iron Age
21, excluding „
128-6
135'4
The average capacity was apparently not very different in the three periods, though
a little larger in the middle one than in either of the others. In most of the specimens
TT
it could not be ascertained very accurately. By Topinard's plan ([L x B x •£•] -•- 113)
I arrive at 1,622, 1,642, and 1,634 c.c. for the available males in the three periods ; but
this is, doubtless, too high an estimate. The author found about 1,500 c.c. in males
of both Stone and Iron periods.
The breadth indices in the Stone period vary between 66 • 7 and 85 • 5, there being
3 brachys, 16 mesos, and 25 dolichos. These figures alone point pretty distinctly to
the fact that even then there was a mixture of at least two races of men. The mere
arrangement of figures would, I think, rather point to the presence of two types, one at
72 and the other at 78. It may be noted that the Danish Stone-folk were mesokephal
(index 77 ' 5, extremes 65 and 81). Retzius describes the prevailing type as elliptic,
or narrow oval, dolicho- and ortho- kephalic, with small frontal region, but with prominent
glabella and supraciliaries in the men ; occiput projecting, but frontal and parietal
eminences small ; narrow face, low orbits and narrow palate, narrow nasal opening ;
prognathism frequent. One skull, No. 33, which he takes as a good type of the
mesokephals, is of a broad, rather squarish, oval ; the author, himself, of course, the
best authority on the Fiulanders, says that this, though not quite broad enough, reminds
him of the Tavastian type. To me it recalls the Borreby and Siou types, and is not
unlike some of our narrower Bronze skulls. There is at least one very Lapp-like
specimen.
The Swedish Bronze crania seem to be more uniform in type, generally oval, and
varying only from 68 to 82. (Danish Bronze skulls also are more dolichous than those
of the Stone period). The number is rather small, and they are mostly imperfect ; the
nose seems broader, the orbits higher, the face is long ; but there is no proguathism
in the only four specimens available for this purpose. There is one Lapp-like
[ 72 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 59 60.
sub-brachykepha! from Hallatul ; but the mesokephalic type described just now is
notably absent. The forehead is generally higher, the glabella less prominent.
Of the Iron Age skull**, the variation in index is still smaller, from 69 to 81 • 6 in 51,
32 dolicho-, 15 meso-, and 4 moderately brachy- kephalic. They are generally ortho-
kephalic, leptorrhine, and mesoconch, and ouly 1 in 10 is prognathous ; the length of
face is doubtful. The zygomata have uot diminished in absolute breadth since the
Stone Age, it will have been noted ; in relation to the maximum head-breadth they have,
perhaps, even increased. I think the Scandinavian often differs from the Anglo-Saxon
in that direction. It may be added that there is a distinct decrease in the hinderfrontal
(stephauic) diameter ; thus, Stone Age, in 37, average 113 '9 mm. ; Bronze Age, in 16,
1 13 • 87 ; Iron Age, in 50, 1 10 • 0. Thus the Iron Age folk should appear more phaenozy-
gous in the photogravures ; and I think they do. Trepanation was in use among the
Swedes of the Iron Age, but, apparently, riot earlier.
G. Retzius's own final conclusions are, put shortly, as follows : —
1. Dolichokephaly is the rule through all the three periods.
2. But in the Stone period the race was already a mixed one, there being present
one, if not two, brachykephalic elements.
3. The available ancient crania do not lead him to suppose that any very con-
siderable immigration into Sweden has taken place since the earliest period
in question ; but that the present population descends from, and represents,
the prehistoric one, though in various parts of the country more or less
slightly modified by foreign immigration.
4. The origin of the brachykephalic element or elements in the population of
Sweden during the Stone Age cannot, at present, be determined with certainty.
Thus far the learned and cautious author ; but we may venture to propound some
further considerations, very doubtful, but not wholly baseless. Thus, may not the
almost complete disappearance of his Tavastiau type in the Bronze Age be connected
with some reinforcement of the pure long-heads from the other side of the Baltic ? Or
was it simply worked out, as the Graverow type was in Bavaria, by some occult process
of natural selection ? The Iron Age type, found chiefly in Gotland, while differing
slightly from the older Swedish types, as has been shown, seems to be identical with
Earth's Norse Viking type.* Did it, possibly, come from across the Baltic (where, so far
as we know, there were always long-headed tribes in plenty), and then press across the
central, still long-headed, zone of Sweden into central Norway ? Or what was the
relation, if auy, of these primitive brachys and mesos in Denmark and Southern Sweden
to the Bronze men who conquered and overran Britain, or to the broad-headed coasrmen
of Southern Norway ? J. BEDDOE.
Australia, &c. Verschuur.
At the Antipodes : Travels in Australia, Neio Zealand, Fiji Islands, tke New t\f\
Hebrides, New Caledonia, and South America. By G. Verschuur. Loudou : DU
Sampson Low. New and cheaper edition in the " Standard Library of Travel and
Adventure," 1900. Cr. 8vo, pp. x, 330, with map and plates. Price 2*. 6d.
The author's travels extended over parts of the years 1888 and 1889, and are
described in a bright and interesting manner. There are drawings of " Australian
aborigines" on page 35, of a "Maori family" on page 149, and a "Maori house" on
page 151, of "Fijian women" on page 165, of "Native canoes" in Fiji on page 171,
and of " Aborigines of the New Hebrides " on page 247. J. L. M.
* While the 37 Iron Age skulls from Cotlaud (the island) are almost all dolichous, and yield
indices of 73 '5 and 73, 10 from Alvastra, in Eastgothland (mainland) ; have more resemblance to
those of the Stone Age, and give average indices of 76 and 70. The figures for four indubitable
males are L. 190, Br. H4'5, Zyg. 136-6, Fr. 101, Step. 118 '7. Index 76-05.
C 73 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 61.
Egryptologry. Steindorff.
Grabfunde des Mittleren Reichs in den Koeniglichen Museen zu Berlin. Der £«
Sarg des Sebk-o ; ein Grabfund aus Gebelen. Herausgegebeu von Georg 0 1
Steindorff. Berlin : W. Spemann, 1901. (Heft, ix of Mitlhcilungen aus den
Oriental ischen Sammlungen der Koeniglichen Museen zu Berlin.}
In the Egyptian collection of the Berlin Museum, as in the British Museum, the
Museum of the Hermitage, and the great collection at Cairo, there are examples of
the wooden coffins of the Middle Kingdom elaborately painted inside with figures of the
funerary equipment of the deceased — food piled on mats, cloth, clothing, and jewelled
ornaments, badges of authority, and weapons of war and of the chase. The names
of the objects being attached to most of the figures the philologist is hereby supplied
with much valuable information. Magic and ritual texts complete the representations ;
and all, doubtless, was intended, not for mere adornment, but to promote the welfare of
the dead. The coffins of Mentuhotep at Berlin form an exceptionally fine example of
this class. Each of the three nested oblong wooden boxes bears representations, and the
paintings were in excellent condition when found (early in the last century). Fortu-
nately coloured drawings were made of them at the time by the discoverer, for the
originals suffered much in their subsequent travels. In 1865 Lepsius published the
hieratic texts on these three coffius, and outlines of the paintings ; the latter — carefully
reproduced in coloured plates — are the subject of a very handsome volume, edited
by Steiudorff in a previous memoir (1896) of the series to which the present volume
belongs.
Professor Steindorff's name is attached to the new publication, which deals with the
remaining coffins of the Middle Kingdom in the Berlin Museum, but he was unfortunately
prevented from continuing the Avork personally. Hence, we are deprived of several
discussions promised in the first part. The staff of the Berlin Museum, however, stepped
into the gap. Archaeological descriptions are supplied by Professor Erman and
Dr. Schaefer, the inscriptions are translated by Professor Sethe, and a special section
on the strange forms of the hieroglyphs is written by Dr. Moeller. The single (inner)
coffin of Sebk-o came from Thebes in Passalacqua's collection, along with the nested
coffins of Mentuhotep. The representations upon it are here rendered in colour on two
plates and are very interesting. Apart from food, the equipment as depicted on the left
side of the coffin shows a mirror (called " see-face"), jewelled pectorals in the shapes of
a hawk and of a vulture with outstretched wings, and others of more simple form, tassels
to hang at the back of the neck, bracelets, anklets, and perhaps a finger ornament— all to
be tied on by strings. There is also the curious menat, a bunch of beads used in religious
ceremonies, dances, &c., intended to be held in the hand, glittering and tinkling with
every motion of the holder. At the beginning of this row, in front of the mirror, is
the symbol of the ka or "double" ; perhaps this juxtaposition may be connected with
the reflecting power of a mirror. The corresponding row on the right side of the coffin
shows a jewelled fillet for the head, a head-rest, a doubtful article of attire, two forms of
head dress, cloth of three degrees of fineness or width, two shirts or tunics elaborately
coloured or jewelled, two short tunics or drawers with lions' tails attached at the back,
a dagger and sheath : as emblems of power are shown the whip, two crook sceptres, two
animal-head sceptres (uas), nine other staves or sceptres, a sort of shield (?), a globular-
headed mace, a mace with flattened sharp-edged head, two bows and a sheaf of arrows,
and a noosed cord (in the letterpress interpreted as a bow-string — probably correctly).
At the foot end are two pairs of sandals, one of leather, the other of plaited grass ;
and two ties or girdles named ankh, from which the symbol of life (cinkJi) derived its
significance ; possibly they are here symbolic. At the foot are depicted eight vessels
of similar shape, but of two different colours, one large white (alabaster ?) vessel, and
a white stand.
[ 74 ]
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 61-62.
The discoverer's description of the grave of Mentuhotep exists, and such of the
objects found with the interment as can now be identified are figured in SteindorfFp
publication of 1896. The coffin of Sebk-o is unfortunately an isolated relic.
We pass on to another find, from Gebelen, south of Thebes, discovered, according
to the Arabs, in one tomb in the year 1897. It consists of four coffins, together with
models of a boat, a granary, &c., and bows and arrows. The decorative work is far
inferior to that of the Thebau coffins, in fact the designs are grotesquely rude, and the
forms of the hieroglyphs are abnormal. There are here no long funerary texts as on
the coffins of Mentuhotep and Sebek-o, but the shorter inscriptions, well interpreted by
Sethe, are not without special interest for the student of Egyptian religion. The
ornamentation is only external, and consists chiefly of lines of large hieroglyphs along
the sides, eyes painted at the left side opposite to where the eyes of the body would be
in the old crouched form of burial, and sandals at the feet. Generally there are one or
two scenes. On the coffin of a woman a scene shows her seated, one servant performing
her toilet while another brings food from a stand.
The associated objects are a wooden model of a granary in a rectangular enclosure,
with eight figures of persons grinding corn, making beer, &c. ; a funerary barge and the
row-boat to tow it ; two figures of servants bearing offerings ; a pair of wooden sandals,
hardly intended for actual wear ; horn bracelets, wooden bows, cane arrows tipped with
chisel-edged flint, three clubs — one straight, one curved, the third bent at an angle,
twelve models of sacks of corn ; also two bowls with base prolonged into a handle, to
be used as censers, and a solidly constructed stand of wood. All these objects are
represented photographically.
The book is a very handsome contribution to our knowledge of Egypt, and is
of many-sided interest. The publication of the material selected by its authors is
thoroughly workmanlike and satisfactory. F. LI. GRIFFITH.
Algeria : Ethnology. Randall- Maclver & Wilkin.
Libyan Notes. By David Randall-Mad ver, M.A., Laycock Student of
Egyptology at Worcester College, Oxford, and Anthony Wilkin, B.A. London,
Macmillan, 1901. 4to, pp. viii, 113. Coloured Frontispiece and 25 Plates. Price
20s. net.
Among the Berbers of Algeria. By Anthony Wilkin. London, Fisher Uuwin.
1900. 8vo, pp. xiv, 263. Sketch-map and 14 Photographic Plates. Price 16s.
In these two volumes are contained the results of a brief visit paid in the spring of
1900 to some of the less-frequented parts of Algeria. The object of the expedition was
to collect evidence among the purer-blooded survivors of the old Berber stock, as to the
validity of certain current theories of the relations, racial and cultural, in Avhich this
stock stands to the ancient inhabitants of Egypt, and the authors are greatly to be
congratulated, both on the success which attended their observations in the field, and on
the manner in which they have worked up and presented their results.
In the book which bears Mr. Wilkiu's name only, the appeal is frankly to the man
in the street, who knows nothing about the cephalic index, and cares less about the
derivation of geometric ornament, but who may reasonably be expected to take an
interest even in " native races," when they turn out, as in this case, to have so nianv
points in common with his good-natured mongrel Philistine self. " Fully one-fifth of
" those [Chawia Berbers] we saw at El Arbaa were fair men — that is to say,
" men who would be counted fair in this country. Blue and grey eyes were even
" commoner than light (sometimes flaxen) hair Skins were white, or would
" have been if they bad not been encrusted with the dirt of untold mouths
" We felt ourselves at home among so many rosy countenances ; indeed, one youngster
<* would have been taken anywhere but in his own village (where he would be without
f 75 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 62.
" honour) for n freckled wee Scotchman " (pp. 77-9). Of these and kindred Kabyle folk,
of their beautiful highlands, of the countless relics of bygone modes of life which strike
the eye there at every turn, and of the quaint trivialities of cross-country travel,
Mr. Wilkin has much to tell, and tells it in an easy animated fashion which makes his
book seem at first reading less full of matter than it really is. We could wish, neverthe-
less, even so, that he had sometimes taken his public a shade more seriously ; word
pictures like that of the Chawia potter and weaver (pp. 128-130) have a way of sticking
in the memory which makes us wish there were more of them. The illustrations, from
the author's own photographs, are admirable, and add greatly to the attractiveness of the
book.
The joint work, entitled Libyan Notes, contains a more detailed discussion of the
problems which suggested the journey. Ever since Professor Flinders Petrie's announce-
ment of a "New Race" in Egypt, the question of the race-relation of the Nile Valley
to the rest of North Africa has entered a new phase, and the view has been widely held,
with more or less modification in detail, first, that the course of the primitive civilisation
of Egypt was largely influenced, if not determined, by that of ancient Libya immediately
to the westward ; and, secondly, that to account for this cultural influence a strong
" Libyan " element must be presumed in the composition of the Egyptian people.
In regard to the first point, subsequent excavations in Egypt, in which Mr. Randall-
Maclver himself has had some share, have resulted in the elaboration of an unrivalled
sequence-series of prehistoric pottery, so typical of the character of the material civilisa-
tion as a whole, that it is to the ceramic industries of Libya that one instinctively turns
for the crucial counterpart ; while by great good luck the Algerian journey resulted
in the collection not only of a number of fine specimens of the commoner styles of the
well known " Kabyle pottery," but also of examples of several local fabrics which
hardly go abroad at all ; and, best of all, of precise observations of the localities and
of the processes and materials which are employed. On this collection, which attracted
much attention when it was exhibited at the Anthropological Institute last summer, and
which is now to be seen in the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford, the authors have founded
a careful comparison of Berber and proto-Egyptian pottery, and come to the guarded
conclusion that while some of the simpler fabrics are common to the two civilisations,
and have persisted almost unchanged in Kabylia and the Aures mountains down to
the present day, others are either peculiar to Egypt or can be shown to have been
derived by Egypt from non-Libyan sources. Of the non-Egyptian elements in the
Kabyle and Chawia styles, on the other hand, some of the mo?t distinctive are certainly
of later introduction (probably from Cyprus, via Carthage), leaving only a small
remainder to be attributed to a hypothetical Iberian origin ; so that, on the whole,
Egypt seems rather to have dominated Libya in early times than vice versa. These
arguments, of which only the briefest outline is permissible here, are worked out with
great detail and full illustration, and, on the evidence which is available at present,
may be accepted with confidence. Only three important points are very slightly dealt
with : first, hardly anything is said of the native names of the processes or of the
elements of the ornamentation, though a good many Berber terms are given in other
sections of the book ; second, no analysis is attempted of these same ornamental designs,
nor is the very suggestive inference as to the importation of Cypriote motives in Grseco-
Phcenician times worked out, as it deserves, in comparison with the Carthaginian and
Cypriote repertoires; third, no mention is made of the remarkable series of parallels,
both of form and ornament, which is supplied by the Early Bronze Age pottery of
Sicily. None of these omissions, however, affect the validity of the main inference
as to the relation of the Libyan fabrics to the proto-Egyptian ; the first would have
confirmatory value only ; the other two bear rather on the origin of the later and
non-Egyptian elements in Kabyle art.
( 76 1
1901.] toAfr. P*08- 62-63.
Turning now to the question of community of race, the authors have a sufficiently
decisive answer. Neither the skull measurements, nor the head measurements of living
Kabyle and Chawia individuals, afford the smallest support to the theory of a Libyan
element in the early population of Egypt. Taking the evidence of the cephalic index as
typical of the rest, " the difference between 742" [the lowest Berber figure] "and 721
(rather, probably, 712)" [the figures for skulls from Abydos and Hou respectively] ** ia
u too great to be explained away. . . . The cephalic index, then, absolutely forbids
" any identification of the prehistoric Egyptians with the Berbers" (p. 206). Such
language is precise and explicit, but it is based on a large induction (as such series
go), and is quite borne out by the evidence, which is discussed and tabulated in an
original and effective fashion, and illustrated by a large number of photographs of
individuals ; special note being due to the ingenious and uncanny " vault views " in
Plate XXV.
It must not be supposed, however, that the whole of these Libyan Notes are
devoted to pot fabrics and anthropometry, or even to subsidiary arguments from history
or urclueology on the Egypto-Libyau question. Besides an introductory note on the
literary allusions to the old Libyans, and an excellent summary of recent French
research on the language and social institutions of the modern Berbers, the book
contains a valuable account of dolmen-sites at Bou Nouara, Bou Merzong, and Rokuia,
and of a new site at Msila, near Bordj-bou-Areridj, with an analysis of the meagre
results of excavations up to date, with numerous photographs and useful facsimiles
of the skulls from Roknia, described long ago by General Faidherbe. There
are also a number of careful descriptions of Kabyle and Chawia architecture, of the
primitive loom and oil-mill, and of other implements and processes of considerable
ethnographical importance. J. L. MYRES.
Biography : Huxley. Mitchell.
Thomas Henry Huxley : A Sketch of his Life and Work. By P. Chalmers
Mitchell, M.A. (" Leaders of Science " Series). New York and London.
Putmans. 1900. 8vo, pp. xviii, 297. Price os.
This book, written long before the completion of the " Life and Letters," which it
closely followed in order of publication, is an admirable little work of 285 pages,
embodying a classified account of the life and work of Huxley, with the author's
impressions of his published writings, and personal narratives largely culled from
obituary notices and studies of the great man by persons with whom he was especially
familiar. It is divided into 17 chapters, and gives a well-arranged and succinct
narrative of the chief incidents in his life, and a corresponding account of the more
important memoirs, lectures, and addresses which have rendered the name of Huxley
epoch-marking in science, education, and philosophy. Apropos of passing allusion to his
most intimate friends and contemporaries who were concerned in the scientific triumphs
of his time, there are introduced portraits of Darwin, Hooker, and Lyell. Of Huxley
himself three portraits are given, one at the age of 32 ; one in later life, the choice of
which is not altogether the most fortunate ; and a third, the famous caricature of himself
drawn in 1848 while visiting Australia.
Of the book it may be said that the portion dealing with Huxley's scientific work
is admirable. Concise and connected in its method, it gives the lay reader an altogether
excellent notion of the trend of his mind in his triumphs as an observer and thinker.
The Tunicate controversy, the great work on the Medusa?, the Skull, and on the
Cephalous Mollusca, are all rendered clear ; and the Man and Ape achievement which
led to his " Man's Place in Nature " that will ever remain oue of his foremost
[ 77 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 63.
successes, are each in turn dealt with. And concerning the latter, while it is well-
known how, in its progress, the posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle of the brain
played a leading part, in consideration of the brevity of Mr. Mitchell's statement
concerning it, it is opportune to record the fact that Professor D. J. Cunningham
in 1886 announced the interesting discovery (Cunningham Mem. No. II., R. Irish
Acad., p. 128) of the absence of this cavity on one side of the brain of an Orang,
regarding it as possible that Owen " may in the first instance have been misled by an
" abnormal brain of this kind."
Referring to Huxley's book on " Physiography," Mr. Mitchell rightly gives 1880
as the date of publication, but in his context he refers to it as though directly
associated with the editorship of the Macmillan series of Science Primers, the
Introductory volume to which was from Huxley's pen. We would point out that the
" Physiography " was really based on the Notes of a Course of Lectures, first delivered
at the London Institution in 1869, and afterwards repeated at the South Kensington
Museum (as is duly explained in the preface to the work), and that perusal of the
detailed syllabus which was issued for use at the lectures and of the book itself, shows
that the central idea which led to the educational triumph of Huxley as a teacher, and
which in reality permeated all his subsequent writings for the student — the creation
and development of the Type System — first took shape in this association.
Passing to that portion of Mr. Mitchell's book which deals with Huxley as a
philosopher and writer and speaker, it must be admitted in most respects excellent. As
giving a summary of his views on topics social, religious, political, and educational, it
is most interesting reading, except perhaps for the somewhat morbid view our author
has taken of the intended refrain of the Romanes Lecture at Oxford, which he does not
seem to have rightly interpreted. Here, as in the earlier portion of the book, there are
certain matters of detail upon which we would desire to comment, and chiefly his
statements concerning "style." On page 215 we read that "Huxley lacked the
" sedulous concern for words themselves as things valuable and delightful," and again
on page 217 that he " produced his effects by the ordering of his ideas and not . . .
" of his words " ; indeed, Chapter XII., from which these words are cited, is permeated
by this conviction, and we venture to think that in framing it our author is at
fault. He makes no allowance for the fact that " style" is relative to aim and object in
writing or speaking, and to context, and that it has to be determined by the nature of
the subject-matter in hand. To do him justice, however, in arguing that the idea and
not the expression — the academic choice of words — was the dominant impulse in
Huxley's method, which is tantamount to regarding him as technical rather than
intellectual, we are bound to point out that he is not depreciating Huxley's merits as a
writer of English, but rather seeking to classify his position among the writers of his
period than to criticise. We nevertheless consider him in the wrong, and hope that in
any future editions of his book he will at least modify his views on this point.
There are one or two small inaccuracies in the book which cannot pass unnoticed.
Huxley was of greater than " middle stature," and it is saying too much to state that
" while at work he smoked continuously." After he was 40 he smoked a good deal, but
never while working. And, similarly, the " strains occasionally heard from his room"
were those of his own voice and not, as is stated in the passage our author had in
mind, of " a fiddle." In writing of Huxley's Scientific Memoirs Mr. Mitchell refers the
reader to the reprint of these now in course of publication as a series of Memorial
Volumes, and it becomes necessary for us to point out that the prefatory list of titles
as originally printed in the first of these is deplorably deficient. The omissions have
been mostly made good in the later list which is incorporated in the Life and Letters ;
but even here the Rede lecture of 1886 on " Animal Forms " (published in Nature at the
time of delivery) though mentioned in the text, does not appear in the classified record.
[ 78 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 63-64.
And it is a remarkable fact that iu no book thus far printed on Huxley's work does
there appear the title of his great Survey Memoir of 1877 on the Elgin Crocodilii, or his
1886 definition of Agnosticism, which is one of the most concise and characteristic, if
not the very best, things he ever wrote. G. B. H.
Folklore. Various Authors.
Popular Studies in Mythology, Romance, and Folklore. London : D. Nutt,
1899, 1900. Price 6rf. each. Presented by the publisher.
1. Celtic and Medieval Romance. By A. Nutt.
2. Folklore, what is it and what is the good of it ? By E. S. Hartlaud.
3. Ossian and the Ossianic Literature. By A. Nutt.
4. King Arthur and his Knights. By Je«sie L. Westou.
5. The Popular Poetry of the Finns. By C. J. Billsou.
6. The Fairy Mythology of Shakespeare. By A. Nutt.
7. Mythology and Folktales. By E. S. Hartland.
8. Cuchulainn, the Irish Achilles. By A. Nutt.
9. The Rigceda. By E. V. Aruold.
By undertaking the publication of these booklets Mr. Nutt has earned the gratitude
of all who are interested in folklore and romantic literature, and of many who would like
to take an interest in them but hardly know where to begin their studies. The series
is the work of specialists, who treat their subjects concisely, confining themselves to a
broad survey of the theme ; not the least valuable feature is a bibliographical appendix
to aid those who find their appetite whetted by what is here put before them and wish
to go more deeply into the subject. The enthusiasm excited by the work of the
brothers Grimm raised the collection of folklore in Germany to the position of a
national duty. England did not begin the task of collecting her folkbeliefs and tales
until long sifter, and found her harvest correspondingly diminished ; even now, the
interest aroused by this subject is not to be compared with the enthusiasm of Germany,
where iu some parts 1 in 3,500 of the population is a member of a folklore society.
This want of interest in England arises, perhaps, from a lack of knowledge of what
folklore really is ; there are others besides Mr. Hartland's musical friend who will look
at you with compassion, and say : " Ah, yes, the Folklore Society," under the impression
that folklore means nothing but cures for warts, and creepy stories. But after all, the
investigation of traditional customs, beliefs, and tales is at least as worthy of being
called anthropology as the study of bones and stones. Other animals besides man have
bones ; and stones are only interesting to the anthropologist if they bear traces of human
ingenuity. Primitive religion and philosophy cannot be relegated to an inferior place
unless the mind of man is less important than his body or his works.
The series is, however, intended more for the general reader. The practical man,
who looks down on " antiquariauism " of all sorts, will learn from Mr. Hartland that we
have to-day an Irish question because our forefathers were not anthropologists. Those
whose taste lies in the direction of romance will find in Mr. Nutt a reliable guide in the
highways and byways of Celtic hero stories, and on tho more familiar ground of the fairy
mythology of Shakespeare. It' they find Mr. Null's fascinating studies all too short,
their needs are provided for by the bibliographical appendix which has wisely been
made a feature of the whole series. Miss Weston's contribution should be found
especially useful ; the average Englishman has never yet learned anything of the
sources of his national literature, but he will here find a royal road to repentance.
Mr. Hartland iu his contribution on Folktales puts some awkward questions to the
borrowing school ; the bibliography of America is perhaps unnecessarily limited ; Rink
[ 79 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 64-65.
has published Tales of the Eskimo ; for Canada, Petitot's Traditions Indiennes should
certainly have been mentioned ; Rand's Legends of the Micmacs are an important
collection ; Lummis has published a number of Pueblo stories ; for South America the
works of Thevet and D'Orbigny contain a good deal of matter. Mr. Billson's account
of Finnish poetry is very readable. Mr. Arnold is less successful in dealing with the
Rigvcda. We can hardly imagine the following statements meeting with general
acceptance in England : — " In the period in which the ancestors of the Aryan peoples
" still formed a single nation, they were united by a system of religion constructed by
" the wisdom of their statesmen and poets. The supreme objects of worship were
" principally such natural objects as the Sky, the Dawn, the Twin Stars, and the
" Storm " (p. 36). The latter statements are hardly consistent with what we learn on
pp. 21, 22, and the evidence for a cult of Ushas has still to be brought forward.
Mr. Arnold would have done better to steer clear of theory. N. W. T.
Trepanning- : Prehistoric. Pittard.
Sur une trepanation prehistorique de Vage du bronze. By Eugene Pittard. f\r
(Extract from Archives des sciences physiques et naturelles. Geneva, 1899.) DO
In this communication M. Pittard describes a skull, found some years ago at
Sallanches, and assigned from its surroundings to the Bronze Age of culture. Owing to
post mortem injuries, the vault of the cranium only is left ; of this, the right parietal
eminence has been removed, leaving an almost circular wound, with oblique edges, in
which the diploe is hidden throughout the whole circumference by a cicatricial callous
mass uniting the inner and outer tables of bone. It is thus evident that the injury was
survived for a considerable time, while the regular outline of the wound and the absence
of other injury would seem to show that it had been produced by deliberate operation,
and not by any blow accidental or homicidal. The chief interest attaching to this skull
arises from the period to which it. is assigned, evidences of trephining in the Bronze Age
being exceedingly rare, although the operation seems to have been comparatively
requent in neolithic times. Of the technique of this particular operation we are of
course ignorant, but as various savage tribes have within comparatively modern times
practised trephining, we can suppose prehistoric man operated in a somewhat similar
manner. Ella, in the Medical Times for 1874, describes the islanders of the South
Pacific as making a T"snaPe(l incision through the scalp, and then gently scraping away
the surface of the cranium with a shark's tooth until they reach the dura mater. In the
Aures mountains, according to Dr. Vediennes, the operation was performed in two
stage*. In the first, the surface of the bone was laid bare, and a small area marked out
by holes drilled through the bone with a pointed iron or bronze rod, and the wound
dressed for 24 days. At the end of this time the portion of cranium between the
holes, which would have been loosened by necrotic processes, was removed by a blunt
hook.
As far as we can judge from the figure appended to M. Pittard's paper, the former
method would seem more probable than the latter. Some day further discoveries may
reveal the precise surgical technique of our remote ancestors, and carry still further back
the history of the medical profession. One further point, which must strike all readers
of M. Pittard's paper, and of other communications on this subject, is the extraordinary
resistance of primitive man to the septic organisms which till recently -played such havoc
among civilised communities, and, until the introduction of antiseptics, fettered the
energies of the foremost surgeons of the day. F. C. SHRUBSALL.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.G.
1901.] MAN. [No. 66.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Kent: Flint Implements. With Plate F. Newton.
77/r Oi'cnrrrnn- ni ft rcry l.iiniti d Area nf flic Undent with f/ir Finer Forms QO
nf I !'<>,•/«,/ Stn,i,-s. 00
Among the numerous discoveries in the :ire:i of what may l»e tenneil the West Kent
Paleolithic deposits, there lias heen none of greater interest, than that made in the year
lS9i» at (Jreenhithe. The pick and spade of workmen laid hare an old-world river-bed,
highly I'ossiliferons and containing many stone implements of great beauty in workman-
ship, associated with others of more primitive form, and alco some whose only claim to
recognition as implements lies in that portion of the natural stone exhibiting signs of
much use.
Public attention was first direeted to the discovery by Mr. II. S topes at a meeting
of the Anthropological Institute of May lo, 1900 (Journal of the Institute, Vol. XXX.,
N.S. II., page 302), and the containing bed is described as an "exceedingly foBftiliferoilf
" band of stratified sands and gravels capped with a thin layer of tough clay." The
actual elevation of this deposit is about 80 feet above Ordnance datum, and a deep valley
lies to the eastward between it and Milton Street, a locality well known a.- a happv
hunting ground for palaeolithic implements. From the nature and elevation of this deposit,
now known as the Greeuhithe shell-bed, the palfeontological and geological evidence prove
the immense antiquity claimed for the river drift by well-known writers on the subject.
In addition to the published list of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, a large number of
species have been recently recovered which will show this deposit to be one of the most
important, if not absolutely the most important of its kind that has yet been discovered,
further accounts of which will shortly be laid before the geological world. I might,
however, say, that from amongst the quantities of the material comprising the shell-bed
which I have forwarded to Mr. W. J. Lewis Abbott, F.G.S., for working, that gentleman
has recovered species suggesting a closer relation to pliocene beds than have previously
been found in the Thames Valley.
This remarkable shell-bed is a few miles almost due north of the locality where
Mr. 1». Harrison has made his most important finds of plateau implements, and the
surrounding country is teeming with evidence of the earliest appearance of man. Some
years ago, Sir .John Evans in a genial manner rebuked Mr. Harrison for desiring to
claim the county of Kent as the birth-place of the human race, but in the second edition
of his great work on The Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, Sir John Evans
gives it as his opinion that the " numerous and important discoveries made during the
" last thirty years by Mr. Uenjamiu Harrison of Ightham," as interpreted by Sir Joseph
1'rr-twich, "have done much to revolutionize our ideas as to the age and character of
" the drift deposits capping the chalk downs in western Kent, north of the escarpment
" facing the Weald."
This valuable expression of opinion of so cautions an observer assists us great Iv to
appreciate the high antiquity of the Greenhiihe shell-bed deposits. The old tributary
to which we are indebted for so many interesting accumulations Mowed from greater
heights in the Weald than now exist into the valley of the larger river, which, under its
diminished form, is now known as the Thames, and whose bed was probably 70 or SO
feet higher than it now is.
On its northern journey into the Thames Valley the old stream received the relics
of the various land surfaces over which it passed, ultimately storing them up on the
ancient terrace and forming a veritable treasure house for the delectation of the pre-
historic anthropologist of to-day.
With respect to the illustrations of implements found in the shell-bed, it will l»c
noted bv anv on»- familiar with the subject that the ordinary pointed or hat-he shape is
«1
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 66-67.
absent. The writer has only seen one of this form from the deposit, and that was of
small dimensions.
In the Milton Street gravels on the other side of the valley the hache shape
abounds. In the shell-bed the flat ovate form appears to predominate, and the proportion
of such implements with an ogival twist is large.
Nos. 1 and 2 in the photograph are of the rudest possible type of implement, having
very little human work upon them. No. 3 is a perfect pebble, and No. 4 a rough piece
of tabular flint, but both are excellent examples of hollow scrapers and have been well
used. No. 5 appears to have been made and used for a double purpose, the right
depression, as seen in photograph, having been used for scraping, and the left for
rubbing. Nos. 6 to 11 are of the commoner paleolithic forms, except No. 9, which has a
very pronounced twist. Nos. 12 and 13 form a pair of side scrapers suggestive of left
and right hand use, as may be seen by a curious little projection at one end. Nos. 14 to
18 are very fine examples, they have sharp edges, especially Nos. 14 and J6, the latter
having the ogival twist. To Mr. Lewis Abbott is due the recognition of Ostracoda on
specimen No. 1 . Since making the photograph the writer has obtained from i the bed
another side scraper of larger dimensions, and with a remarkable undercutting to sharpen
the scraping edge. W. M. NEWTON.
Australia. Spencer-Gillen Expedition.
The Australian Ethnological Expedition. By N. W. Thomas, M.A. f\-m
The ethnological expedition of Prof. Baldwin Spencer and Mr. F. J. Gillen Of
started some three months ago for the interior of Australia.
Starting from Adelaide, the party proceeded to Oodnadatta by train. There they
were to be joined by Mounted-Constable Chance, who had gone on ahead with the stores.
He is an experienced bushman, and well acquainted with the country. From the
terminus of the railway line the travellers were to follow the telegraph line to Alice
Springs. Food depots have been established at all the telegraph stations along the line.
The ethnologists will spend some time with the various tribes through the continent,
and make excursions east and west of the telegraph line to fertile spots where natives
congregate. When they get to Powell's Creek, which will be one of their ma,in depots,
they will leave the line and cross into Queensland to Camoweal, where they hope to
connect their labours with the investigations conducted by Dr. Roth, the Protector of
Aborigines of Queensland. Afterwards they will return to the telegraph line, and
continue their journey northwards, taking the tribes along the big rivers in the Territory.
If time permits they will strike across to Wyudham, in Western Australia.
Language, history, customs, habits, ceremonies, religions, laws, will all be carefully
investigated and noted, and the records of the journey are likely to be very complete.
The scientists are taking with them a magnificent equipment, which includes a first-class
cinematograph, with which they will lake pictures of corrobborees and secret ceremonies,
and also a fine phonograph, presented by Mr. J. Angas Johnson, of Adelaide. Large
impressions will be taken by it, and these will be capable of being multiplied indefinitely
on small cylinders. A vast amount of photographic material has been distributed at the
various depots, and with it careful records will be obtained of types, ceremonies, and
gatherings of the tribes. Weapons and implements of each race Avill be procured, and
anthropometric records of each section of the black people carefully preserved. Collec-
tions of the flora and fauna of the country traversed will be made. Professor Spencer
will pay particular attention to zoological work. It is needless to say that the good
wishes of all anthropologists go with the party. The expedition is expected to last
about a year.
C 82 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 67 68.
If we can hardly expect suoh startling discoveries from tlie present expedition :is
from the preceding one, it is certain that no more valimMc work could he done than that
to he carried out hy Messrs. Spencer and (lillen. The native tribes of Central Australia
are not only left untouched hy European influence; they seem to have lived remote from
all outside influence for a lengthened period.
Anthropology owes a deht of gratitude both to the Australian Governments, whoso
readily acceded to the memorial in favour of the expedition, and also to those who are
hearing the cost of it.
The Victorian authorities are paying a substitute to take the Professor's place, and
the South Australian Government have given Mr. Gillen leave of absence for one year
on full pay. The cost of the expedition is being borne by Mr. David Syme and
Mr. Rubin Spencer, of Manchester-'-Professor Spencer's father. The former has
contributed 1,()00/. and the latter 500/. towards contingent expenses. The Govern-
ment of South Australia has shown great practical sympathy with the work. The
Commissioner of Crown Lands has presented to the travellers the express vehicle built
for and used by Lord Kintore in his trip through the continent, and a splendid team of
four horses. N. W. T.
Religion. Lang.
The Martyrdom of St. Dnsius. By A. Lang, M.A. (See MAN, 1901, 53.) QQ
The variations of M. Cumont's opinions as to the legend of St. Dasius may DO
easily be traced. He first published the Greek narratives (the longest MS. being
now printed for the first time) in Analccta Bollandiana (t. xvi., 1897). He was
then sceptical about the story, as he deemed the Greek an incorrect translation from
the original Latin, made for an edifying purpose by an author so unscrupulous as to put
the Nicene Creed in the mouth of St. Dasius — " before it was made." The story, more-
over, was inconsistent with observation of the Imperial edict against human sacrifice.
Moreover, the 30 days of mock royalty are unknown. M. Cumont, therefore, thought
that St. Dasius only refused to sacrifice to Saturn ; and, indeed, in the new MS. he does
decline, when urged by Bassus, his commanding officer, to offer incense to the Imperial
images, and is executed for no other reason.
But, in the Revue de Philologic, 1897, pp. 143-149, M. Parmentier, while
admitting the difficulties, asked whether the memory of an ancient and cruel rite
might not have been revived at the Sattirnaliau debauch in Mo?sia, thanks to the
license of the persecution against the Christians ? The Greek author of the Dasius
legend might then use this circumstance for his pious purposes. M. Parmentier then
quoted the only evidence for the hanging the mock king at the Persian Saca>a. As
we know, it is merely a statement put by Dio Chrysostom into the mouth of the Cynic
Diogenes. No other surviving writer on the Sacjea, while describing the festival, men-
tions the hanging of the mock king. M. Parmentier then suggests that an Oriental
human sacrifice would come to be " completely confounded, in character and date, with
" their own Saturnalia by the Romans." Their Saturn answered to Cronos, and Cronos
received human sacrifices. In M. Parmeutier's view, the Moesian case of St. Dasius
(A.D. 303) was the "result of military importation of Oriental usages." Mu'sia
contains many monuments of Mithra worship, which are also of military importation,
and a similar importation may have been the alleged attempt to sacrifice a Christian
private at the Saturnalia : " a bloody comedy at a military festival, when the license of
" persecution must have unchained the most cruel instincts."
M. Cumont now (op. cif., pp. 149-153) revised his original opinion. He "thought
" the hypothesis, that, in the East, the Roman Saturnalia had been blended with ....
[ 83 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 68-69.
u the Saca-ji, very attractive." Oriental slaves in Rome would lend their influence.
Like MM. Frazer and Meissner, he inclined to identify the Sacsea, Zagmuk, and Purim.
Meyer and Jastrow refuse to admit this, and the date of the Sactea (either July or
September) makes the identification impossible, Purim being in March. M. Cumont (as
in Man, 1901, No. 53), gave examples of human sacrifices at Rome in the second-
fourth centuries of our era. I do not quite understand whether M. Cumont now
regards the military sacrifice of a mock king, like St. Dasius, as an Oriental infiltration,
as M. Parmentier did, or as a recrudescence or survival of a Roman rite — utterly
unknown to Roman antiquaries. Judging from M. Cumont's essay, Le Taurobole,
which he has kindly sent me (Revue cTHistoire ct de la Literature rcligicuscs, t. vi,
1901, No. 2), he looks on that rite as of Oriental importation. If he thinks the same of
the Moesian case of St. Dasius, it affords no proof of native Italian sacrifices of a mock
king. The period of 30 days assigned to the mock reign of the mock king in Moesia
does not correspond with the duration either of the Sacaea or of the Saturnalia ; and the
date (November — December) in Moesia is remote from the date (July or September) of
the Saca?a. Again, sacrifice (as in Moesia) is not whipping and hanging, as at the
Saca^a, and, unlike the Sacrean victim, the Moesian is not stripped of his royal robes.
While evidence and opinion are in this condition, it seems rather premature to
argue, from the apologue of Dio and the Dasius legend, that kings in Italy and
Babylon used at one time to be sacrificed annually, that the gods whom they incar-
nated might find fresh bodies for their reception. We know no case in which a king
is sacrificed to release the god whom lie incarnates, and we know no instance of the
yearly slaying (let alone sacrifice) of a king. Nobody would take the billet, in the
circumstances, and no dynasty, no country, would endure such a proceeding.
A. LANG.
Algeria: Ethnography. Capart.
On the " Libyan Notes" of Messrs. Randall- Mac Iver and Wilkin. By Jean
i;;;tn, con^crvateur-ad joint du Mi'.si'c <!<> Bruxdles.
Les dc'couvertes des dernieres anuees en Egypte ont ouvert aux chercheurs un
nouveau champ d'observations d'une fecondite extraordinaire nou seulement pour
1'etude de 1'antique Egypte mais aussi pour les recherches relatives a la prehistoire
de tous les peuples mediterraneens.
II semble ressortir de tous les travaux publies jusqu'a 1'heure actuelle que le
premier fond de la population de 1'Egypte etait forme par des elements negrea sur
lesquels seraient venues se superposer des populations blondes a peau blanche dont
le type se serait conserve assez pur parmi les berberes. A ces deux elements
primordiaux il faudrait peut etre en ajouter un troisieme, Boschimaus, Hottentots.
Dans quelle proportion ? A quel moment de la periode prehistoriqne ? Cela serait
difficile a pn'ciser. L'eutree ulterieure des families semitiqnes en Egypte se fit-elle
en une ou plusieurs invasions ? L'hypothese d'invasious successives permettrait
d'expliquer beaucoup de faits encore obscurs mais n'est pas encore prouvee d'une
maniere suffisante. Ce qui parait certain, c'est que les envahisseurs egyptiens vinrent
du pays de Pount sur la cote orientale de 1'Afrique.
On avait ete profondement frappe des le debut par les analogies nombreuses que
Ton constatait entre les prehistoriques Egyptiens et les modernes Kabyles ; notam-
ment les precedes de fabrication et de decoration des poteries semblaient identiques
de part et d'autre.
II etait done hautement desirable de voir quelqu'uu an con rant des etudes
prehistoriques I'gyptiennes entreprendre un voyage d'etudes scientifiques dans le
domaine des peuples de race libyenne.
[ 84 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 69.
Cette tache a ete assmnee par deux savants anglais, David Kaudall-Maclver et
Anthony Wilkin.
Le premier est deja suffisammeut connu par ses travaux fails sous la direction du
savant explorateur anglais Flinders Petrie. Peu de temps avaut le voyage, M. Maclver
avait presente a 1'Iustitnt Authropologiqne de Grande Bretagne, un important travail,
dans lequel il concluait a Tidentitc des prehifitoriques egyptiens et des Libyens, chercliant,
par la, eomme il le disait en cominencant sa communication, a montrer 1'aide important
que 1'authropologie ponvait apporter a 1'archeologie. Aujourd'hui, le voyage termini',
et les resultats mis en ordre, les auteurs ont change d'avis, et, rcmarquons-le immcdiatc-
meut, uniqnemeut en se basant sur leurs nonvelles mensurations : ce qui peut a bou
droit nous rendre suspects, dans le cas present, les services de 1'anthropologie. Leur
appui serait en effet immense s'il veuait confirmer toutes les autres dounees qui sont si
coucluantes a mou avis qu'il faut bien admettre qu'une cause quelcouque est venue
vicier les resultats des mensurations. Cette cause ne serait-elle pas a chercher unique-
ment dans 1'espace de temps enorme qui separe uos prehistoriqties egyptieus des moderues
kabyles, espace de temps qui a permis et favorise bien des melanges ?
On sent an cours du livre combien MM. Maclver et Wilkin sont genes par les
resultats. 11 leur est necessaire a chaque pas de parler de rapports de commerce intenses
ou de recourir a certaines subtilites pour expliquer les analogies de coutume.
La question est encore si pen mure, tant de documents de premiere neeessite font
defaut (par exemple des fouilles methodiques dans le nord de 1'Afrique a ce point de vue
special) qu'il est daugereux de se prononcer aussi categoriquement que le font les auteurs.
J'e regrette qu'ils ue se soieut pas contentes de donner an public savant le compte rendu
de leur exploration avec la masse enorme de precieux documents qu'elle a fait connaitre,
sans chercher pour cela a decider la question du " Libyen ou nou " des prehistoriqnes
egyptieus.
II serait temeraire sinon inseuse apres la critique qui precede de vouloir a mon tour
essayer de tirer une conclusion quelcouque des documents rapportes par MM. Maclver
et Wilkin ; cependant je pense utile de resumer ici quelques unes des questions traitees
par les auteurs en prenant I'hypothese contraire a la leur.
Cette hypothese n'est pas nouvelle et c'est a quoi etait arrive des 1861, Pruner-bey
a la fin de ses recherches sur 1'ancienue race egyptieune. Voici comment le docteur
Abbate-pacha resumait la question dans le bulletin de rinstitut egyptien 1882: "Ne.
" trouvant du cote de 1'Orieut que des incertitudes, 1'auteur se tourue vers 1'Occident ;
" il compare le type avec celui de la race libyque ou berbere, et cette fois la ressemblance
" lui parait complete."
Plus recemment le professeur Sergi, exposant ses idees sur les habitants primitifs
de la Mediterranee pensait qu'une grande famille humainc, "les Ibero-Liguro-Libyens
avait precede dans le bassiu de la Mediterranee les races semitiques et aryennes. Les
Iberes, les Sicules et les Ligures presenteraient en effet les meines elements ethniques.
Le professeur Sergi demoutre eusuite par Taualyse morphologique des cranes des anciens
Egyptiens, que ceux-ci possedent beaucoup de caracteres commuus aux peuples de
1'Ouest de la Mediterranee dont il vient d'etre fait mention. Les aucieus egyptiens
seraient done des Libyens. En resume les recherches de notrc confrere, dit le baron de
Loe a qui j'emprunte ce resume, etabliraient 1'existence depuis uu temps immemorial
d'une famille humaine mediterraueenne composee de plusieurs varietes."
Specialement an point de vue egyptien, la meme hypothese est soutenue par
M. Deniker dans son recent ouvrage sur les peuples et les races de la terre.
Quelle aurait ete la laugue de cette population mediterraneenne ? Une serie de
dialectes berbercs, s'il est permis d'employer ce terme dans le sens eteiidu de la surte
Cette langue s'ccrivait au moyen de signes que nous retrouvon.s dans Talphabet libyeu.
Les decouverteb de Evans et de Petrie ue montrent-elles pa> ii IVvideuee 1'emploi de
[ 85 ]
1901.] MAN-
MM raracteres en Crete, eu Asie Mineure (Carie), en Egypte, en Espagne, alors qu'ou les
iivait (U'-ja rencontres depuis la peniusule sinaitique jusqu'aux iles Canaries sur tout le
littoral afrioain et meme a ce qu'il parait, sur les dolmens pyren'ens. Cela n'explique-
rait-il pas en meme temps les analogies frappantes que Ton a constatees entre 1'ancien
egvptien et le berbere (voir uotamment 1'artiele capital de Rochemonteix que MM. Mac-
• Iver et Wilkin ne citent pas), entre I'ancieu c'gyptien et le basque, ce qui avatt toujours
paru uu brillaut paradox e. Les auteurs cousiderent la chose jugee relativement aux
rapports eutre 1'egyptien et le berbere en s'appuyant sur 1'autorite du professeur Ermau
qui a declare qu'il regardait I'ancieu egyptieu coinme une langue semitique. La chose
n'est pas encore aussi claire qu'on pourrait le croire et je suis heureux de , pouvoir uoter
ici la protestation de M. Maspero contre ce qu'il appelle "la semitisation a outrance de
" la langue et de la population egyptieunes."
La meme aire est caracterisee par une serie de monuments appeles dolmens, qui se
moutrent extrememeut uombrenx sur la cote africaiue mais qu'on a rencontres uu pen
partout sur le pourtour de la Mediterranee. Les auteurs out explore un certain nombre
de cercles de pierres avec dolmen et apres avoir discute d'une mauiere extremement
intercssante les differentes hypotheses! qui out surgi a leur propos, constatent qu'il est
de la plus haute signification de remarquer qu'oti u'a pas trouve trace de semblables
constructions en Egypte, alors qu'elles sout si frequentes en Algerie. Cela leur permet
de faire les reflexions suivantes : "Nous avons vu qu'il existe de telles coincidences
" entre la plus aucienne population des deux coutrees qu'elles peuvent etre seulernent
" expliquees en supposant ou bien qu'il y avait entre elles des rapports continuels et
" etroits ou bieu que les populations de 1'une et de 1'autre etaient identiques. Mais,
" ajoutent ils, si les peuples primitifs moutrent de la tenacite dans leurs traditions
" artistiques, ils sont encore beaucoup plus tenaces dans leurs couturnes funeraires.
" Comment se fait il que les Egyptiens, s'ils etaient libyens de race n'aient jamais fait
" usage de dolmens ou de cercles ? La coutume funeraire des libyens les rapproche des
" anciennes races europeeuues et des Amorites en Syrie, mais les isole completemeut des
u habitants de 1'Egypte a quelque periode que ce soit, soit ancieune, soit recente."
.L'arguinent prcsente de la sorte ne manque pas d'une certaiue vigueur ; si de
part et d'autre de 1'Egypte, chez les Amorites et chez les Libyens nous trouvons le
meme systeme de sepulture sans le reucontrer en Egypte, ce serait la un phenomeiie
embarrassant a expliquer. Heureusement qu'il n'en est pas ainsi et que nous
connaissons pour le moment deja au moins un cercle de pierres avec dolmen,
du plus beau type saharien qu'il se puisse imaginer. II a etc decouvert il y a
plusieurs aunees deja dans le desert pros d'Edfou dans la Haute Egypte par M.
Legrain dout le dessin a etc public dans la livre de M. de Morgan sur les Origiues de
1'Egypte.
II n'a malheureiisemeut pas ete fouille jusqu'a present et nous ne savons pas
si coinme dans les dolmens de 1'Algerie ou dans les sepultures prehistoriques des
Baleares, pour ne citer que cet exemple, les corps etaient places dans la position
embryonaire ; mais ce qui est certain, c'est que cette position est celle de la plupart
des tombes prehistoriques d'Egypte.
Le conteuu de ces tombes est extremement iuteressant. A cote des nombreuses
poteries se trouveut des instruments eu silex aux formes les plus variees. Je ne
veux pas m'attarder ici a rappeler les analogies de formes qu'ils presentent en Egypte,
eu Libye ou ailleurs ; je me contenterai de citer les formes des silex decrits par le
R. P. Germer-Duraud et decouverts eu Palestine, ceux si nombreux qu'on trouve en
quantite dans le Sahara, notamment a Ouargla et a El-Golea, enfin, ce qui est plus
frappant pour nous, L'ideatite qui existe eutre les formes et les precedes d'extractiou du
silex a VVadi el Sheikh (decouvertes de Seton Karr) et a Spienues en Belgique.
L'etude de la ceramique n'est pas moius iuteressaute et les auteurs des " Libyan
[ 86 1
1901.] MAN. [No. 69.
Notes " coucluent non seulement a 1'identite do forme et de decoration mais aussi a
1'ideutite de procedes. Notons que pour rendrc cornpte de toutes les varietes do poteries
encore en usage aujourd'hui on Kabylie ils sont obliges d'aller cherclier leurs analogues
dans 1'Kgypte prehistorique, dans 1'ile de Chypre, dans les Torramares de 1'Italie et
dans les tombrs do Sicilc.
Differentes tombes egyptienues nous oat fait conuaitre aussi un certain uombre de
petites figurines de femmes preseutaut des partieularites extrememeut curieuses que les
fouilles de M. Piette dans les grottes de Brassempony au sud de la France nous ont
fait egalement retronver.
Nous en arrivons ainsi a parler des traces de coutumes religieuses. L'une d'elles
retrouvee aujourd'hui encore dans I'Aures est celle relative au bucrane qu'on a constatee
deja tant de fois sur des monuments archa'iques egyptiens sans qu'on paraisse y avoir
attache grande importance, et qui me parait meme citee dans les textes des pyramides.
Les auteurs du livre nous parleut egalement de la doosse Neith qui serait d'origine
liliyenne, ce qu'ils ne veulent du reste pas admettre. Ils auraieut pu nous dire qu'un des
rois de la premiere dynastic decouvert par Petrie a Abydos, porte le curieux nom de
Mori-Neith, aime de la deesse Neith.
Uu passage du livre nous parlo trop brievement, a mon avis, des precedes de culture
des berberes, sur les(iucls M. Hamy vient de nous donner dos details fort interessauts
parmi lesquels jc tieus a en relever uii specialement : on trouvo, dit lo savant cthuographe,
en Berberio des pierres qui ressemblent a des socs. "Lo Museo d'ethuographie possede
" uu specimen de cot ustensile en pierre demi-poli, recueilli naguere par Largeau dans le
" sud algerien." Or on a trouve assez recemment a Hieraconpolis des silex tailles d'une
grandeur extraordinaire qui ne sont, eux aussi je pense, que de* socs de charrue.
Ce ue sont la que quelques rapides notes de lecture sur lesquelles jc me hasarde a
attirer 1'attentiou des savants autorises, en recherchant pour terminer si I'hypothese
de prehistoriques libyens en Egypte s'accorde avec ce que 1'histoire d'Egypte nous
apprend.
Uu des plus anciens documents ecrits decouverts par Petrie a Abydos, tine tablette
en ivoire commemoraut vine fete d'un roi de la premiere dynastic fait mention d'uu chef
de Libyens. D'autre part, les chrouiqueurs nous moutront clans le premier roi d'Egypte,
Menes, un couqueraut vaiuqueur des Libyeus taudis qu'au debut de la deuxieme dyuastie
le sort de 1'Kgypte parait en danger par une invasion de Libyens qui ue sont vaiucus
que grace a la terreur que leur cause uue eclipse.
Sous 1'ancieu empire, nombreuses sont les mentions de luttes contre les Libyens et il
n:e semblo quo la scene de guerre trouvee par Petrie a Deshasheh represente la defaite
d'un corps de Libyens par les Kgyptieus. Faut-il rappcler le role join' pendant toute la
duree de 1'histoire de 1'Egypte par les incursions de Libyens ? N'y avait-il pas aiusi
que nous le dit Mariette des Libyeus etablis encore a 1'Occident du Delta jusqu'a
IV'poque moderne " etablis a Rhacotis des 1'origine."
Ce qui parait ressortir de 1'ensemble est on bion que les prehistoriques egyptiens
etaieut par la plupart des Libyens, on bien, qu'au moment de 1'eutroe des egyptiens
pharaoniques en Egypte les Libyens etaient sur le point eux anssi d'envahir 1'Egypte
(piMls entouraient depuis 1'Occideut du Delta jusqu'eu haute Nubie on encore sous la
sixieme dynastie on counaissait le champ des Libyeus. Dans ce cas, les Pharaons pour
assurer leur pouvoir sur les rive* du Nil dureut combattre les indigenes et repousser en
merae temps 1'iuvasiou libyeuue. L'hypotht-se est plus simple si les Libyens formaient
le fonds de la. population en Egyplr.
Uu point (juo los auteurs semblent avoir laisse de ei'u,r dans lenrs comparaisons
aiithropologiques est quo les Kgyptk-ns prehistoriques libyens on autres etaieut fortemeut
moles a la race uegre. Ils auraieut pu nous dire ce que douue aetuellemeut le melange
libyeu et negre.
I Q- "I
L Hl J
1901.]
MAN
[Nos. 69-70.
Nous voici a hi Hn de HOS remarques qui j'ose I'esp&er ue seront pas trouvees
inutiles : il me semble quo I'hypothese de I'origiue libyennc s'aeeorde niieux avec les
fails <|iie rhypothese boiteuse dc MM. Maelver et Wilkin faisant des concessions pour
Jes retirer inum'diatement (voir uotaininent, p. 108).
Cepeiuluut jc craindrais d'avoir en quoi (jue ce soit arnoiudri la haute valeur des
" Libyan Notes " (|ui malgre ce que les travaux ulterieurs pourront faire decouvrir
resteront toujours duns la matiere un livre capital qui aura eu notauiment le merite de
poser la question sur son veritable terrain. JEAN CAP ART.
P.S. — Je renvoie les lecteurs, pour le developpemeut de tons les points qui
•precedent, a I'adinirable livre du professeur Sergi, The Mediterranean Race: a Study
of the Origin of European Peoples, recu pendant la correction des epreuves de inou
article.
Myres.
70
Greece : Prehistoric.
Pre-Mykenaan Athens. By John L. Myres, M.A., F.S.A.
It is now some years since I noted on the south side of the Acropolis of
Athens the traces of a very early settlement underlying the fragments of Mykemean
walls which lie in the open space behind the
back wall of the Stoa of Eumenes, between the
Odeion of Herodes Atticus on the west and the
Asklepieion and the Diouysiac Theatre on the
: east. But it is only because I have failed
hitherto to find any reference to these remains
in any of the current books of reference that I
£
venture to put on record what must have been
visible to very many students of antiquity, and
very likely has escaped record merely because
^ it was patent.
The whole of the area below the steep
face of the Akropolis, and between the
Odeion and the Asklepieion, was cleared of
debris down to the rock at the same time as
the rest of the south side of the hill ; but very
fow buildings or monuments were found either of Hellenic or £rrSBCO-Roman date. There
occur, however, numerous fragments of house-walls of Mykeiuuan date, and these are fully
recorded on the current ground plans of the site. What has not, however, been noted is
that these walls themselves stand upon a distinct layer of " made-earth," which must be
of earlier date, and is, in fact, full of the debris of a very much more primitive settlement.
This pre-Mykeiuuan stratum is in some places as much as a metre in depth ; but as
its existence appears to have been ignored during the excavation, the only remains
of it now are the narrow strips on which the Mykeiuean walls stand, and these are
already attenuated by the action of the weather.
Still, enough remains to give a general idea of the character of the settlement,
which belongs, to all appearance, to the end of the Neolithic Age, or, perhaps, to the
very beginning of the Bronze Age, and is comparable in many respects of its culture
to the " Second Town " in the far finer series at Hissarlik. The made-earth already
mentioned is full of fragments of rough, hand-made, unpainted pottery, made of the
dark unlevigated mud of the Ilis.sos valley, full of fragments of the local schists ; not
of (he tawny and much less gritty clay of the Kerameikos and the Kephissos valley, on
VIEW. LOOKING WEST.
the other side of the site of Athens.
There are also rare fragments of a light-coloured
[ 88 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 70-71.
ware, more like the day of (lie Kenuneikofl, one of which showed traces of lustreless
brown paint ; bill it was not quite clear to me in some cases whether these had not
>lipped down from the Mykenaaao layer, where light-coloured and painted fragment.- of
various I'sibrics abound. The pre-M ykcna'an layer yields also fragments of ashes and
cinders, and of animal bones, together with obsidian Hakes, and occasional rubbed
pebbles, which may have been polter's burnishers. That the pots were made near the
site is also clear from their composition, and from the presence in one of them of a
fragment of worked obsidian, which does not occur in situ in the Ilissos valley, or,
indeed, in Attica at all. Similar very rude pottery is to be found on the surface
on the east face of the Mouseion Hill, and on the unexcavated west slope of the
Akropolis.
Vessels of " Hissarlik " types are already known from the excavations on the
Akropolis itself ; but it is a distinct point gained to know that in primitive, as in
Mykeuiuan times, there was a regular settlement under cover of that natural fortress ;
more especially when it is remembered that the plot of ground in which both have been
found is commonly identified with the " Pelasgikou " or " prehistoric site" which is
mentioned by Thucydides (II., 17) as a tabu-plot of uncanny waste in the heart of fifth-
century Athens. It is, perhaps, worth noting further that immediately above the best
preserved bits of Mykenseau wall are the worst ravages of that "quarrying in the
Pelasgikon," which had to be forbidden in the fifth century by the well-known
Eleusiuian Psephisma (Ditteuberger, Syllogc, 13).
The photograph shows one of the best-preserved sections of the stratum in
question. The letter A in the margin marks the surface of the hard red rock of the
Akropolis ; B, the upper surface of the pre-Myketifuau layer ; C, the fragmentary
Myketuean wall, with bits of Mykeineau pottery in the crannies ; D, the steep face of
the Akropolis, with the fifth century fortress-wall above the Asklepieiou, in the
background. J. L. MYRES.
Malta : Prehistoric. Myres.
Prehistoric Pottery in the Valletta Museum in Malta. By John L. Myres, ^4
M.A., F.S.A. I I
The vases which stand prominently in the centre of the photograph overleaf are
said to have come from rock-tombs in the Bengemma Hills in the north-west part of
Malta. They are composed of a rough native clay of dark colour, the result of the
disintegration of the soft limestone of the island ; they are hand-made, and they bear the
warm red luematitic surface with bright burnished lustre, which is common to so many
early fabrics of pottery in the Mediterranean coast-lauds.
The larger vessel, in the lower part of the photograph is comparatively simple in
form. The body is nearly spherical, slightly flattened for stability below ; the neck
is wide, and slightly expanded above, but without distinct rim : the handles are set ver-
tically rather low down on the body ; and there is a small mamilla on the shoulder half-
way between them. The general type is well-known among the early Bronze Age
" red-ware " of Cyprus (Cyprus Museum ('(i((i/<><///<. PI. II., 194, 200, 206), but the
particular form of this vase is not Cypriote : neither does it occur among the pre-
dynastic " red-ware " of Kgypt (Petrie, Nat/ado, and Ballas, passim), nor among the
very scanty series from the Tunisian dolmens (littrf/o Museum, unpublished), nor in
the pottery of the Sicilian Bronze Age {Synn-usc Miiseinii : of. Orsi, Qitattro Anni </i
Esplorazione Siculr, passim).
The composite vase on the upper shelf in the photograph is remarkable first for its
fine technique and for the perfection of it> red urface, and then for its form. It consist >
of three high gourd-shaped vessels in contact with each other below, and connected also
.[ 89 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 71-72.
above by a tbree-fold handle. Two of them are closed at the top by a conical roof,
while the third is open and serves as a spout for the whole vessel. The modelling
suggests at first sight both an Arab type
aud a well-known variety of the Kabyle
pottery ; but the fabric and the proven-
ance of this specimen leave no doubt as
to its early date. And it is worth noting
that the three great groups of Mediter-
ranean redware — in Cyprus, in Egypt,
aud in modern Kabylia — agree in an
inclination both to the use of gourd forms
aud to the construction of composite and
fantastic vases.
The tombs in the Bengemma Hills,
from which these vessels and other frag-
ments in the Valletta Museum are said
to have come, are small rock-chambers
hewn in the precipitous sides of a narrow
ravine, which resemble very closely both
the rock-tombs of south-easteru Sicily
(Orsi, I.e. pp. 105, 117 = Bull, di Paletn.
ItaL, XVII., pp. 59, 71) and those of
Chaouach near Medjez-el-Bab in Tunis.
Scattered over the narrow cultivated
terraces in front of the tomb-doors in the Beugemma ravine are many fragments,
both of the coarser red-faced ware exemplified in the vessels described above,
and also of a finer-grained, gypseous, smoky, drab-coloured ware, which takes a finer
polish, and is occasionally ornamented with roughly-incised dots and lines. Both kinds
of ware, it should be noted, are common also in aud round the megalithic monument of
Gigauteia in the neighbouring island of Gozo, and present close parallels to the early
burnished fabrics of the Sicilian rock-tombs. The tombs of the Bengemma Hills, which
are described in Dr. Carnaua's valuable work on the tombs of Malta, are mostly of later
dates, and the record of the discovery of the vessels under review is sadly defective in
detail. Enough, however, has, I think, been said to indicate the importance of this
fragmentary evidence of an early stage of culture in Malta and the need of more careful
investigation of the Bengemma site. J. L. MYRES.
REVIEWS.
Africa, South. Native Races Committee.
The Natives of South Africa ; their Economic and Social Condition. Edited
by the South African Native Races Committee. London, John Murray, 1901,
XV., 360 pp. 12*. net.
No more complete vindication of the course taken last summer by the Anthro-
pological Institute aud the Folklore Society, in presenting a joint memorial to H.M.
Secretary of State for the Colonies, praying for a commission to enquire into the
condition of the native races of the Transvaal aud the Orauge River Colony, could
be wished for than this instructive book. It has been prepared by a committee repre-
senting all shades of political and religious opinion. It is written in a calm and
matter-of-fact way, aiming at putting the readers in possession of accurate information,
rather than at making any rhetorical appeal. Indeed, rhetoric and passion are markedly
absent throughout, and every effort seems to have been made to arrive at accuracy.
[ 90 -]
1901.] MAN. [No. 72.
Commencing with a general sketch of the native races, their laws, customs, and
daily life, and an estimate of the native population of the various states composing what
is now British South Africa, the Committee proceed to render an account of the exi.-ting
administration of native affairs. This administration differs in different territories.
Some of the territories are ours by right of conquest, others we hold as a protectorate by
invitation of the chiefs and people. In the former case, reserves or locations are
provided for the natives ; in the latter, the entire territory belongs to them. The case
of Basutoland is peculiar. Though a Crown Colony, the whole country is reserved
for the natives, no white man being allowed to settle there, save officials, missionaries,
and traders.
From this preliminary statement of facts necessary to the understanding of the
following chapters, the Committee pass to an exposition of the important questions
forming the main subject of the book. Land tenure, the labour question in its various
phases, the puss laws, education, taxation, the franchise, and the liquor laws are
successively reviewed. While much of the material here brought together is of interest
rather to the statesman than to the anthropologist, the difficulties arising from the
clash of cultures, and the modification and gradual defecation of native customs and
beliefs under the influence of civilization are subjects of importance to the scientific
student ; and they here receive abunddnt illustration. The appendix, which ought by
no means to be overlooked, contains a selection from the replies of correspondents to
whom questions were addressed by the Committee. It may be regarded as a series of
samples of the raw material from which much of the substance of the book has been
woven.
Although the Committee have thus brought together a considerable mass of facts
and opinions, they themselves recognise its deficiencies. In their final chapter they say :
" This statement of conclusions and suggestions is made with diffidence, and with full
consciousness of the incompleteness of much of the material available." And they
appeal to the Government to institute in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony
" a systematic investigation of the special needs of the natives now brought directly
under Imperial control." In August last, at the very time when the joint memorial of
the Anthropological Institute and the Folklore Society was presented, they addressed to
the Colonial Secretary a representation pressing the desirability of a thorough investi-
gation of native questions, and praying for an authoritative enquiry into the laws,
customs, and laud tenure, the tribal system, and other specified matters which are dealt
with in these pages. As an expression of opinion on the part of men well qualified to
judge, who have approached ihc subject from the practical side, it may be regarded as
strong confirmation of the opinion expressed from the scientific side in the joint
memorial. We may reasonably hope that when the proper time arrives, Mr. Cham-
berlain will favourably consider the representations, and that the terms of appointment
of any Commission may be sufficiently wide to add to our knowledge of the natives in
directions beyond those which may appear necessary for the immediate purposes of
government. There is still much to be ascertained before even the best known tribes
can be said to be thoroughly understood. With some of the tribes we are hardly
acquainted at all. Among these may be noted, as of special interest, the pigmy
Vaalpens, the remains of what are said to be " the true aborigines," who live in small
and scattered communities in the northern parts of the Transvaal and the Bechuanaland
I'lotectorate.
Three maps, giving the distribution and density of population in Cape Colony and
Natal, are inserted ; but no attempt is made to show the distribution of the native
tribes. E. S. IIAKTLAM).
f 91 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 73-74.
Africa: Masai. Hinde.
The Masai Language, Grammatical Notes, with a Vocabulary. Compiled
by Hildegarde Hinde, 1901. Cambridge University Press. 8vo., pp. ix., 75.
Price 3*. 6d.
This pretty little volume is an addition to our knowledge of an African language
brought up to date, and to be depended upon, as derived from original sources. In fact,
the authoress dwelt two years in the region, and caught the words, as it were, from the
lips of a barbarous tribe.
Anyone, who has the least acquaintance with East Africa, must have heard of
Masai-laud ; it is a small narrow region which extends from the southern boundary of
Galla-land, north of the Equator, due south to a certain point south of the Equator,
where it is surrounded by different portions of the region occupied by the great Bantu
race, who spread over South Africa from the Equator to the Cape of Good Hope, and
some of the tribes speak magnificent vernaculars.
The Masai tribe is quite distinct from the Bantu, and their language is classed by
competent scholars in a small group called " Nuba-Fulah," a classification which may
conveniently be retained for the present, though open to modification hereafter. One
thing is clear, that the languages provisionally grouped in the Nuba-Fulah group have
no connection with the Semitic, Hamitic, Negro, or Bantu languages, which surround
them, though, possibly, loan-words may have crept into the mouths of barbarians from
contact with their more highly-civilised neighbours.
The railway from the port of Mombasa on the eastern coast to U-Gauda on the
great equatorial lake, passes through Masai-land, and this may prove a forerunner of
permanent settlements, increased culture, and more abundant means of existence of this
tribe ; and no doubt this meritorious little volume will prove the forerunner of a more
solid grammar and dictionary, and some texts in print. No portion of the Bible has yet
been translated and printed in the Masai language, but as there are missionaries in the
neighbourhood this may be expected.
The language is briefly noticed at page 151 of Vol. I. of my Modern Languages
of Africa, published by Messrs. Triibner & Co., Ludgate Hill, as far back as 1883 ; but
even at that period a certain amount of literature existed, which I quote in the Appendix,
Bibliography, of my volume, notably a vocabulary by Erhardt, which is noticed in the
preface of the volume before us. A great deal more has to be done, and the sooner that
it is done the better. The authoress of this Grammatical Note would greatly aid the
future grammarian, whom we expect, if she could publish stories and conversations of a
simple and genuine kind, taken down in the very words of each speaker.
The chapters of this book are : I. Grammatical Notes ; II. Verbs ; III. Phrases ;
IV. Salutations ; V. Vocabulary. R. N. GUST.
Africa : Soudan. Chantre.
Les Bicharieh et les Ababdeh. Par M. Ernest Chantre. Lyons, 1900. ^ m
M. Chantre is a diligent worker in some of the more obscure fields of anthro- I T"
pology. After exploring a great; part of South-western Asia, he has now turned his
attention to North-east Africa, and in this monograph gives us a succinct account of the
Bishari and the Ababdehs, two of the more important members of the Beja Hamitic
family. These had already been carefully studied by Munziger, Almgorist, Sergi, and
several other observers, so that there was not Arery much new to be said about them.
Some useful anthropometric tables, however, are given of various groups visited by the
author, who agrees with his predecessors that these, like all the other Bejas, are from
the ethnical standpoint mere varieties of the same primitive race which constitutes the
so-called "Ethiopic" (Eastern) branch of the Hamitic division. Unfortunately, with
[ 92 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 74 75.
them are again included the Barabra or Nubians of the Nile Valley, who are not
Humites with a Negro strain, hut Negroes with a Hamitio strain. This is clearly to he
inferred from their speech, which, us shown by Lepsius (Xnhischc Grammatik\ is not.
Hamitic, but closely related to (he Negro language still current amongst the Nnbas of
Kordofan. The point requires to be all the more insisted upon, since in Die Fiction des
.h'i/i//ifisr/ii'/i rcrliuins Professor Krmin has recently revived the old error of regarding
the language of the Nile Nubians as an independent form of speech, like Basque,
unrelated to any other known idiom, and suggesting that we have here the original
tongue of the primitive Egyptians before they were Semiti/ed by early intruders from
Asia. The Egyptians were never " Semitized " in pre-Mnhammedan time?, and their
ancient Hamitic language has not the remotest connection with that of the Nile Nubians,
which is itself not isolated " like Basque," but a distinct branch of the Nuba tongue
widely diffused amongst' the tribes of pronounced Negro type, whose cradle is to be
sought, in the uplands of South Kordofau. For details see my Ethnology of Eyi/jri'ia-n
Sudan. A. H. KEANE.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceedings. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris.
Sommaires des proce's-vcrba.ux des Seances de la Societe d'Anthropologie dc ^r
Paris. Janvier — Mai, 1900. I 0
Seance du 3 Janvier 1901. — Discours de M. Yves Guyot, President sortant.
Disconrs de M. le Docteur Chervin, President entrant. M. Diamanti : Experiences de
calcul mental et de memoire visuelle. Discussion : MM. Laborde, Herve, Atgier,
Letourneau, Mauouvrier, Azoulay, de Mortillet, Papillault et Volkov.
Stance du 17 Janvier 1901. — M. Adrieu de Mortillet presente des haches de bronze.
M. Meyer presente tin buste ditde la fern me d'Anverniers, lacde Neuchatel, modele d'aprcs
un crane de 1'epoque neolithique, sur les indications de M. le Professeur Dr. Kollmanns
de Bille, par le Sculpteur Bnchli. Discussion : MM. Manouvrier, Herve, Papillault,
de Mortillet, Regnault, Zaborowski, •Garnaud, Block. M. Te Dr. Daujou euvoie des
cranes de Madagascar. M. Macquart lit un memoire sur la diminution du taux de la
natalite francaise. Discussion : MM. Zaborowski, Regnault, Herve, Dumont, Yves
Guyot, de Mortillet. M. le Dr. Garnaud fait uue communication sur le livre de S track :
" Le Sang et le Crime Zituel." M. Mathews communique un memoire sur des fouilles
Australiennes.
Seance du 1 fevricr 1901. — Compte-rendu de la visite de la Societe au Musee
Guimet. M. le Dr. Atgier presente deux sujets : Tun acrocephale, 1'autre scaphocephale.
Discussion : MM. Manouvrier, Papillault, Herve. M. Adrien de Mortillet montre des
photographies de Sakalaves. M. le Dr. Godin lit uu memoire sur ['influence de la
gymnastique sur la croissance des differentes parties du corps : Discussion. M. le
Dr. Garnaud lit un memoire sur les origines et le sens de la circoncisiou : Discussion.
Sen/ice du 21 fevrier 1901. — M. Sanson presente des photographies de beeufs
geants. M. Beauvais sidresse d'interessautes photographies du sud de la Chine. M. le
Dr. Atgier presente un sujet scaphocephale. M. le Dr. Regnault lit un memoire sur la
transformation de I'iudiee cephalique. Discussion : MM. Zaborowski, Anthony, Atgier,
Block. M. Thieullen commence la lecture d'un memoire sur les pierres figures.
Seance du 7 mars 1901. — M. le Dr. Reguault preseute un crane hydrocephale.
M. Yauville fait don de vases etrusques, gaulois et merovingiens. M. Thieullen
termine la lecture de son memoire sur les pierres figures. M. le Dr. Azoulav commence
la lecture d'un memoire sur le mode de constitution d'un musee phonoffimphiqae
[ 93 1
1901.] MAN. [No. 75.
M. Vaschide lit nn m6moire sur le rove prophetique. Mile. Pelletier communique une
note sur 1'indice cubique cranien.
Seance du 14 mars 1901. — Le President annonce la presence de M. le Baron
Amlrian, de Vienne, et de M. Brabrook, de Londres. MM. les Drs. Hickmet et
Reo-uault communiquent une note sur le recrutement des eunuques du harem de
Constantinople. Discussion : M. le Baron Andrian, Zaborowski, Atgier. M. le Dr.
Adolphe Block lit un memoire sur la transformation d'une race de couleur foncee en
une race blanche. Discussion : MM. Deniker, Zaborowski, Atgier, Regnault, Verneau,
Manouvrier, Herve. M. Laville communique le resultat de ses fouilles dans des depots
neolithiques et infra-neolitiques stratifies de la vallee de la Seine. Discussion : MM.
Fourdrignier, A. de Mortillet, Vauville, Marty.
Seance du 4 avril 1901. — M. le Dr. Dore fait don au musee de cranes provenant du
Cimetiere de Saint-Germain des Pres. M. Giraux presente des photographies de
Menhirs et de Dolmens des environs de Paris : Dolmens de la Pierre Turquoise, de Trye
chateau, de Boury, de la Justice et du Trou aux Anglais a Aubergenville, etc. M. le
Dr. Azoulay acheve la lecture de sou memoire sur la constitution d'un musee phono-
graphique. Discussion : MM. Fourdrignier, Letourneau, Azoulay. M. le Dr. Verneau
donne lecture du Rapport de la Commission chargee d'etudier les moyens de developper
des rapports scientifiques et amicaux avec les societes anthropologiques de la France et
de 1'etranger. Ce rapport est approuve. M. Deniker fait une communication pur les
taches pigmentaires de la region sacro-lombaire.
Seance du 18 avril 1901. — M. Adrien de Mortillet offre des dessins et photographies
provenant de 1'exposition d'anthropologie de 1900. M. Duhousset rappelle ses com-
munications de 1877 sur la circoncision des filles en Egypte. M. Lejeune repond a la
communication de M. Vaschide sur les reves prophetiques. M. LaVille : Coupe de la
carriere de Saint-Prest (Eure-et-Loir), silex tailles. Discussion : MM. Sanson, d'Ault
du Mesnil, Verneau. M. le Dr. Adolphe Block : L'homme prehistorique d'apres Buffon.
M. Vaschide : Contribution a 1'etude de la signification des reves. Discussion : MM.
Azoulay, Papillault, Manouvrier, d'Echerac, Sauson, Fourdrignier, Vaschide. M. le
Professeur Gustave Retzius fait connaitre les resultats de 1'enquete anthropometrique
faite en Suede sur 45,000 consents. Discussion : ,MM. Verneau, Manouvrier.
Seance du 2 mai 1901. — M. A. de Mortillet offre des photographies <le nains.
A 1'occasion de la communication de M. Deniker, il siar .ile un cas de developpement
pileux dans la region sacree chez un sujet feminin. jM. Fourdrignier presente de
petits silex trouves avec MM. Nicaise et Morel, en 1876, a St. Martin-sur-Pre
(Marne). M. le President annonce : 1° qu'une Excursion a Chalons-sur-Marne, pour
assister a des fouilles de tombes gauloises trouvees par M. Emile Schmit, sera faite
dimanche prochain 5 courant ; 2° que la Conference transformiste anuuelle sera faite
par M. Vinson, le 18 mai sur la litterature et Tecriture dans 1'Inde meridionale.
M. Zaborowski : Influences egyptiennes an Senegal et au Soudan. Discussion : MM.
Verneau, Delisle, Garnault, A. de Mortillet, Herve, Fourdrignier, Zaborowski.
M. Azoulay : Le musee phonographique de la Societe d'Anthropologie. Discussion :
MM. Letonrneau, Vinsou. M. Garnault : Les pretendus ex-Voto medicaux de
1'Egypte. Discussion : MM. Atgier, Regnault, Garnault.
Seance du 16 mai 1901. — Les Societes d'Autbropologie de Vienne et de Rome
acceptent de faire 1'echange des sommaires des proces-verbaux et le principe d'un
annuaire international des anthropologistes. La seance solennelle de la societe aura
lieu le 18 juillet. M. de Mortillet rend compte de differentes excursions scientifiques
faites depuis la derniere seance. M. Dubalen fait don d'iustruments en pierre provenant
du departement des landes. MM. Faivre et Cauderlier envoient des travaux pour les
prix Godard et Bertillon. Qne commission composee de MM. de Mortillet Otgier et
[ 94 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 75-76,
Tapir dc Celeyran est ehargee do rediger des instructions il 1'usage des fouillcnrs.
M. le Dr. Regnaiilf olVre la photographie d'uno femmc de 53 ana ayant 2 nez et trois
veiix. Discussion: MM. Ilerve, Mathias I)n\ al, Anthony ei Renault. M. Laville :
Quaternaire moyen dans le gypse do Montmagny (8. & O.).
Proceedings. Anthropological Institute.
Ordinary Meeting, Jan. 22, 1901. Mr. C. II. Read, F.S.A., President, in •»<>
the chair. The President announced from the chair the death of Her Majesty f 0
Queen Victoria, and declared the meeting adjourned.
Annual Meeting, Jan. 30, 1901. Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A., President, in the chair.
The Reports of the Treasurer and Council were read and adopted. The Officers anJ
Council were duly elected for the year 1901-2.
The President delivered his annual address, which will be found printed in full in
the Journal of the Institute, Vol. XXXI., p. 1 ff., together with the Reports of the
Treasurer and Council, and the official minutes of the meeting.
Ordinary Meeting, Feb. 12, 1901. Dr. 'A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.
The election was announced of Mr. Thomas Durnan, as a Fellow of the Institute.
Mr. A. L. Lewis, Treasurer of the Institute, exhibited a number of photographs of
Stonehenge, illustrating the recent fall of stones (cf. Man, 1901, 18) ; and also a photo-
graph of the well-known Tonga trilithon. Mr. Stopes pointed out the ease with which
restorations of Stonehenge might be effected, and urged that representations should be
made in the proper quarter. The President expressed the thanks of the meeting to
Mr. Lewis for his exhibit.
The Secretary reported recent accessions to the library of the Institute, and also
the presentation by Dr. Eddowes .of a series of slides illustrating a number of details of
the construction of Stonehenge. Thanks were ordered to be returned to Dr. Eddowes
and to the publishers and others who had presented books and pamphlets.
Mr. W. 'Rosenhain read a paper on " Malay Metal Work," which was illustrated by
lantern slides and experiments. The paper was discussed by the President, Mr. Gowland,
and Mr. Atkinson. Tlje thanks of the Institute were ordered to be returned to Mr.
Rosenbain for his paper, which will be printed in full in the Journal of the Institute,
Vol. XXXI.
Extraordinary Meeting, Feb. 25, 1901. Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., President, in
the chair.
Major-General Robley presented to the Institute a drawing of a Maori war-dance
sketched at Le Papa, Tauranga, on December 25th, 1864. The thanks of the Institute
were ordered to be returned to Major-General Robley for his gift, which is exhibited in
the library of the Institute.
Mr. H. Ling Roth read a paper on " Maori Tatu and Moko," which was illustrated
by hmtern slides and drawings. The paper was discussed by Mr. Edge-Partington,
Mr. C. H. Read and the President. The thanks of the Institute were returned, to
Mr. Ling Roth for his paper, which will l>e printed, with full illustration, in the Journal
of the Institute, Vol. XXXI.
OnliiHtri/ Mcrti/ig, March 12, 1901. Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S, President, in the
cliair. .
Professor II. Louis exhibited and described examples of the "Kingfisher type of
Kris from tiio Malay Peninsula." The exhibit was discussed by Mr. Gowland and
[ 95 ]
1901.] MAN- CNo. 76.
the President, anil the thanks of the Institute were ordered to be returned to Professor
Louis for his exhibit, which will be found described and illustrated in the Journal
of the Institute, Vol. XXX., Miscellanea, No. 77, Plate I — J.
Professor Victor Horsley, F.R.S., presented a communication from Rev. J. A.
Crump, on " Trephining in the South Seas," and commented at length on the new
material which it contained. Three trephined skulls were exhibited, in illustration of
the paper, by Mr. Oldh'eld Thomas, of the British Museum, to whom the Institute is
indebted for the opportunity of discussing Mr. Crump's results. The paper was discussed
by Professor Thane, Mr. Shrubsall, Dr. Garsou, and the President, and will be printed
in full in the Journal of the Institute, Vol. XXXI.
Mr. J. Gray, B.Sc., described and exhibited kephalometric instruments devised by
himself and kephalograms obtained by their means. The paper was discussed by
Professor Thane, Dr. Garsou, and the President, and will be printed in full in the
Journal of the Institute, Vol. XXXI.
• The thanks of the Institute were ordered to be returned to the authors and
communicators of papers.
Ordinary Meeting, April 23, 1901. Dr. A. C. Haddou, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.
The President briefly commemorated the devoted services of the late Rev. James
Chalmers, whose murder by head-hunting raiders was that day reported from New
Guinea.
The election was announced of Dr. A. J. Chalmers, Mrs. Lala Fisher, Messrs.
E. A. Preen, J. A. Travers, H. A. Rose, H. R. H. Hall, «aud C. Letts, as Fellows of
the Institute.
Mr. L. J. Shirley exhibited specimens of Neolithic implements from a site on the
Wiltshire border of Berkshire. The exhibit was discussed by the President and the
Secretary.
Mr. Franklin White exhibited a number of stone implements from Rhodesia and
photographs and plans of ruins in that country. The paper was discussed by the
Secretary and the President, and will be printed with full illustration in the Journal of
the Institute, Vol. XXXI.
Communications were received from Rev. J. R^scoe, through Dr. J. G. Frazer, on
" The Manners and Customs of the Baganda " ; and from Mr. S. H. Ray on " Folktales
from the New Hebrides." These will be printed in full in the Journal of the Institute,
Vol. XXXI.
The thanks of the Institute were ordered to be returned to the authors and
communicators of papers.
Ordinary Meeting, May 14, 1901. Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.
The election was announced of Dr. Bushell, C.M.G., Dr. Edridge Green, Dr.
Mitchell, Mrs. Ballen, Mrs. Farquharsou, Mr. Franklin White, Rev. H. V. Mills.
Mr. R. Shelford exhibited a number of carved bamboos from Sarawak, and
commented upon the elements 6f Dyak decorative art.
Mr. MacDougall read a paper, by Mr. C. Hose and himself, on " The Relations
between Men and Animals in Sarawak." The paper was discussed by the President,
Major Travers, Messrs. Biddulph Martin, Shelford, Gornme, and N. W. Thomas.
The thanks of the Institute were ordered to be returned to the authors of these
communications, which will be printed in full in the Journal of the Institute,
Vol. XXXI.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.C,
MAN. 1900, Hate A.
BUDDHIST WHEEL OF LIFE FROM JAPAN.
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AUSTRALIAN OBJECTS IN THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD.
1. SWAN NECKED BOOMERANG OF UNUSUAL FORM, FROM MACARTHUR RIVER, GULF OF CARPENTARIA.
2. SWAN-NECKED BOOMERANG OF ORDINARY TYPE.
3—5. BAMBU TRUMPETS FROM THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
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MAN, 1901. PLATE F.
PAL.BOLITHIC IMPLEMENTS FROM A HIGH TERRACE PLEISTOCENE RIVER-BED
NEAR GREENH1THE.
-
MAN. 1901. PLATE G.
SPEAR-HEAD AND SOCKETED CELT OF BRONZE
FROM THE
SHAN STATES, BURMA.
NOW IN THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD.
1901.] MAN. [No. 77.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
With Plate G.
Burma : Shan States. Balfour.
A Sjtrfir-/ird(t niul Six-kctctl ('ill of lirnnz:- fnnn tin Slum States, Ilnnnn.
Communicated by Ilcnrv Hal four, M.A., Curator of llic I'itt Rivers Museum,
Oxford.
•Implements of forms re!'er:il»le to :i Bronze Age in South-eastern Asia are of sufficient
rarilv lo just if y the publication of the two examples shown in Plate (i. These came
to me through the kindness of Mr. H. Levesou, C.S., who obtained them from natives
on the spot. The bronze spear-head was procured by him in 1896 from a native who
stated that it had been found by his father some thirty years previously in the bed of
the Nam Lwi streain, a tributary of the Mekong River, /at. 21° 20' N., long. 100° E.
As the native informed Mr. Levcson, it was believed to have descended with the
lightning, ami that it pierced deep into the ground, and "in the fulness of its time
ascended to the view of man." Jt is interesting to Hud that this belief in a celestial origin,
which is so commonly and universally associated with implements of a forgotten Stone
Age, should be also held in regard to those of the Bronze Age, and it goes to prove a
considerable antiquity to these bronze weapons, which have become surrounded with
myth because their real nature and human origin has long passed out of memory. Its
length is (>•! inches, and its width 1£ inches or a trifle more. As will be seen, it is leaf-
shaped and socketed, the socket being produced in the casting and not hammered round.
A portion of the socket has been broken away, so that the present length is less than its
original length. The surface is pitted considerably with small gas-vents formed in the
easting. This spear-head is practically identical in form with many of the leaf-shaped
socketed bronze spear-heads of Western Europe.
The bronze celt was discovered in digging in the gravel bed of a stream called the
Nam Pang, a tributary of the Nam Ilka stream, which runs into the Salween River on
the left bank, hit. 22° 10' N., long. 99° 10' E. Gold-washing operations are carried on
in the Nam Pang bed, and it was thus that this bronze celt was found, together with a
polished stone axe-head, it is a well-cast implement, and, although it resembles in form
some of the socketed bronze celts of Western Europe, it presents at the same time minor
peculiarities which give to it a local colouring. It is 3£ inches long, 2^ inches wide,
and weighs 3 ozs. 306 grs. The metal is somewhat thin, the cutting edge expanded
and crescentic. In transverse section the shape is fusiform, the two faces being convex
and meeting to form edges at the sides. When viewed from one of the sides it is seen to
be unsymmetrical, one face being considerably less convex than the other towards the
cutting edge, in fact it is nearly Hat at this part. This shape has the appearance of
being intentional, and the implement may have been designed for some special kind of
work. On the obverse are three raised zig-zag lines running parallel to each other
from the socket rim to a transverse line which forks at the sides of the celt.
The reverse is marked with a raised line following the contour of rhis shape : — P""
There is a tine green patina over the surfaces. ) \
Both spear-head and celt are now in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Dr. J. Anderson procured a socketed bronze celt in the Sand; Yailey, Ynnaii
(c. 98° E., 24° 40' N.), of a peculiarly specialized form, with oblique edge and winged
sides. He mentions the rarity of these implements, and says that he paid 21. lO.v for
his specimen, while for three others exactly similai he was asked o/. each (" Rep. on
Exped. to W. Yunan," 1871, p. 414, pi. V".). There are many copper and tin mines
in Ynnan, and these materials were brought in quantities thence to Manila lay and
Momien bv Chinese caravans.
[ 97 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 77-78.
Sir J. Evans mentions also an example of socketed celt from Ynnan in the British
Museum, and one from Cambodia, also a specimen from Java which is in the Cabinet of
Coins, Stuttgart. They appear to be very rare. HENRY BALFOUR.
Nomenclature •: Glaze or Varnish. Myres.
Note on the Use of the Words " Glaze'1'' and " Varnish'1'' in the Description ^Q
of Painted Pottery. Communicated by John L. Myres. fO
Frequent confusion appears to have arisen among students of ancient ceramics, and
particularly of the early pot-fabrics of the Mediterranean, from the use of the term
"varnish" or "varnish-pigment" to describe such painted ornament us exhibits a
lustrous surface after firing.
For this kind of pigment, the proper term in English is not " varnish " but " glaze"
and the use of the word "varnish" is due to an ill advised attempt to translate
literally the German " Firniss-malcr ei ." This German term was, I believe, first used by
Drs. Furtwiingler and Loeschke, in their Mykenische Vasen, published in 1886, to
deuote the third and most highly finished group of their classification of Mykenaean
pottery ; in contra-distinction to the second and more primitive group, to which, because
its colours are powdery and lustreless, they gave the name of Matt-malerei.
Now Firniss in German appears to be rightly used, both (1) for those pigments which,
as in the case of the Mykenreau pottery, contain enough fusible matter to vitrify in the
firing and so to acquire a permanent glassy lustre ; and also (2) for those which, like
ordinary housepainters' colours, or the characteristic " Kabyle pottery " of Algeria, are
made up with gummy or resinous matter, which, while it soon dries hard and gives
a lustrous appearance to the surface of the vessel, is easily scratched or washed off with
turpentine or other solvent of the lustrous gum ; and, if exposed to even a dull red
heat, burns away altogether, leaving the pigment charred, powdery, and easy to rub off.
In French, also, the corresponding word verms seems to be properly applied either
to a fusible or to a resinous surface covering.
In English, on the other hand, the word " varnish " has become restricted in
common use so as to denote the gummy or resinous pigments only ; while for vitrified
pigments English potters regularly use the word " glaze " or "glazed-pigment" which
has the advantage of suggesting at once the idea of something glass-like or vitreous, and
is not likely, in descriptions of pottery at all events, to cause confusion with the various
lustrous substitutes, such as starch or albumen, to which this term is sometimes popularly
applied. It will, therefore, save much confusion and inconvenience if those who have
occasion to describe pot-fabrics with lustrous ornaments will confine their use of the word
" varnish " to gummy and resiuous pigments only : and of the word " glaze " to vitreous
pigments ; reserving the word "lustrous" as a generic term (as in mineralogy) for all
pigments the surface of which throw back the light at all, but of which the specifically
vitreous or resinous character is not clearly apparent, and the words " burnished " or
"polished" for those on the surface, or parts of the surface, of which a lustre has
subsequently been brought out by mechanical friction. The only objection, so far as
I am aware, to this generic use of the term " lustre " is that " lustre -icare " has become
a common phrase for certain mediaeval glazed wares which exhibit what in mineralogy
would be termed a " metallic lustre" But I do not think that in practice there would
be any difficulty on this score.
Three other useful terms may, perhaps, be suggested, in conclusion, to describe
kindred processes of decoration, which do not fall under any of the foregoing, but are,
I find, frequently liable to confusion with them.
1. The term "slip" is usually employed in its correct technical sense (correspond-
ing exactly with the French enduit and the German Ueberzug} of a coating of finely
levigated clay applied to the whole surface of the vessel by dipping it in a bath of clay-
f 98 1
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 78-79.
ami-water of the consistency of cream. Rut it is also sometimes incorrectly used to
denote a coloured layer applied with a brush to large areas of the <iirfaee, <o as to leave
the Around-colour of the vase only showing in di-laehed panels. In this case the
coloured layer is not a slip hut a paint or alazc, and should be described accordingly.
It should be remembered, also, that many clays, if left to stand, or, better, if rotated fora
few moments on the wheel after being thrown into the desired form, are liable to
exude sufficient creamy moisture to produce automatically a very thiu deposit of fine
clay all over the surface, which, if it is of appreciable thickness, is most difficult to
distinguish from a true slip. In describing Cypriote vases, among which this phenomenon
is very frequent, I have usually specified as having a "distinct slip" those vases in
which the slip is of different composition or origin from the clay of the vessel itself, or
in which it showed definite signs of having been applied by dipping.
2. Sometimes, however, a dilute clay, such as might be used for a slip (usually
highly coloured), is applied to the surface of a vessel by means of a rag or a wisp of
grass so as to cover the whole or nearly the whole area, after the manner of a slip, but
so thinly or unevenly as to leave pale patches or even actual lacuna, together with
other signs, such as brush-marks, or longitudinal streaks, of the mode in which the
coloured coating was applied. This kind of decoration is often called a "slip" like the
preceding ; but it results from a wholly different process and produces a different result,
intermediate between a true "slip " and a mere "painted'1'' ornament ; and I have been
accustomed myself to distinguish it by the descriptive name of a "smear.'1'' I know no
French or German phrase which corresponds, and the vases which exhibit a "smear'1''
are usually described merely as having a schle.cht angebraekter Ueberzug, or some similar
phrase.
3. Yet another way of modifying, and making uniform, the colour of pottery, very
commonly practised by primitive peoples, is by treating the pot, after firing, with a
vegetable decoction which sinks into the porous clay, and is there carbonised in its very
substance, either because the decoction is applied while the pot is still quite hot from
the furnace, or by a subsequent firing. The uniform black sooty surface thus produced
is then usually burnished, either uniformly or in patterns, with a smooth pebble or (as
in early Cyprus) with a horse-tooth. Examples of this carbonised pottery are, (1) the
black ware of the lowest layer at Hissarlik (Schliemaun, Ilios, pages 218-220, where the
mode of manufacture is only inferred, and (2) the black ware made in Torres Straits,
and collected by the recent Cambridge Expedition ; in the latter case Dr. H.iddon tells
me that he witnessed the whole process of manufacture. This mode of decoration, and
all similar modes in which a pigment is caused to soak into the texture of the clay, I
would propose to call a stain, differentiating iron-stain, smoke-stain, carbonised- stain,
and the like as occasion may require-. Such stains, it should be noted, can only be
distinguished with certainty from a slip or a smear on a cross fracture ; in which
aspect a smear is too shallow to be recognisable at all ; a true slip shows a more or less
distinct layer on the surface of the coarser clay of the vessel ; an automatic slip pro-
duced by surface deposition begins with a fine texture at the surface and becomes
gradually coarser till it merges in the clay of the interior, while a stain, has no surface
" layer," and shows only a gradual change of tint, strongest at the surface, and
evanescent towards the interior. J. L. MYRKS.
Norway: Folklore. Skeat.
A Modern Trace of Sun- worship in Norn-ay. Communicated by \V. \V '. -•**
Skeat, M.A. / U
Dr. Sten Konow, of Christiania, the Sanskrit scholar, who is now employed under
Dr. (Irierson in connection with the work of the Linguistic Survey of India, recently
related a curious fact which st'eiiis to point to the former existence of some form of
[ 99 J
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos, 79-81.
nimistio " Sun-worship " in Norway. "As a child I lived " (he says) " in the parish
" of Vang, in Valdres, Norway. The parish is situated in a valley surrounded by
" mountains so high that the sun disappears for several weeks in the winter. The first
" clay when it is seen again (I was told) old people used to fill a spoon with butter and
" place it in the window, in order that the sun might ' eat ' it." Can any of your readers
throw further light on this interesting Norwegian practice ? W. W. SKEAT.
Pacific. Edge-Partington.
An Object of Unknown Use and Locality. By J. Edge-Partington. Q*%
The subject of this note was obtained several years ago on the island of UU
Botnmah by Mr. W. L. Allardyce. He could obtain no informa-
tion as to its use. It is made from a flat piece of highly-
polished wood of a beautiful grain and of a deep brown-red
colour. The outer edge is sharp as if for marking or cutting,
while the inner edge is squared ; the narrow end has a groove
on both sides into which native white shell beads have been
fixed by black cement, of these beads only one now remains ;
from the upper edge there is an oblong projection with ;i
perforation as if for suspension. My object in sending in a
drawing of this object is, in the first place, to try and find out its
true locality, for I doubt it being of Rotnman origin ; and,
secondly, its use. Perhaps some of our many readers will be able to furnish me
with some information. J. E.-P.
Pacific: Solomon Islands. Woodford ; Edge-Partington.
Natire Ornaments from the Solomon Islands, recently presented to the British <-»^
Museum by Mr. C. M. Woodford. Contributed by J. Edge-Partington. 0 I
Since Mr. Woodford was appointed British Commissioner of the Solomon Islands
he has been a regular contributor to our national collections. From his last gift I have
selected the following as being of particular interest : —
No. 1 is an armlet from the island of New Georgia ; it is made from a small
Pridacna shell of a dirty brown colour, probably so from age, the native name .of which
i 6%
is " Rttreke" this represents so much money, and is worth three or four bakehcu,
Unfortunately Mr. Woodford does not say what particular form ;i bakeha takes.
[ 100 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 81-82.
No. 2 is a fragment of ;i native armlet of volcanic stone, discovered by Mr.
Wood ford on the site of :ui old village in the island of (li/.o, while clearing the ground
for a Government station. Jt was found at the height of 100 feet ahove the sea, hut
shows signs of having been at some time under water, as it is encrusted with what is
apparently a growth of coral. An old native to whom he showed it said that it was a
kind of armlet that used formerly to he made upon the island of Kulambangara, near
to Gizo.
The ahove descriptions are from notes supplied by Mr. Woodford with the
s|M,imens. J. EDGE-PARTINGTON.
Africa : Rhodesia. White.
On the Khami Ruins, Rhodesia. By Franklin White. Abstract of a paper Qrt
read before the Rhodesia Scientific Association. UL*
The Khami ruins are situated about twelve miles west of Bulowayo, and close to
the river of the same name. Their builders took advantage of the knolls of granite
which are characteristic of the neighbourhood, and the artificial defences are adapted in
all cases to strengthen the natural fortresses which they provide. The walls are built of
fairly regular blocks of granite, varying from seven to eleven inches in length, and three
to five inches in thickness, set for the most part end-on into the wall ; the centre of the
Avail behind them being filled up more or less loosely with fragments. The walls are
laid dry without cement, and when carried to any considerable height, they are stepped
back at every six or eight feet. The blocks usually break joint well, but departures
from this rule are common. The builders were somewhat indifferent to the straightness
of their lines, and allowed their walls to turn aside to avoid boulders, or take advantage
of them. Cross walls are built butting against the side walls, not built into them. For
greater strength the walls are built thicker in the neighbourhood of doorways, which in
the main walls are, apparently, very few in number.
The space within the enclosures is usually filled in to the level of the top of the
walls ; but it is possible that this filling is due to more recent occupants. This idea is
supported by the existence to the north of the main ruin of a wall, which must have
been five or six feet high, with a gate or doorway in it.
The ornamentation of the walls is confined to the " herring bone " and chequer
pattern, and to the introduction of courses of a darker coloured rock ; as at Zimbabwe
and similar sites, the ornaments are introduced without system, and begin anil end off
abruptly. The ornamented walls face any point of the compass, but generally towards
the west, the eastern walls being, as a rule, of insignificant si/e, as they are nearly all at
the top of the precipitous river bank.
There are four principal ruins, of which, however, one only has been at all fully
examined by Mr. White and his party, besides other fortified knolls further to the
northward.
The heaps of debris round the ruins show abundant signs of human occupation —
pottery (showing some twenty-four different patterns, painted in red and black), bones,
brass wire work, gold beads, fragments of crucibles, implements for drawing wire, and
even stone and iron implements, occurring in layers of ashes several feet in thickness.
In one place the wall of the central platform itself appears to rest on a layer of ashes,
with bones and broken pottery of earlier date. Chips of Hint, quart/ite, and chalcedony
are abundant ; and stone arrow heads and scrapers, as well as other worked stones, are
occasionally found.
Another interesting feature is the presence of fairly numerous circles or walls of
burnt clay, fifteen to forty feet in diameter, .generally raised on a platform, also of burnt
clav, coating a ring or layer of laid stones. In one instance the clay walls are still
[ 101 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 82-83.
standing to a height of five feet. They seern to indicate huts ; and traces of posts in
the thickness of the wall seem to .show how the weight of the roof was supported.
Near one of the ruins are the remains of two elaborate buildings, with circular
central chambers surrounded by radial cells, with doorways and semi-circular thresholds
of burnt clay. Mr. White is informed that in some districts the natives still make their
dwellings in a very similar style.
Mr. White concludes by distinguishing three stages of culture : (1) a primitive
stone age, prior to the building of the ruins ; (2) the civilisation of the ruin builders,
whom he identifies with the representatives of the gold industry ; (3) that of the
builders of the clay dwellings within the ruins, who are certainly subsequent, and, like
the modern Kaffirs, do not appear to have been acquainted with gold working.
Mr. White and his companions are greatly to be congratulated on the result of their
exploration of these interesting ruins, which throw much new light on the early history
of this part of South Africa ; on the ruins of Zimbabwe, formerly described by
Mr. Theodore Bent and Mr. Swan ; and on the very similar ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, which
Mr. White himself has explored, and has described in full at a recent meeting of the
Anthropological Institute [Man, 1901, 76]. It is much to be hoped that the intelligent
interest in these monuments which is being so wisely fostered by the Scientific Association
of Rhodesia may prevail to secure their preservation, and the systematic examination of
the valuable objects which they not infrequently contain- J.
Africa: Tripoli. Myres.
Collateral Survival of Successive Styles of Art in North Africa. By John L. QQ
Myres, M.A., F.S.A. OU
The photograph appended to this note represents a part of the weekly market
which is held outside the little town of Khoms, or Lebda, in Tripoli, the modern
representative of the great trading city of Leptis Magna. Behind is the whitewashed
Avail of the Turkish fort, with part of the Government buildings ; in front is a group of
local " Arabs " from the villages round, with stacks of pottery for sale.
The pots, which were exposed for sale in April 1896, when this photograph was
taken, illustrated in a remarkable way the extent to which successive cultures may
overflood an area without extinguishing, and almost without contaminating, the
industries and the art of the peasantry. Three fabrics of pottery are shown in the
photograph.
1. The long-necked bottles, in front of the draped figures to the right of the view,
with a heavy collar-like rim, are of forms which are characteristic of Arab pottery
throughout the whole of North Africa, and which have persisted unchanged since early
uiediieval times, if not from the date of the Arab conquest itself.
2. The large ovoid water-jars in the foreground and to the left, and the smaller
wide-mouthed jars, one-handled jugs, and open saucers, which are accumulated imme-
diately behind them, reproduce a varied but characteristic series of the late Grseco-
Roman types which immediately preceded the Arab conquest. They coexist with the
Arab types, but show no trace of contamination of style. I was not able to discover
for certain whether they are made by the same potters, or at the same potteries as the
Arab types.
3. In the middle of the photograph, a group of middle-sized bowls may be seen standing
across a gangway between two groups of the ovoid jars of class 2. These (though
the bright light does not show this very clearly) were of a dull, blackish clay, uniformly
smoked in the tiring, and in strong contrast Avith the creamy Avhite surface of the Arab and
Grseco -Roman fabrics. Unlike them also, these vessels Avere Avholly hand-made, and, so
far as I could discover, their makers, who were country " Arabs " or Arabized Berbers
C 102 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 83.
from tlie neighbourhood, did not employ the potter's wheel at all. The forms were very
rude ami clumsy, hut characteristic features were the gourd-like outline of the hody, the
absence <it' a Btandrng-DMe, and the fre(|iieut presence of a funnel-like spout set low down
in the side. This spout is well shown in the pot immediately to I lie left of the circular
shallow. With these features, and their haud-made fahric, these pots stand wholly
apart from the two Inter groups described above ; arid, seeing that the knowledge of the
potter's wheel was introduced into the neighbourhood of Leptis not later than the
seventh century B.C., and probably nearer the ninth, the conclusion is inevitable that
these pots represent an uiicontaminated survival from a yet earlier period. This cou-
clusiou is itself borne out by the comparison of the forms, and the manipulation, with
those of the ruder wares of the Bronze Age in Cyprus and Palestine on the one hand,
and of the Tunisian dolmens on the other. If anything, in fact, the modern examples
NATIVE-MADE POTS FOR SAM: AT MiRDA (KIIOMS) IN
are more rude ami primitive than the real Bronze Age pottery ; in particular, there is
no trace of the red-polished slip which is so characteristic of the earlier Bronze Age in
the Eastern Mediterranean.
Fragments of this same hand -made pottery are common in the maritime desert
between Lebda, Tripoli, and the escarpment of the Tarhuna plateau, wherever the
drifting sand has exposed the desert-floor. These may be modern, like the pots in the
bazar at Khoms ; they may be contemporary with the Roman pottery and house
foundations, with which they are often associated ; or, thirdly, they may be as old as the
neolithic scrapers and arrow points which also abound in these lacun;e, among the
sand drifts. The desert itself is probably not older than the Arab conquest, and under
the present misrule is rapidly extending still ; but the age of the desert does not really
affect the question of the age of the potsherds on its floor : aud the very uniformity of
[ 103 }
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 83-84.
the liuiid-inude fragments wlierover they are found makes as much for, as against, the view
that, in spite of Phoenician, and Greek, and Roman, and Arab occupation of the country,
a neolithic industry has been preserved practically unaltered to the present time.
A noteworthy detail about the Graco-Roman pots of cla?s 2 is that wherever they
do show variation from the analagous types of Greece or Southern Italy, it is in the
direction of the series of older Gnuco-Phoenician forms which is common to the
necropolis of Carthage and the older Iron-Age tombs of Cyprus and the Syrian coast.
Now Lebda, as has been noted already, lies almost on the site of Leptis Magna, one of
the most important centres of trade and industry on the Tripolitan coast ; a town of
Phu'iiician origin, which remained hostile to Greek enterprise as late as the end of the
sixth century B.C., but became Helleui/ed rapidly in the fifth and fourth. We have-
here, therefore, in the midst of a series characterised by violent breaks, the survival of a
group of forms which are the result of exactly the opposite phenomenon — gradual and
effective assimilation. J. L. MYRE8.
REVIEWS.
Left-handedness. Lueddeckens.
Kcchts- and Linkshtindiykcit. Von Dr. Fritz Lueddeckens. Leipzig, Wilhelm
Engelmann, 1900. Pp. vi, 82, and Appendix of Questions. 11 woodcuts.
Price 2*.
After mentioning in his preface that by right and left haudedness we imply
that one half of the body has a stronger development than the other, and that this
fact has received too little attention in literature, and saying that the neglect of such
an important fact for doctors or teachers and the whole of mankind is only to be
explained by the circumstance that there is so much specialism now-a-days in all
branches of science, the author wishes the reader to note that he is far from libraries
and laboratories and is engaged in a very varied practice.
The pamphlet is divided into various sections — an anatomical and physiological
introduction, then the consideration of a higher blood pressure in the left side of the
head, eye, and brain ; right-handedness, sleep, &c. Then a section dealing with those
cases in which there is an equal blood pressure on both sides of the head, (double
personality) ; and, finally, a section dealing with those cases in \vhere is a higher blood
pressure in the right side of the head, eye, brain, &c., development, mental powers,
anomalies of speech, left-haudeduess, and sleep.
There is an appendix of questions intended to still further elucidate left-handed, and
to add to statistics. It is of considerable interest, and medical men and anthropologists
should try to use these questions, and thus aid the investigation of a most interesting
subject.
Since Sir Thomas Browne wrote " Of the Right and Left Hand " in •' Vulgar
Errors," many scientists and others have dealt with the subject, perhaps the chief
authorities being Sir B. Wilson, Sir Charles Bell, Professors Gratiolet, Buchanan, and
Struthers, and Drs. Barclay and Browu-Sequard. They advance different theories, but
probably Dr. Lueddeckens is correct in attributing the right and left handed to the
higher blood pressure in the opposite cerebral hemisphere, although we do not think he
gives sufficient weight to habit, for in our experience quite young children can be
readily trained to use both hands with equal facility. And this, indeed, is the important
point, and one to which the author gives prominence, that the weaker hand should be
developed as much as possible, for there can be no doubt that, not only is it very useful
to be ambidextrous, but that the constant use of both hands from earliest infancy
increases brain power. Dr. Lueddeckens divides the human race into three groups :
first, the majority, in which we find a higher blood pressure in the left, side of the head,
L 104 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 84-86.
brain, eve, A.C., and right-handed ; secondly, rare ease* where, at least tliroretically, we
have an e(|iial blood pressure on both sides of the head, &e., but we do not think that
this condition in any way gives rise to dual personality, nor in these eases do we think
that, there is so much alternation in the blood pressure in the right and left sides of the
brain as the author apparently does ; and thirdly, numerous persons in whom the
blood pressure is higher on the right side of the head, &c., and who are left-handed.
No statistics are available to show what proportion these persons bear to the majority.
Probably the most important part of this broehure is that which deals with the
eye and the differences in refraction, ciiteness of sight, and si/.e of the pupil met with in
persons who are either right or left handed. This subject should certainly be further
investigated, and it would be well if any of our readers who know left-handed persons
would examine them according to Dr. Lueddeckens' scheme and communicate with
him. R. YV. F.
Schleswig'-Holstein : Bronze Ag-e. Splieth.
Invcniar dcr Bronze- alter Fundc aus Sc/tlcftviy-ffolstcin. By Dr. W. Splieth. QP
Leipzig : Lipsius & Fischer, 1900. 8vo. (9[, ins. by 6i ins.), H9 pp., with OU
illustrations in the text, and thirteen lithographed plates. Price, o marks (its.~).
This is an admirable little book. A brief introduction is followed by a classifi-
cation of all the known discoveries ; first into general periods, which correspond with
those established for Scandinavia by Moutelius, and for Denmark by Sophus Miiller ;
second, within each period, according to the types of objects Avhich occur. Then follows,
for each period separately, a very full and detailed inventory of the individual finds, giving
the place of discovery, the museum in which the finds are preserved, the character of
the finds, and the number of specimens found of each type of object, the form of the
interment, where that is known, and a reference to the periodical in which the discovery
is described in detail. The characteristic types of implements, vessels, or ornaments
are figured at the end on thirteen lithographic plates.
The author is greatly to be congratulated on the completion of a laborious and
most valuable piece of work, which will be indispensable to students of North German
antiquities* J. L. M.
Religion : Greece. de Visser.
De Grtcconini Diis /ton rcfercntib us spccicm lutimtiuim. M. W. de Visser, QO
v\o., pp. 70. Leyden. OO
This treatise, both in length and in value, surpasses the average standard of the
k< Doctor-dissertation " of the continental universities. Its main object is to collect
the evidence concerning the worship of stocks, stones, and trees, plants and animals in
Ancient Greece, and its main theory is that the two latter superstitions may be
traced back to totemism. The citations, partly from literature, partly from monumental
sources, form the bulk of the work, and also its most valuable part. Having spent
some time in gleaning in the same field, I am glad to express my obligation to
Dr. de Visser's work, which has supplied me with some passages which I had over-
looked. His collection has been made with great care, and will prove of great assist-
ance to anyone who is working on the same ground. It is therefore all the more curious
that he should have missed the references to the 'O^yeyeZc, the Snake-clan in Cyprus
and at Parion, from which the hypothesis of Greek totemism derives a stronger support
than from any other evidence that has ever been brought forward. (Pliny N. II., 28, .'30;
Strab.,588 ; Varro apud Prisciau. X., 32). Yet Frazer has specially noted the 'O(pioyf)*T<;
iu his TofciiiifiiH, and Dr. dc Visser draws most of his totemistic ideas from this
treatise. Tree-worship is rightly illustrated by the ritualistic practice of hanging
images or masks ou certain trees ; but he might have enriched his store of illustration
[ 105 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 86.
by reference to the interesting story preserved by Plutarch concerning Charila at
Delphi (Quiust. Grac., 12).
While noticing omissions, one may mention that the sacrifice to Dionysos in Tenedos
of a bull calf dressed in buskins and a saffron robe, the occasional sacrifice to Athena
on the Acropolis at Athens of a goat, the animal that was usually tabooed in her cult,
the record concerning the Brauronian cult that in offering the goat the worshipper
called it his daughter, are facts of importance for the writer's hypothesis, but have been
ignored.
1 should be inclined to regard as erroneous his explanation of the name Kt/Vv«o<
as derived from Ktwv (p. 163) ; of Atyet^ as the Goat-Man (the name is probably an
epithet of Poseidon from the Eubceau city TEga;) ; and one may protest against the
indifference to etymological laws that confuses forms so distinct as Afaeuof and At/Keio;
(p. 160). It is pressing his hypothesis too far to quote the cult-titles of "Hpa, 'lictiia, and
'A&jva 'iTTTi/a in support of it (p. 262), for these titles are not early, and are simply
affixed to the higher deities as drivers of chariots, and are not drawn from the same field
of primitive belief as that to which the cults of the Horse- Poseidon and the horse-headed
Demeter belong.
On page 22.5 he seems to suggest that every animal offered to a divinity was
once his tot din-animal ; but surely this is going far beyond the bounds of legitimate
hypothesis. The same animals are offered to most Greek divinities ; and it is only
when the sacrifice is accompanied with very peculiar ritual — when, for instance, the
animal is usually not offered, but reverentially spared, and only offered with expressions
of sorrow and contrition, that the totemistic hypothesis should be allowed a hearing.
As regards the general character of his commentary and the main points of his
thesis, one may commend the spirit of the whole work, and regard it as an earnest of
future scientific production. It is matter for congratulation that the younger generation
of students in Holland appear to have shaken off the fetters of the theories of Symbolism
ami Nature Personification, under which many of the German writers on classical
religion and mythology are still stumbling. Also I am entirely in accord with some of
Dr. de Visscr's definite conclusions; for instance, with his view that the various myths
and legends in Greece concerning stones point to an original stone-worship ; thai some
ayaX/iAa, such as the Herme, formed the connecting link between the anicomic age and
the period of idolatry (I had put forward the same theory, when it was more heretical
to maintain it, many years ago in a paper in the Arekeeological Renew}. I agree also
with his objections to Dr. Jevon's theory thai, the cult-pillars and dpyol /.j'floi were
originally altars. Nevertheless, some of the writer's argumentation appears to me thin
and inconclusive, and it would be better if he were more precise in the use of certain
catchwords of Comparative Religion, such as " Fetichism " : the Portuguese seem to
have known what they meant by the word, but some later writers do not.
There are certain serious gaps in his study, Avhich he will no doubt be able to fill
up. The very a priori argument on p. 235, where he maintains that idolatry must have
existed in the Myceuasau age, will be probably modified when he has been able to study
the monumental evidence of that age more deeply, and especially Mr. Arthur Evans'
recent discoveries (e.g., Journal of Hellenic Studies, xxi., 99 ff.).
But it is chiefly in his theory of Totemism that his views require to be reconsidered
in the light of more recent evidence. It is from Dr. Frazer's Totemism that most of
them are derived: hence such terms as "sex totems," "individual totems," the propriety
of which has been for some time matter of doubt, are allowed to appear in his account.
More serious is the error which Dr. de Visser commits of supposing that the totemistic
tribes of Australia and North America all count descent through the female (p. 7) and
that, generally speaking, Totemism and Matriarchy are co-extensive and mutually imply
tach other (p. 230-231). Sufficient evidence against this is supplied by Mr. Frazar
C 106 ]
1901.] MAN. [tfos. 86-87.
himself, and still more l>y Professor Baldwin Spencer in his book on the Australian
tribes. But believing thai Matriarchy was indicative of Totemism, Dr. tie Vi.sscr
should have more carefully weighed the question about the prehistoric prevalence of
M:iiri;irchy in Greece. The indications are faint and doubtful, and the foolish story
preserved or invented by Varro, which is the only citation given, is alm<»t valueless.
The evidence laboriously collected by Dr. de Visser concerning Totemism in Greece
i.- cumulative, but is not convincing. The worship of animals is no proof of it, for this
ciiu arise, as the writer is himself aware, from other causes ; the wearing of sacred skins
is no proof of it, nor the appellation of an animal by a term of human kindred, as the
Athenian called the sacrificed goat his daughter. This may arise from a deliberate
ritualistic fiction, or from affection, as when a Sioux tribe speak of the Buffalo as "their
little grandfather," though he is not their totem.* Nor need we be too prompt with the
totemistic explanation, when all that we know is that certain families in (1 recce and tlie
Mediterranean called themselves by the names of animals or plants. We may regard
Totemism as proved of early Greece, only when we have discovered that certain clans
called themselves by the names of plants or animals, whom they regarded as, in some
way, akin to themselves, and, therefore, treated reverentially ; and if this tribal usage
were connected with exogamy, we should regard them, in respect of this social institu-
tion, as on a level with certain Australian and American tribes. But we never have
found anything quite approaching to this in Greece proper, nor are likely to find. The
record of the Ophiogeueis in Pariou and Cyprus satisfies the criterion best. In Italy we
find no valid support for the totemistic hypothesis, save ServiuV story about the Hirpi.
The extreme rarity of strong attestation of Totemism in the Mediterranean area may
excuse my quotation here of a passage in Diodorus (20,58), who states that, in a district
of Libya, monkeys were worshipped by the natives as divinities, were offered food and
shelter, that their slaughter was regarded as a heinous crime, and that the Libyans called
their children after the animals' names.
In conclusion, it may be said that Dr. de Visser's book somewhat overstates the
Totemistic case, and that he is dominated by the enthusiasm of a theory which, in
England, has sown some wild oats, and is now being chastened by a more cautious
spirit of criticism. Anthropologists are coining to see that Totemism is rather a secular
and a social fact than a religious system, and that no such important role can be
assigned to it in the evolution of higher religion as was once supposed. Whether anv
Aryan people ever possessed it as a tribal institution is a question that still remains open
to anthropological inquiry. The answer from Vedic-lranian record is mainly negative,
from Hellenic very dubious, and no one has succeeded in following any track of
Totemism among Teutonic and Scandinavian peoples.
Yet in regard to Greece, where there is much that is nou Aryan, it is well to weigh
the question again and again, and Dr. de Visser has done useful work in presenting the
case with some approach to completeness. L. R. FARNELL.
Colour Vision. Bosse : Holden : Rivers.
Primitive Colour Vision. By W. H. R. Rivers. Popular Science Monthly,
Vol. LIX., pp. 44-58, 1901.
The Order of Development of Colour Perception and of Colour Preference in the
Child. By W. A. Holden and K. K. Bosse. Archives of Ophthalmology, Vol. XXIX.,
pp. 2IU-277, 1900.
Tin- Colour 1'isinn of I IK Kskhiin. By W. II. R. Rivers. Proc. Cambridge Philos.
,W.. Vol. XI., pp. 143-149, 1901.
* Dorsey in Annual Report of thu Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institute, 1889-1890, p, 381.
[ 107 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 87.
The first of these papers deals chiefly with the controversy as to the possibility of
mi evolution of the colour-sense of man within historical times. In the work of the
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits it was found that the natives
of several Australian tribes of the Fly River district of New Guinea, and of the eastern
and western trihes of Torres Straits, showed different stages in the development of the
nomenclature for colour which corresponded closely with those arrived at hy Geiger
from a study of ancient literature. The Australians of the Gulf of Carpentaria only
seemed to have definite terms for red, white, and black ; the Papuans of the Fly River
had, in addition, a definite term for yellow and an indefinite term for green, while blue
and black were still confused. The members of the eastern tribe of Torres Straits
had no native term for blue, but had adopted the English word, while the members of
the western tribe had two words, used for green and blue, but these were very frequently
confused with one another ; the two words had not yet become terms by means of which
the two colours could be definitely distinguished from one another.
Gladstone and Geiger believed that the defective language for colour found in
ancient literature indicated a corresponding deficiency in colour sense, but their views
have received little support, and it lias been generally held that there is no relation
between language and sensibility, and that people whose language for colour is entirely
defective may have a well-developed colour- sense.
In general, there is little doubt that the latter view is the correct one, and that
Gladstone and Geiger went too far in their conclusions, but, at the same time,
there is something to be said in favour of their main position, that there has been a
development of the colour-sense in man.
In Murray Island it was found, on quantitative investigation, that the natives of this
island showed a distinct degree of insensitiveness to blue, i.e., to that colour for which
they had no native name. This deficiency was only partial, and may possibly be
explained by the influence of the pigmentation of their eyes, but, nevertheless, it is
significant that the colour to which they should have been found to be insensitive should
l)e that colour for which they have no name, and which they tend to confuse in
nomenclature with black.
There is little doubt that any physiological insensitiveness which may exist in
Papuan and other races cannot wholly explain the indefiuiteness in the nomenclature
for blue which is so often found to exist, and in the paper cited various other factors
are considered which may have contributed to produce the predominance of red and
insignificance of blue in primitive colour nomenclature.
In relation to the general problem of the evolution of the colour-sense in man, it is
pointed out that, in addition to the evidence of language, other departments of knowledge
must be called upon for help.
The archaeological evidence is rapidly accumulating, and requires more careful
consideration from this point of view than it has hitherto received. The monuments,
pottery, &c., of some races, as the ancient Egyptians, seem to show a high degree of
appreciation of green and blue, while beads of both colours have been found even in
the graves of the prehistoric Egyptian race. In the sculpture of the Greeks, however,
there seem to be instances of eccentric use of blue, which, taken together with the
evidence of language, strongly suggest that the sensibility for blue may have been
imperfectly developed.
The existence of a well-developed colour-sense in many animals, especially in
insects and birds, has been by many regarded as a conclusive argument against the
existence of any imperfection of the colour-sense in primitive man. In the animals
most nearly allied to man, however, the evidence for the existence of a colour-sense is
very inconclusive, and there is, on biological grounds, no inherent improbability in the
view that the colour-sense has developed dc novo in man.
[ 108 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 87-88.
There M-cins t<> be littlo doubt that the power of appreciating colour is of com-
paratively late development in the individual human being, and it' the history of the
individual is any guide to the history of the race, the colour sensibility of the child
seems to support Geiger's view. Nearly all workers on this subject agree that the
child begins to appreciate colours comparatively late (18 months to two years), and then
distinguishes red and yellow earlier than green and blue. One of the chief difficulties
in the experimental investigation of the colour-sense, both in the animal and in the
child, is to ascertain that the subject is reacting to a difference of colour and not merely
to a difference of luminosity. There is little doubt that l»oth animals and infants tend
to react to bright colours, and most investigators have not taken adequate precautions
to overcome this difficulty. In the second of the papers cited at the head of this notice,
Holdeu and Bossc have paid especial attention to this point, and have noted the
reactions of a number of children when patches of colours are placed before them on
backgrounds of the same luminosity as the colours. Thev find that reaction to colours
O **
occurs earlier than is usually supposed, viz., at six to eight months, and that up to ten
months infants react more readily to red, orange, and yellow, than to green, blue, and
violet. They also tested a large number of children of different ages to find which
colour was preferred, and found that below the age of two the preference for red was
universal, while above this age blue is often chosen, and above the age of four years
the preference for blue becomes almost as general as is the preference for red at an
earlier age.
The subject of the evolution of the colour-sense is not one upon which any definite
conclusions are, at present, possible. The facts of colonr-bliudnees and the nature of
the vision of the peripheral retina of the normal eye have led many to suppose that, in
the development of the colour-sense, the sensibility for yellow and blue has developed
earlier than that for red and green. The physiological evidence seems to point to a late
development of red, which is difficult to reconcile with the predominance of red in ancient
literature, in the languages of existing savage and barbarous races, and in the colour-
vision of the child. We are, at present, almost wholly ignorant as to the causes and
essential nature of colour-blindness, and in this condition of ignorance it seems as if the
philological evidence should not be wholly disregarded by those who are endeavouring
to trace out the path along which the colour-sense of civilised man has reached its
present stage of development.
The third of the papers cited at the head of this notice is chiefly devoted to an
account of the colour vocabulary of a party of the Labrador Eskimo who were recently
in London. These people had a perfectly definite term for blue, and showed, in general,
a high degree of development of colour language, nearly all shades and tints of colour
being denoted by modifications of six words for white, black, red, yellow, green, and
blue. It seems remarkable that people living in Labrador should have a more fully
developed language for colour than those living in tropical lands, and it is suggested
that possibly when colour is only a transient occurrence .in the year's experiences, it
may receive more attention and therefore receive more definite nomenclature than in
those parts of the world where luxuriance of colour is so familiar that it awakens little
interest. \V. H. K. R.
Aryan Race. Penka.
. Dii Ethnologiteh-ethnograpkMck^ Bedcutnng dcr megalitkiteken Grabbauten*
By Karl IVnka. 1900. Mittheilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in
Wien. xxx, pp. 25-43.
In this short paper Dr. Penka estimates the result of recent study of northern
antiquities and social institutions in their bearing on his own view that the tall, blond,
long-headed race of North-western Europe is to be regarded as the originator of Aryan
[ 109 ]
1901.] MAN. [No, 88.
language and culture. At the same time lie replies to a number of criticisms of his
view which have appeared since the publication of his paper on the " Home of the
Germans." (Die Hciiiiat tier Germane)!. Mitth. Anthr. Ges. Wien. xxiii, 64 pp.)
The starting point of his argument is the interpretation which should be given to
the megalithic tomb-structures of Northern and Western Europe, with their counterparts
in North Africa and Syria, in the Crimea and the Caucasus, and in India. Receut
investigators agree that the similarities of type, and even of detail, among these
monuments, preclude the idea of coiucideuce, and argue for their builders a common
culture, if not a common race. Both Montelius and Sophus Miiller interpret the series
from East to West, and from West to North, and ascribe this type of tomb-structure to
" Oriental influences." Peuka, on the other hand, while accepting the conclusion that
the dolmens represent a common culture, disputes the hypothesis of Oriental influence,
aud reads the series the other way, pointing out that while in the North these monuments
go back into the Stone Age, in France and the South they belong to the Bronze Age ;
and that if they embody beliefs which came from the South and East, then ideas must
have travelled faster than the knowledge of metal tools, whereas in the transmission of
culture the reverse order is the rule. Montelius's view, moreover, that the "Aryans"
entered Europe by way of Asia Minor, contradicts all that is known of the earlv
movements of Aryan-speaking peoples in the Hellespontine area.
A survey of the history of the problem shows : — (1) that the " Keltic " theory of the
origin of the dolmens and the subsequent " pre- Aryan " or " Finnish " theory rested on
insufficient knowledge of their distribution ; (2) that the discovery of dolmens in North
Africa aud Syria (which has given rise to the dominant " Berber " theory), has pro-
ceeded pari passii with the discovery both of actual survival of a tall blond dolicho-
cephalic race in the same areas, aud of evidence in Egyptian portraiture of its wider
extension in the second millenium B.C. Penka, therefore, adheres to his old view that
the culture represented by the dolmens originates with the dolicho cephalic blonds in
Southern Scandinavia and the Danish peninsula (where alone a " mesolithic " transition
can be followed from the paleolithic to the neolithic stage) ; and that the apparent
intrusion, in Pomerauia and Bohemia, of later types of implements from the north-west-
ward is the counterpart of the spread of dolmen building in Western Europe.
The stress laid by Montelius and Sophus Miiller on the view that the megalithic
tomb-structures perpetuate the characteristics of the houses and mode of life of the
living, leads Penka further to the conclusion that the houses of the dolmen-builders were
of the same simple one-room type, with porch or prodomos, which is characteristic of
the houses of the earliest Aryan speaking intruders in the south ; — the Alban hut urn,
the templum in antis, and the Homeric mcfffiron. This one-roomed house leads, among
pastoral and agricultural peoples, to the " homestead " type of settlement (Einzelsiede-
Inng), consisting of a number of single store-houses grouped round a courtyard ; where
the single living-chamber was distinguished from the baru, the byre, and the stable,
only by its hearth fire, and by the consequent smoke-stains which gave it the names
of atrium and melathron. We are thus led to the courtyard type of homestead, which
forms so great a contrast to the " Saxon " type of house, aud which with its many
departments under a single roof, Penka regards as later, aud as a result of life hi
villages.
Again, the fact that, unlike the clustered tumuli of the Bronze Age, the megalithic
tombs lie singly, leads Penka to the inference that their builders lived, not in villages,
but in scattered homesteads of the type above described. Now this homestead-type of
settlement, with its simple land-system of self-contained and continuous farms, extends
from Ireland and Wales to Belgium, and all over Southern and Western France, as far as
the Pyrenees and the Maritime Alps ; surviving also in Westphalia aud Friesland, aud
reappearing among the early Slavs. This state of society Penka compares with the
[ HO ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 88-89.
I'act flint Aryan speech has no word Tor "village," and flint all tlio words, which in this
or that Arvan language mean " village," can lie traced in nso elsewhere in fho earlier
-ruse of " homostead."
Meitzen's theory that the " homestead " type is specifically Keltic, and Henning's
criticism of it, both contain valuable suggestions, and can be reconciled by admitting
Penka's own hypothesis that the spread of his blond Aryan dolmen-builders wan.
effected in two distinct stages, each with its appropriate type of settlement. So long
as no serious resistance was met. expansion was very gradual, and the homestead type
was adequate to the needs of the settlers (as it still is in America, Africa, and
Australia) ; it is only when later comers are attempting to establish themselves in
an area which already supports a homestead population (cedificiis occupatis, like the
Usipetes and Tencteri, Caesar, B.G. iv. 1) that the need arises for the closer organisation
of the village communities, which we find among the Kelts in Spain and Italy, the
Hellenic invaders of Greece, and the Germanic peoples of the north. The Slavonic
"Bundling," which Henniug has already shown not to be truly Slavonic, Penka
attributes to " re-Gerrnanisatiou " of the areas in which it is found.
The presence of "uufree" members in all early Germanic communities shows that
considerable numbers of this non-Germanic population survived among their conquerors
and the children of "free" and "uufree" alike were brought up together without
distinction of culture : dominum et scrrum nullis cducationis dcliciis diynoscas
(Tac. Germ. 20). Under these circumstances it was inevitable, even without racial
mixture, that the children of the blondes should pick up a debased form of their mother
tongue. Inevitably also, however, in spite of all discouragement, cross-breeding did
take place even among the purest blond races. In Central Sweden, for example, there
is considerable admixture of dark blood, and S.W. Norway shows a blond but strongly
brachycephalic strain. There is, therefore, every reason to expect that corruption of
"Aryan" speech iu the immediate neighbourhood of the " Aryan Home " which is
actually found to exist among the Germanic languages.
It is not to be expected that Penka's vigorous reassertiou of his original hypothesis
will pass unchallenged among either philologists or archaeologists, and his criticism of
the current interpretation of the dolmen-series in particular is certain to provoke a
reply ; for it certainly seems to touch a weak point in the argument as stated hitherto
by its leading exponents, and it will be of interest to see what modifications it will be
found to require, or what vital point, if any, has been omitted from Penka's calculation.
J. L. M.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceedings. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris.
Sointtiaire des Proces-rerbnux de la Stance tin (\jnin 1901. f\g\
Le President faite conuaitre qu'il a assiste, le 28 mai dernier, al a seance de **U
rinstitut antliropologiqne de la Grande-Bretagne et de 1'Irlande, a Londres. II a ete
accueilli avec la plus grande conrtoisie et il est particulierement heureux de s'aequitter
de la tache agreable dont il a ete charge, de transmettre a ses collegues de la Societe
d'Anthropologie de Paris 1'expressioii des sentiments de cordiale estime des membres
de rinstitut anthropologique de Londres.
M. Meyer presente des photographies de femmes de la vallee de Minister et
d'Alsaciennes.
M. Giraux presente des photographies de monuments megalithiques du departenient
de TEnre.
I "1 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 89-90,
M. Zaborowski offre an nom de Mme. Spencer Warwick nn moulin si pricres du
Thibet et un vienx Goran, en arabe.
M. Delviucourt, palethnologue est elu membre titulaire et M. Moriz Hoernes membre
sissocie etranger.
M. Thienllen — Os travaille si 1'epoque de Chelles.
M. le Dr. Anthony fait nne communication sur les modifications des mnscles
consecutives a des deformations osseuses. Discussion : MM. Manouvrier, Sanson,
Laborde, Regnault.
M. Yves Guyot fait nne communication snr les races indigenes de 1'Afrique dn Snd
d'apr&s 1'enqnete officielle faite par "The South African Committee " preside par M. John
Macdonell. Discussion : M. Letourneau.
Proceedings. Anthropological Institute.
Ordinary Meeting, June 11, 1901. Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., President, in **«*
the chair. \J\J
The election was announced of Rev. Canon Hewitt and Mr. W. D. Webster as
Fellows of the Institute.
Mr. R. Morton Middleton exhibited, on behalf of the South American Missionary
Society, a large series of implements and other objects, including swan-gullet necklaces,
whalebone snares, featherwork, £c., from the Yahgans of Tierra del Fnego, and intro-
duced Mrs. Burleigh, who spent some 15 years among the Yahgans, and gave a number
of additional data in regard to them. The exhibit was discussed by Dr. Garson
Mr. Balfour, and the President.
Mr. G. Coffey read a paper on Irish Copper Celts, which was discussed by Dr.
Gladstone, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Myres, Mr. Balfonr, and the President. The thanks of the
Institute wern returned to the authors of communications.
The meeting then adjourned until June 19 for a joint meeting with the Folklore
Society.
Extraordinary Joint Meeting with the Folklore Society, June 19, 1901. Prof.
A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., in the chair.
Prof. Haddon vacated the chair in favour of Mr. E. W. Bra brook, President of the
Folklore Society. Mr. Brabrook alluded to the loss sustained by the Society through
the death of Miss Florence Grove, a member of the Council.
Mr. E. S. Hartland, F.S.A., exhibited the collection of Musquakie bead-work and
other objects, presented by her to the Folklore Society, and to be deposited in the
Museum of Ethnology at Cambridge. The exhibit was discussed by Messrs. H. Balfonr,
Haddou, R. C. Temple, Rev. J. Sibree, and the President.
Mr. R. Shelford exhibited two charms against stomach-ache from Borneo.
Mr. H. Balfour read a paper by Mr. W. G. Aston, C.M.G., on " Japanese Gohei
and Ainu Yuao."
Mr. N. W. Thomas read a paper by Mr. E. Tregear on the " Spirit of
Vegetation."
The thanks of the meeting were returned to Miss Owen, and to the authors
of the papers, which will be printed in full in the Journal of the Institute, Vol.
XXXI.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODR, His Majesty's Priuters, East Harding Street, E,C,
MAN. 1901. FLATS H.
TEMPLE OF HIBIS, OASIS OF EL KHARGEH.
I. INTERIOR. 2. OUTER WALL.
1901.] MAN. [No. 91.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Egypt: El Khargreh. With Plate H. Myers.
/•'our /'/io(<>i/r<i/i/ix from tin Oasis of I'll Kli<ir</i li, icitli a l>rn /' D< .w/-/'y///o//
of llu District. \\\ Charles S. Myers.
The four photograph^, forming the subject of tliis note, were taken by me in April
el tliis year, during it visit to the Egyptian Oasis of El Khargeh. Shortly after my
return, the National Printing Department of Cairo published an elaborate work on the
topography ami geology of this Oasis, by Dr. John Hall, of the Government Survey.
No future.- writer on the subject, it appears to me, can avoid iiK-nrring a debt to him, and
um-i of my remarks will lie found already incorporated in his book in some form or
other. So few photographs, however, have been taken in this Oasis, that it seems
desirable to place my own on record. I trust that the following description will not
prove uninteresting : —
The Oasis of El Khargeh is situated about 200 kilometres from the west bank of
the Nile, extending roughly between the latitude of Girgeh and Edfu, that is, from
26° 2' to 24° 5' N. From the Nile valley roads lead to it from Assiut, Girgeh, Esneh,
and Sohag, probably also from Tahta, Farshut, and other villages. I myself started
from the village of Mehasueh, and followed the Girgeh road. My companions were
Messrs. Mace and Anthony Wilkin, whose sad death shortly after robbed the world of
so promising a traveller. The roads to the Oasis, or Wall, are gained by a steep a«ceut
to the plateau overlooking the valley of the Nile. Thence they stretch across a wide
plain, generally uninteresting, save for the worked flints and areas of broken pottery
scattered upon it. A desert " road " is nothing more than a series of parallel tortuous
tracks, trodden and worn during ages past by the feet of camels. Here and there a
camel's skeleton attests the ill luck of some belated traveller. From Girgeh to the chief
village of El Khargeh Oasis, called by its name, is a distance of some 19.'} kilometres, or
a ride of between fifty and sixty hours. The extent of the entire Oasis is over
3,000 square kilometres, of which only an infinitesimal portion, of course, is under
cultivation. The Oasis depends for its fertility on the water obtained from numerous
springs and wells. In former times El Khargeh formed the last of a series of resting
places in the slave trade-route from Darfur to Assiut. Increasing poverty has
rcHilted from the diversion of all trade from the desert to the valley of the Nile. The
wells are now allowed to be covered with sand. Every year less land appears to be
under cultivation. An oasis does not, as is popularly supposed, consist of a mere
collection of date palms, standing near a stagnant pool, and surrounded by a small
village : it is a wide area, excavated to a depth averaging, perhaps, 300 metres out of the
surrounding plateau. Thus the Oasis appears at first sight far more desert-like than this
plateau of the Libyan desert. From the north-east edge of the Oasis to the village of
El Khargeh, in whose neighbourhood these photographs were taken, the distance is rather
less than 35 dreary kilometres. Along this floor of the Oasis the sand is blown from
north to south as the wind sweeps it down from the surrounding plateau.. The ground is
-trewn with sand-dunes which are, as Dr. Ball notes, slowly but constantly moving owing
to the i i ices-ant action of the winds, especially in early summer. As to the original
formation of the Oasis, Dr. Ball concludes that the excavation, though probably begun by
the action of water, was continued, and indeed is .-till being continued by this combined
agenev of wind and sand. Thus the sandy character and the spread of the Oasis are
ever increasing.
In the reign of Thotmcs III. (about 1500 B.C.) the western oases were divided
into the Northern and Southern oases, the latter of which probably comprised those of
Kl Khargeh and Dakhleh. These two, or perhaps only the former, became afterwards
known as the Oasis magna. From an early time, certainlv before 1000 B.C.,
[ H3 ]
1901.]
El Khargeli was used as a place of banishment. To it, in the year 434 of the Christian
era, Ncstoriiis was exiled because of his religious convictions. There is very little doubt
that the remarkable necropolis, a tomb of which is here shown (Fig. 1), and numerous
monasteries, especially those towards the north end of the Oasis, are the remains which
(lie small bands of his followers have left behind. At the present day the Oasis is
devoid of Christian population. No doubt, after the Mahommedan conquest of the
FIG. 1.
seventh century, it became impossible for the Copts to protect themselves from the
attacks of the marauding Bedawin without the support which the Government had
formerly given them.
This Christian necropolis, called "Geban" by our guide, lies on a commanding hill,
about 4 kilometres north of the village of Khargeh, and consist of some two hundred
ruins, which are so built that they resemble the houses of some long deserted town
rather than the tombs of a disused cemetery. The buildings vary greatly in size ; they
are all rectangular and of unburnt brick. The larger are, perhaps, 12 metres high, and
are usually ornamented with pilastered columns ; the smaller are covered with a bee-
hive-shaped roof, thus resembling the ordinary sheikh's tomb of the present day in
Egypt. These buildings are coated with plaster on the inside, and their walls are often
covered with scribbling in Greek, Coptic, or Arabic characters. Most of the tombs
consist of a square chamber, in the centre of the floor of which is a pit. The pit, my
native guide told me, leads down to diverging passages, in one of which the corpse was
buried. Hoskius, writing in 1837, found mummy -cloths of various qualities scattered
about these tombs. Not only in their interment at the distant end of a vertical shaft
and in mummifying their dead did the early Christians of the Oasis thus continue
the older Egyptian practices ; but they appear also to have persisted in using the
upper chamber as a receptacle of the offerings to the soul of the deceased, for on the
walls of several tombs that I visited I noticed small niches which were no doubt used
for this purpose. Moreover, in several of the tombs and in the largest building of all,
which must certainly have been a chapel, the anch y, the ancient and familiar symbol
of life, was painted. It appears to have preceded the use of the cross in the Oasis. I
regret that I did not photograph the interesting chapel I have just mentioned. Three
arches, two pointed and the third rounded, separated on each side a narrow aisle from
the centre of the building. A partition wall across the building separated the body of
the chapel from a small transverse alley in the rear, to which a narrow archway in the
centre of the wall gave access. Opposite to the archway the wall of this cross-passage
bore a niche and a fairly preserved but crude painting entitled ABPAAM and ICAK.
A far more perfect and a really well executed punting one of us (Mr. Mace) discovered
in the dome of a smaller brick building. Here on the white plaster were depicted
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 91
certain early Christian saints, bearing these names in Greek characters ; Abraham,
Isaac, Sarah, Adam, K\e, Thekla, Paul, Mary, Noah, (?)Jacob, Knche, Dikaiosune,
Daniel, and Irene. Irene holds tne wir/i, Dikaiosune a pair nf scales. Abraham has
two kuives in his hand, while a ram appears out of the bush. Noah stands with seven
companions in a rudely made ark. Remains of pottery suggest that the town to which
this necropolis belonged lay at the foot of the hill. It is scarcely necessary to point
out how promising a harvest the first excavator of this district is likely to reap.
Slightly nearer the village of Khargeh stands the ruined temple of IJ if/in, built of
-amlstone, which is plentiful in the Oasis. The greater part was erected by the Persian
kings, Darius I. and Darius II., between 521 and 424 B.C. It is one of the most
important monuments of this 27th or Persian dynasty which remain in Egypt. Cam-
byses himself is believed to have visited the Oasis with an army, which perished in
the desert immediately afterwards. This temple hears also the names of the king
Amyrheiis, of the 28th dynasty, and of Nectanebo, 378 B.C., of the 30th dynasty, the
last native king of Egypt. The one photograph (Plate H., Fig. 1) shows beneath the
cornice very clearly the cartouche of Darius ; the other (Plate II., Fig. 2) shows the
Persian King making offerings before Egyptian gods on a wall which has ohviously
been restored, probably by
one of the late Roman em-
perors who took some interest
in antiquities. On the first
pylon of the temple which
stands in what is now the
garden of a peasant is a
lengthy inscription of a Roman
general, dating from the time
of the Emperor ( Jalba, A.D. 68.
The village of Khargeh
is the largest in the Oasis,
containing about 4,500 in-
habitants, and the quarters of
the Egyptian officials. The
Oasis forms part of the mii-
diriyah of Assiut, between
which and the principal vil-
lage a fortnightly post has
been established. Dr. Ball
notes that the number of palm
trees (44,042) taxed in this
village exceeds two-thirds of
this in the entire Oasis. Be-
sides this large area of palm
groves, there are numerous
outlying plots of cultivated
land. lint the inhabitants are
poor, and appear ill-fed ;md
of poor physique. Khargeh
contains no ha/aars. The
greater part of the streets are
covered in with flat roofs of
palm branches, so as to form
I'n;. L>. long dark tunnels about a
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 91-93.
metre wide ami 1 .J to 2.1, metres high. The side walls are made of mud, into which
:uv huilt the doorwavs of the peasants' houses, with rooms occasionally extending over
the street. Through such dark, tortuous, narrow alleys the stranger gropes his
wav, now emerging into daylight (as shown in Fig. 2), but soon plunging again
into the general gloom of a rabbit warren. The streets branch in a bewilderingly
complex fashioij, so that occasionally the wandering visitor discovers that he
has entered a cul de sac, or perhaps finds himself unconsciously straying within a
peasant's hut. Formerly the streets of the bazaars in Cairo were somewhat similarly
covered in. And to this day the bazaars in Assiut are so protected. Mr. Somcrs Clarke
informed me that he had seen roofed streets in certain disused villages of the Nile-
valley ; they appear to be common also in those of the Berbers. As a village of Egypt,
Khargeh is noticeable for the scarcity of its dogs and for the politeness and lack of
curiosity displayed by its folk towards strangers. The general stature of the villagers
is small, probably less than 170 centimetres. The hair of the head is shaven, somewhat
curly, black and fine. The skin varies from a yellowish to reddish brown, according to
the extent to which it has been sunburnt. The nose is short, straight, and prominent,
wide, but not very flat. The eyes are curiously small .and brown, the cheek bones and
parietal eminences are prominent. The forehead is narrow and sloping, the (thin feeble,
the lips thin. There was an absence of strong Soudanese admixture.- I took measure-
ments upon some sixteen people. These I shall incorporate later in a general
anthropometric survey which I hope to make during the ensuing winter in the Nile
valley.
New Zealand : Forgeries. Smith : Edge-Par ting-ton.
Forgeries of New Zealand Stone Implements. Communicated by J. Edge- Qft
Partington. \J L,
Mr. W. W. Smith, in an article in the Polynesian Society's Journal, Vol. VII.,
p. 244, warns ethnologists of the number of spurious stone implements which are now
being sold by dealers and others in New Zealand as genuine relics of Maoridom. The
ones he had examined were either of a somewhat dark-coloured limestone, argellite, or
greenstone ; sawn imo size and shape, and afterwards ground smooth on the grindstone.
The polishing had evidently been done with very fine emery paper. Apart' from this
their faces and sides were too flat and too level, and were all too broad at the part
where they begin to bevel to the cutting edge, which is too flat, instead of being neatly
bevelled.
The writer draws attention to the remark in Evans' Ancient Stone Implements of
( treat Britain upon European forgeries on page 658, " When the demand for an article
" has exceeded the supply spurious imitations of these have been fabricated, and in
" some cases successfully passed off' upon avid but unwary collectors."
The difficulty of collectors is, I think, also greatly enhanced by the fact that the
Maoris themselves purchase these forgeries for sale to tourists. J. E.-P.
Pacific : Forgeries. Ling Roth.
Note, on the Occurrence of Forgeries in tlie Pacific. By II. Ling Roth. cf. QO
MAX, 1901—56. UU
The manufacture of forgeries, noted lately in MAN by Mr. Edge Partington, is not
by any means a new one. Berard, who visited Apia in April 1850, after buying some
weapons there, writes : —
" We perceived too late that we had fallen amongst people who were smarter at
business than we were, for we had paid in fair and square money for clubs and lances
[ 116 ]
1901,]
MAN.
[Nos. 93-94.
tin- freshness :m<! tlio decorations on which showed that they were trade goods for the
naii\es of Apia." — CtiiHfunjne dc la Corvette L'Alciniere en Oceanic, I'm-is, 1854.
II. LING ItOTII.
94
Australia. Balfour.
Strain/It n</-c(n-<ts from flic Mu mil/ River, Vn-tor'ui, Aiixt/nH<i. Comiiiuiiicatcd
by Hfiu v Iialfotir, M.A., Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Two of these extremely rare instruments have recently been secured for the Pitt
Rivers Museum, luiving formed part of Mr. Norman Hardy's collection. I believe that
these are the only specimens in England. Brongh Smyth (Aboriy. of Victoria,
1H7S, I., p. 3ol, fig. 169) figures one" of them, and gives the native name of ncrnm. lie
describes it as consisting of a kangaroo-fibula pin, (>.', inches long, attached to a cord
made of seven strands, doubled and twisted loosely to form a 14-strand cord, with a loop
at one end and the pin at the other. "The aboriginal carrying this noose tracks is
" enemy to his miam, and having marked the spot where he has gone to sleep, he
"• approaches him stealthily, slides the bone under his neck, puts it through the loop, and
'• quickly draws it tight, so as to prevent him from uttering the slightest sound. He
" then throws the body with a jerk over his shoulder, and carries it to some secluded
" spot, where he can take, securely and at his ease, the kidney fat." The two specimens
to which I now refer were obtained by Mr. John R. Peebles sis lougago as 18.>7 from the
Watty-Watty or Litchoo-Litchoo tribes ( now extinct) in the neighbourhood of Tyntynder,
Murray River, Victoria. The one figured herewith is practically identical with that
described by 15. Smyth, both in si/e and sti net lire, the length including the pin is
exactly one yard. The other example is somewhat larger, the kangaroo-fibula pin being
s inches long, in other respects it is similar to the other. Both correspond with
1>. Smyth's specimen in being made of seven strings of twisted fibre doubled back to
form a single loosely-twisted cord of 1 l-ply. The two sets of seven strings at the end
away from the pin are separated for a short distance, so as to form a loop which is
neatly '* served " with kangaroo sinews, which material is used for the attachment of
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 94-96.
the bone pin. The strings are ruddled with red ochre and fat. The Loddon River
natives call this instrument Knarrarm. H. B.
Torres Straits: Pottery. Haddon.
Correction.
Mr. Myres' memory has unfortunately played him false Avith regard to Papuan
carbonised pottery (see MAN, 1901 — 78). No pottery is made in Torres Straits. I
have exhibited lantern slides at the Anthropological Institute and elsewhere showing
the whole process of pottery-making at Port Moresby, including the application of a
decoction of mangrove bark to the red-hot pot. This application darkens the pottery,
but does not make " black ware " of it. I have given the distribution of pottery
manufacture in British New Guinea in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,
October, 1900, page 429. A. C. HADDON.
OBITUARY.
Obituary: Peek. Rudler.
Sir C. E. Peek, Bart., M.A., F.S.A. QQ
By the premature death of Sir Cuthbert Edgar Peek, the Anthropological UU
Institute has had the misfortune to lose a staunch friend whom it could ill spare — one
who had ungrudgingly devoted time and thought to the administration of its affairs,
and from whom much further assistance might reasonably have been expected. Born
on January 30, 18oo, he was but little more than 46 years of age at the time of his
death.
Sir Cuthbert was the only child of ths late Sir Henry William Peek, the first
baronet — himself a valued member of the Institute — to whose title and estates he
succeeded in 1898. Sir Cuthbert was educated at Eton and at Pembroke College,
Cambridge, graduating B.A. in J879. Practical astronomy and surveying he studied
under Mr. John Coles, of the Royal Geographical Society ; and in 1881 he undertook
some journeys in Iceland, accompanied by Mr. Delmar Morgan and Mr. Coles. The
results of this exploration were presented to the Geographical Society and to the British
Association, and also formed the basis of Mr. Coles's work entitled Summer Travelling
in Iceland. In 1882 Sir Cuthbert presented to the Geographical Society the sum of
1,000/. consols, the interest of which forms the " Cuthbert Peek Prize," awarded for
scientific exploration.
Astronomy was a science to which Sir Cuthbert was greatly devoted. In 1894 he
established and equipped an excellent observatory on his estate at Rousden, in Devonshire,
between Axmouth and Lyme Regis. Assisted in his researches by Mr. C. Grover, he
carried out a series of observations on certain variable stars, systematically recording the
changes of light, with the view of determining the cause of variability. Sir Cuthbert,
in the early part of his career, joined a party of observers in a journey to Queensland for
the purpose of studying the transit of Venus. His observations on the geysers of New
Zealand made on this occasion and his notes on Maori customs were presented to the
British Association in 1883.
It was in 1885 that Sir Cuthbert Peek became a member of the Anthropological
Institute, and in 1891 he was elected honorary secretary, a position which he held with
much advantage to the Institute for five years. During his secretaryship he introduced
great improvements into the administration, devoting himself especially to the develop-
ment of the library, the collection of ethnological photographs, and the illustration of the
journal. In 1894 he started a "vocabulary publication fund," to which he was a
[ H8 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 96-98.
generous contributor. Sir Cuthbert was a judicious collector of objects of ethnological
iniiTc-t. ami formed :i museum of considerable value. His ideas on the arrangement of
museums were submitted to the conference of delegates of corresponding societies ;it the
Oxford Meeting of the IJritish Association in 1H})1.
Sir Cnthbcrt Peek married in 1884 the lion. Augusta Louisa Brodrick, eldest
daughter of Viscount. Middleton and sister of the Right Hon. St. John Brodrick, the
S.'civiarv of Stab for War.
As will be inferred from this brief notice, Sir Cuthbert was a man of many and
varied scientific interests — astronomy, meteorology, archa>i>logy, geography, and anthro-
pology equally claiming his attention — but he was also an excellent man of business.
It is sad that his useful and active career should have been brought so early to a close
by the attack of an insidious disease to which he succumbed on Saturday, July fith.
" F. W. R.
REVIEWS.
America. . Dellenbaugh.
The North Americans of Yesterday. A Comparative Stud;/ of North
American Indian I-if<', Customs, and Products^ on the Theory of the Ethnic
I'nili/ of the Race. By F. S. Dellenbaugh. Pp. xxvi + 487. With 350 illustrations.
New York and London : Putnam, 1901. Price 21 s.
The mass of literature relating to the redskins, or Amerinds, as our author prefers
to call them, is so enormous, that he must needs have a bold heart who attempts to read
it all. Mr. Dellenbaugh has not' set himself the task of covering the whole of the
ground ; he aims at making accessible to the general reader the information stored up in
the volumes of the Bureau of Ethnology and similar institutions, with the object of
stimulating public interest in the collection of material. We have in the book before us
a convenient epitome of a great mass of information on the language, arts, and crafts,
mode of life, organisation, amusements, and customs of a branch of the human race
which was, until 400 years ago, almost as remote from outside influence as if it inhabited
the moon ; we have, it is true, in patolli a game whose Asiatic origin has been
vigorously maintained. Mr. Dellenbangh does not mention this curious coincidence, if
it is nothing more, between the games of Asia and Mexico, though he somewhat
unnecessarily combats the fantastic theory of a bodily migration of the population of
America from Asia within the last thousand years.
He has on some points put forward theories of his own, among others that of the
utilitarian origin of cup markings on stones ; these he regards as having been intended
to point the drill used in firemaking. But inasmuch as they are often only half-an-inch
deep, and sometimes three inches broad, the explanation is hardly applicable to the mass
of such markings.
The folklore of the Indians receives, perhaps, less than its due share of attention ;
as the author is also less succinct in this section, the result is, perhaps, a little
disappointing, but the theme is one which is naturally less easy to treat at once concisely
and clearly. It is unfortunate that no references are given in the text to the pictures
illustrating it. One would hardly look on page 369 among customs and ceremonies
for an illustration of the mocassins described on page 150. N. \Y . T.
New Zealand. Reeves.
Tin- Lomi H'/ti/c Cl<n«l. I>\ William Pember Reeves. London : Marshall QQ
& Co., 1898. Hvo, pp. \\. I.-50. Price (is. UO
The author of this work on Is'ew Zealand, who is at present acling as Agen»-
General in London for that Colony, is well fitted to write of a country which lie "has
1901.] MAN. [No. 98.
seen and studied from end to end." Of late years there have been many books written
about New Zealand, but few of them are reliable, excepting, of course, official publica-
tions, which are of an uninteresting nature to the general reader. Mr. Reeve's object has
been to write a historv " in which the picturesque side of the story shall not be ignored,"
and in this he has been eminently successful.
The work opens with a " sketch -history " of the early colonization by Europeans,
and of the general geographical features of the country. The writer then proceeds to
describe the earlier colonization by the Maories, who, he says, " unquestionably came
" from East Polynesia. They are of the same race as the courteous, handsome people
" who inhabit the South Sea Islands from Hawaii to Rarotouga — the Rarotongaus call
" themselves 'Maori,' and can understand the New Zealand speech." He quotes
Mr. Percy Smith's theory (but without reference) " that the ancestors of the Maori
" emigrated from the Society Islands and Rarotonga about 500 years ago. It seems
" likely enough, however, that previous immigrants had gone before them. One remnant
" of these, the now almost extinct Morion, colonized the Chatham Islands." The daily
life of the Maori is fully described, with accounts of his food and his manner of obtaining
it, of his canoe and house building, of his clothing, and of his tattooing ; of this last art
the author says, " Among the many legends concerning their demi-god Maui, a certain
" story tells how he showed them the way to tattoo by puncturing the muzzle of a dog,
" whence dogs went with black muzzles as men see them now. For many generations
" the patterns cut and pricked on the human face and body were faithful imitations of
" what were believed to be Maui's designs. They were composed of straight lines,
" angles, and cross cuts. Later, the hero Mataora taught a more graceful style, which
" dealt in curves, spirals, volutes, and scroll work. Apart from the legend (a full
" account of which the author gives on p. 62) it is a matter of reasonable certitude that
" the Maories brought tattooing with them from Polynesia." Their marking imple-
ments and observance in connection with the operation were virtually the same as those
of their tropical brothers. The inspiration " of the pattern, whether on wood or skin,
<k may be found in the spirals of sea shells, the tracery on the skin of lizards and the
" bark of trees, and even, it may be, in the curious fluting and natural scroll work on the
" tall cliffs of calcareous clay called papa.'1''
Of their Pas or entrenched villages, and of their mode of warfare, the author gives
a full and graphic description ; he particularly mentions the throwing of darts and stones
by means of the whip stick figured in Vol. XXIX. of the Journal of this Institute.
" With the help of these, wooden spears could be thrown more than one hundred
" yards, r.nd red-hot stones could be hurled over the pallisades among the rush-thatched
" huts of an assaulted village."
Upon the subject of the decadence of the native race, it is pleasing to find the
subject treated from a common-sense standpoint, without sounding the missionary note
of the " Avhite man's vices." The author traces this decadence to their partial civiliza-
tion. " It has ruined the efficacy of their tribal system without replacing it with any
" equal moral force and industrious stimulus. It has deprived them of the main
" excitement of their lives — tribal wars — and given them no spur to exertion by way
" of substitute. Every man was a soldier, and under the. perpetual stress of possible
" war had to be a trained, sell' -denying athlete. The pas were, for defensive reasons,
" built on the highest, and therefore the healthiest, positions." " The tribes," he says,
" still hold laud in common, and much of it. They might be very wealthy landlords if
" they cared to lease their estates ou the best terms they could bargain for ; they could
" be rich farmers if they cared to master the science of farming ; they might be healthy
" men and women if they would accept the teachings of sanitary science." The one
ray of hope is that lately the Government " has reorganised the native schools, where
" the children are being taught -sanitary lessons ; and, better still, the Maori youths are
[ 120 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 98-99.
" a wakening to the sad plight of their people." Under the heading of "The Maori :iml
the l'nscen,'' we have tlic native's idea of tlie I 'inverse, his mythology, his legends and
myths, including that of the great flood and the origin of the hmnan race ; and \ve are
told how these myths were handed down from father to son in priestly families by means
of sacred colleges. The system of tajm and muni, a. re fully described, followed hy the
ceremonies in connection with death and burial.
The early intercourse between native and white man is one long chapter of horrors.
By the introduction of the rifle alone "between the years ISIS and IS.'JS at least a
fourth of the race perished." The way to better days, however, was being paved, first
by "the whalers, who settled at various points along the coast, chiefly from Cook's
" Straits southward to Foveanx Straits, and who were engaged in what is known as
" shore-whaling " ; and secondly, by the missionaries, who " were slowly winning their
" way through respect to influence in the Northern quarter." It remained, however, for
Edward Gibbon Wakefield to lay the foundation stone of the Colony by forcing the
Colonial Office to annex New Zealand. "In June 1839 Captain Hobson of the Royal
" Navy was directed to go to the Bay of Islands, armed with a dormant commission
" authorising him to annex all or part of New Zealand, and to govern it in the name of
" Her Majesty, and on January 1S40 he stepped on shore at Kororareka. It is from
" this point, or rather from the signing of the treaty of Waitaugi in May of the same
" year, that the history of New Zealand as a portion of the British Empire begins."
The next fourteen chapters give a complete history of the Colony from this period to
the present day.
The work is well illustrated, and the tail pieces are from specimens of native
carving. It is a pity, however, that in the illustration facing page 40 so evident a
mistake should have been overlooked as calling the stern post of a canoe a " prow,"
more especially as the author further on in the work figures a stern post from the British
Museum collection, but without acknowledgment. On page 43 another clerical error
appears, where the author speaks of mother-of-pearl shell as being used for decorative
purposes, instead of haliotis shell. These, however, are but unimportant blemishes in a
work of very high merit, which can be read with interest alike by the general reader
and the anthropologist. J. E.-P
Siam. Young-.
The Kingdom of the Yellow Robe : Being Sketches of the Domestic and
Religious Rites and Ceremonies of the Sttnnesc. By Ernest Young, with illus-
trations by E. A. Norbury, R.C.A. Westminster : Archibald Constable & Co.,
1900 (new ed.) 8vo, pp. xiv -f 399. Price 6*.
« The title of Mr. Young's book is perhaps somewhat misleading. The work does
not in reality give any general account of Siam, or of the races inhabiting it. The
" City of the Yellow Robe," would have been more applicable, as it is a description,
pleasantly and accurately written, of the city of Bangkok and the general everydav life
of the Siamese in it, with instructive chapters on their religions ceremonies and their
customs and ideas. On these subjects the work is decidedly valuable ; Mr. Young had
considerable opportunities for observing and recording the ways and thoughts of tin-
people Avheu residing as an officer of the Education Department in Bangkok. The
author is not without humour and that kindly appreciation of the light side of life which
is necessary to all who would understand life in Indo-China. In a series of chapters
the main events in the life of a son of the people are recorded, from his birth to his top-
knot cutting, his schooling, his temptations and indulgences, his merit making at the
monastery, bis marriage, his easy-going manhood largely dependent on an energetic wife
who very literally is his better half, until the day when the priests are summoned to
[ 121 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 99-100.
perform the last rites, and the last remaining ashes are placed in the family urns. A
chapter is devoted to Buddhism as practised in Siam, and some very cogent remarks
occur in a chapter on " The Temples," regarding the extent to which the teachings of
Buddha are corrupted and misunderstood among the majority of so-called Buddhists.
Cloaked in the Pali language, which, to the majority of Siamese, conveys just as much
as the Latin liturgy of the Roman church does to the majority of its devotees, the grand
precepts of Buddha are robbed of that simple directness which constitutes their great
charm, Avith the results which are inevitable among a simple and credulous people.
The essentials of the great founder's teachings are too often lost in a maze of traditions
and superstitions, or swamped by the remains of the old nat or spirit worship of
Indo-China, which is still very much alive in all the races of the great peninsula.
Under the heading of " Religious Ceremonies " the author gives an account of many
interesting customs, and recounts some of the miraculous stories which are the delight of
the Eastern mind. The last two chapters of the book are hardly as well stored with
matter as the rest, the chapter on " The Elephants " being especially meagre considering
the interest of the subject. Mr. Norbury's wash drawings, with which the book is
copiously illustrated, are very charming, and give with great truth the spirit of the
scenes about Bangkok. The pen-and-ink drawings may be accused of being a trifle
heavy in detail, but are full of life, and add greatly to the interest of the book for the
ordinary reader. H. W. S.
West Africa. King-sley.
West African Studies. By Mary H. Kiugsley. Second'edition. London : -inn
Macmillan, 1901. Pp. xxxii, 507. Price 7*. 6rf. IUl)
Before Miss Kingsley made her fatal voyage to South Africa she arranged for the
issue of a fresh edition of the volume which had contained the expression of much
of her later thought on West African subjects. The important additions now made
practically represent her latest conclusions. They consist of the Hibbtrt lecture on
African Law and Religion delivered in 1897; portions of articles in the Morning
Post, July 1898, on West African Property ; a lecture on Imperialism taking
up the points of Mr. Wallace's paper on The Seamy Side of Imperialism of
June 1899 ; and her lecture on Imperialism in West Africa given in 'London,
February 1900, just before she started. The well known Oxford lecture was an earnest
and striking effort to sketch the fundamental lines of native beliefs and laws, and to
show how the two, the spiritual and the practical, are necessarily intertwined ; it
opened the eyes of many and emphasised the " great human importance of the study
of the religion, laws, and social status of the African native." This study was
continued in the Post's articles (here misplaced as to date), which deal with several
tribes but chiefly with the "true negro," a race for which Miss Kingsley had a great
admiration. Here should be noted, in connection with recent deplorable attempts in
West Africa to gain the " golden stool," the explanation — too short— of " Ancestral
" property connected with the office of Headmanship, the Stool as the true negroes
'* call it, the Cap as it is called in the wreckage of the kingdom of Kongo." The
need for the understanding spirit and the seeing eye in dealing with natives, so strongly
insisted on by Miss Kingsley, was never better exemplified than in this instance.
Her last discourse in London, imbued with the same principle, is an impassioned plea
for governing the West African colonies by an enlightened overlordship which shall
recognise the native customs and sense of right and wrong, giving them liberty, justice,
and representation in the forms suited to them ; above all impressing the sacredne.-s
of keeping word and oath, well understood by the " untutored mind." Illustrations
of the tribal systems and of secret societies, as well as of the difficulties in gettiii"1
[ 122 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 100-101.
true information should render the last pages of this discourse of much interest to
anthropologists as to other--.
To make room for the new matter, the appendices by the Comte de Cardi and
.Mi. llart'ord are left out in the present edition. Mr. George Macmillan write- :m
introductory notice of the lamented authoress, characterised by taste and feeling, in
which he prints :i remarkable letter written by her on the way to Cape Town to
a native gentleman in Liberia, begging him, on his side, to make known " that there
" is an African law and an African culture ; that the African has institutions and
" a state form of his own." In her mind the African has also his duties towards the
Kmpire. A good portrait, adorns the volume. L. T. S.
Africa: Ashanti. Freeman.
Trarrfs mid Life in Ashanti and Jaman. By It. Austin Freeman. West- -\f\-\
minster : Arch. Constable & Co., 1898. Pp. 551, about 100 illustrations, and IU I
2 maps. Price 21*.
This book should be widely read at the present time, when recent events in Ashanti
are fresh in the memory. It has, however, a more permanent value, as the author,
Dr. Freeman, has given, with considerable success, an account of the country, the life,
the dress and personal ornaments of the people, and has followed this by a resume of
the historical facts connected with Ashanti, and the results of British policy there.
There is a good chapter on the subject of malaria, and finally one on the commercial
possibilities of the country.
The interest of the book to anthropologists is, that the opportunity to study the
interesting and remarkable people has almost completely passed, owing t:> the abolition
of native rule. " Henceforward their religious rites will be performed in secret, and
" their laws administered secretly or replaced by those of the white man, while the
" distinctive arts of the country hitherto mainly fostered by the magnificence of the
" court, and the love of gorgeous display on the part of the royal personages and chiefs,
" finding no occasion for their exercise, must inevitably die out."
We do not possess much literature on the subject of Ashauti, Bowdich (1H19) and
Colonel A. B. Ellis being practically the only two writers who have done justice to the
subject.
The work is profusely and well illustrated by drawings made by the author, and
• from photographs, which are excellently reproduced.
This book needs careful reading, because a great deal of interesting anthropological
detail is scattered throughout its pages, incorporated in the account of the journeys and
the various palavers in which the author was engaged ; hence, unless care is taken
much that is of value is apt to be missed.
In describing Kumassi, Dr. Freeman says, that amongst the numerous objects of
interest there were none that made a greater impression upon him or seemed more
significant than the sculptures with which most of the better class houses were adorned.
The hut which he occupied presented varieties of every example of architectural
ornament met with in the town. These sculptures may be divided into three cla --.•-.
first, simple incised pattern on flat surfaces ; second, designs in low relief ; third,
perforated designs on fretwork. The incised ornaments were not numerous, generally
simple in character and executed in red clay ; the raised designs were more elaborate,
some-indeed extremely intricate, and were used in two ways. Executed in red clay and
in comparatively simple forms, they were used to enrich the fronts of the bases of houses,
the lower members of walls, or the dies of pilasters. In more complex forms thev were
employed in panels in the middle members of walls, in friezes, in interior dados, and in
tympana or gable ends. The third variety, the perforated or fretted ornaments, were
[ 123 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 101.
almost exclusively used in one form of house construction. In the better class of houses,
the front, instead of being entirely open, was closed at each end, by this latticework, of
very elegant design, the central part only being open. In some case? the central
opening '.vas quite narrow, forming merely a doorway of ordinary width, while in others
a comparatively small space at each end was thus closed in, the greater part of the
hoiiM! remaining open in front. The most common motives in these designs were,
1, the spiral or volute ; 2, a kidney-like form derived from the volute ; 3, the circle
(rather rare) ; 4, the zigzag ; 5, a form somewhat like the stone arrow-head, so
commonly used as an ornament by the Kansas, Soudanese, and Arabs ; and various
rectangular and other forms, which the author was not able to classify. These various
ornaments are well illustrated in the text.
Though not dealing with the subject of fetish with the same detail as the late
Miss Kingsley, Dr. Freeman has some interesting information on this subject, as
also upon the music, the salutations and the dances of the people ; and the dress,
too, and manners and customs, and method of life are all sufficiently elucidated.
A few of the people's folk-storieg are given, as, for instance, " The Crow and the
Vulture " (p. 284).-
On p. 331 there is a very interesting illustration of a " Saffi " or charm, written for
the author by the Almani of Boutuku, to ensure safe return to the coast and subsequent
good fortune. It is very like the charms u«ed in the Egyptian Soudan and on the East
Coast, as well as, we believe, in Arabia.
Dr. Freeman says there seems to be a general agreement among all nations, civilised
and barbarous, that the human body, as turned out by nature, is a crude, unfinished
production, distinctly lacking in ornamental qualities, and requiring certain artificial
touches to bring it up to the required standard of beauty. For this reason, in Africa
tattooing is in vogue, and the people make use of three kinds of markings. First, true
tattoo marks ; second, plain incisions into the skin ; third, raised cicatrices. The first
of these is very rare, however.
It is interesting to notice that amongst the Ang-laws it is customary to distinguish
certain members of the family by characteristic face marks — the elder of twins, for
instance, being distinguished by an oblique line passing downwards from the ala of the
nose. And amongst the Gruinsi the slaves have as a mark a series of three broad lines
radiating from the outer angle of each eye in addition to the ordinary three lines on the
face, which are almost universal in Central Africa.
There are some very interesting remarks with regard to names. For instance, any
remarkable circumstance connected with a child's birth will be commemorated by an
added name ; twins receive additional names setting forth the peculiarity of their birth
and differentiating them into male and female, elder and younger ; a posthumous child
is distinguished by the added name, Doku. As the child grows up, some personal
peculiarly may give rise to an added name, or a name may be given to indicate the
social status, as " Koffi Donkor," meaning KoSi the foreign slave (in this case the
" Koffi " would commemorate the day of purchase, not the day of birth). Then names
occur very commonly which can be regarded only as nicknames, although they become
after a time the recognised names of the persons to whom they are given. Among
Hausas and other foreigners in the Gold Coast territories the names generally indicate
the place of birth ; as, for example, Yusufu Daudaura (Yusuf or Joseph of Daura-
Da-n-Daura, meaning a son or native of Daura), &c.
These remarks must suffice to show the interesting nature of this volume.
We are glad to notice that the human sacrifices are thought to be greatly exaggerated,
the author remarking that every skull seen was put down to "a sacrifice," as also all
legal executions. R. W. F.
[ 124 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 102-103.
Anthropology. Schurtz.
Uirgetckickte der Kultur. By Dr. II. Sflimt*. l'|). xiv, '>•">*, with "2'.\ pi.
:in<l I'll Mocks in tin; text. Leipzig : Bibliographischefl Institut, 1900.
Price ls.v.
Dr. Schnrlz has written a work wliicli is worthy of his reputation. His history of
civili>ation supplies ;i distinct want ; it deals with the origin of trad" and industry, with
primitive art, sociology, religion, ami science, and with the causes of national progress
and decline. It is clear that- no man can cover this ground single-handed. Dr. Schurtz
has been amazingly industrious ; his work is in no sense a compilation ; but he would
be the first to admit that he has had to rely on then-suits attained by others in many
parts of the field covered by the book. Unfortunately he has given us no references
and no list of authorities ; we are therefore often in the dark as to the authorship of a
theory or a statement and the foundation on which it stands. Where, as in the dis-
cussion on the origin of marriage, Dr. Schurtz mentions his authority — K. VVestermarck
— the importance of whose criticism of Morgan's theories he has over-rated, the reader
can form an opinion for himself without much difficulty. Where the theory, as often
happens, takes the form of an apodeictic assertion, the general reader, to whom the book
will also appeal, cannot pursue the subject if he will, and cannot tell how far there is
authority for the views expressed. Both a good classified bibliography and a fair
number of references should be added in a future edition.
These errors of judgment are, so to speak, external. It is of more importance that
there is a certain lack of clearness in the treatment, or perhaps, we should say, an absence
of definitions. We read, for example, on p. 556, that fetichism is, properly speaking,
the worship of a chance object. Fetichism is a term actually used in more than one
sense ; it may, indeed, be doubted whether the primitive savsige ever does worship a
chance object without regarding it as the abode of a spirit, but it is often understood to
mean this ; further, fetichism, as Schurtz says, is by no means the same everywhere. It
is therefore quite clear that, for the general reader at any rate, the term should be clearly
explained, even if, which is very desirable, its use is not, in the interests of mutual
intelligibility, restricted to one class of religious phenomena. These are, however,
small points. On the whole Dr. Schurtz's book may be commended unreservedly ; not
only will it interest the general reader and give him an insight into problems that have
so far not presented themselves to his mind, it will be a welcome addition to the library
of the anthropologist. Some portions of the book, which deal with fields in which
Dr. Schnrtz has specialized, arc naturally more authoritative than others. But even in
dealing with those subjects which he has not specially made his own, Dr. Schurtz has
been able to avoid the pitfalls which beset the way.
England is far behind other countries in works of this sort ; perhaps that is why
anthropology is not yet regarded by the Government as a branch of investigation that
should receive support from the national exchequer. A work of this kind in English
might do much to raise anthropology to its proper place in this country. N. W. T.
Pacific. Brig-ham.
./// I/iilcr to tlic Ixhtiulx of flu- I'dc/Jic Ocean. By \V. T. Brigham, A.M.
Honolulu, 1900. 4to., 170 pp. and 24 maps.
This new publication of the Direc.tor of the IJernice Pauahi Bishop Museum at
Honolulu is described as a handbook to the chart upon the walls of the museum, but its
utility will assuredly not be confined within such narrow bounds. It is intended to
:i->ist those who are engaged in the study of Pacific ethnology to locate with precision
the multitudinous groups of islands and atolls which the ordinary atlas cannot attempt
C 125 ]
1901,] MAN. [No. 103.
to register. When it is mentioned that the index contains considerably more than
3,000 names, it will be seen that the author's task has been by no means a light one.
Findlay's valuable Directories of the North and South Pacific cover the same ground and
more, but they are expensive and primarily written for the use of navigators. It thus often
happens that they give much information which those who consult them for purely ethno-
graphical purposes do not require, and their charts are unnecessarily elaborate for purposes
of speedy reference. The simplicity of Professor Brigham's maps is one of the many
advantages of the Index, for the eye is not wearied by a mass of finely printed names
obscuring the one or two which form the object of one's search. All the maps have
been compiled from the best available material, Admiralty charts, &c., but finality has
naturally not been attempted, for until exact surveys of the whole region have been
completed the positions of many islands cannot be given with certainty. The author
makes a wise protest against the notion that publication of useful matter should be
constantly deferred in the hope of achieving perfect knowledge ; were such a system
adopted, progress would, as he truly says, be indefinitely delayed. The orthography of
native names is a perpetual source of difficulty, and it is here perhaps that students of
language might be most inclined to join issue with Professor Brigham. But here again
we may suppose that perfection is not attainable, and the modesty with which possible
shortcomings in orthography are discounted in the preface must do much to disarm
criticism. It will probably be unanimously conceded that the author has taken the only
satisfactory course with regard to nomenclature, in reverting to native names wherever
such can be proved to exist, and in their default adopting the name given by the first
discoverer. If we are not mistaken this is the principle for which Dr. Von Luschan, of
Berlin, has always so strenuously contended ; and with its general adoption, names like
" Sandwich Islands " and " New Mecklenburg " must disappear from the map in favour
of Hawaii and JSew Ireland.
The information in the index is confined to essential facts, and its character will be
best understood from an example taken at random : —
HUAHEINE, easternmost of the Leeward group of the Society Islands, discovered
by Cook, July 1769 ; 20 miles in circumference, divided at high water into
Huaheiue nui and Huaheiue iti. Population, 1,100. 16° 42' 30" S.,
1 59° 01' 15" W. 20.
Here the reader may look under the heading Society Islands for the general
history of the group, and at Map 20 for the actual position of the Island. As an
example of the thoroughness with which the author copes with difficulties of pro-
nunciation, another example, also taken at random, may be quoted. For the general
reader the island spelt Cicia but pronounced Thithia is likely to prove a source of
confusion ; the cross-reference is duly given, so that the difficulty, probably created in
the first instance by missionaries, is at once obviated.
The Introduction, of some 30 pages, provides a short history of Pacific discovery
from the early 16th century onwards, with some important remarks on oceanography,
on flora and fauna, ethnology, the whaling industry, missions in their relation to the
native races, cannibalism, religion, language, and on the partition of the Pacific by the
Powers, the whole intended to give the general reader a concise notion of the physical
constitution and the occupants of the vast region with which the index deals. At the
end of most sections is a short bibliography, making it easy for those who wish to do so
to pursue their studies further. It should be added that throughout the bounds of the
Pacific are taken to be on the north 30° N., on' the east 105° W., on the south 55° S.
on the west 130° E. ; the reasons for this definition will be found in the preface. To
those, and they are many, who read much in books of voyages and travels Professor
Brigham's work will be a veritable godsend. Even the laziest reader can now, without
consulting heavy atlases and cumbrous books of reference, find out his bearings and
[ 126 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 103104.
realise exactly where he is. Deliciencies there may In- in these ux-t'iil pages, 1ml
it must lie remembered that the hook is professedly only ;t primer : as the author
remarks, the primer must eume before the reader, ;ind if it clears the |);ith by giving
ground for just criticism it will not have lieen offered in vain. I>y its various pub-
lications, o!' which the present is a worthy example, (lie Uisliop Museum is establishing
a claim on the gratitude of all students of the ethnology of the 1'acitic Islands.
O. M. 1).
Folklore : Scotland. Campbell.
Superstition* of the Highlands anil Isl<m<ls of Scotlaml ,• collected entirely in/I
from Oral Sources. Uy John (iregorson Campbell, Minister of Tiree. IU I
(ilasgow : AlacLehose A: Sons, 1900. Hvo, pp. ;il<S. 1'reseiited l>y the Publishers.
In this work is published the first instalment of the materials collected by the
late Minister of Tiree, after whose death the hook was entrusted to an editor, who
remains anonymous. This is not in itself an objection, but it would have been well
to inform the reader whether the work is published as Mr. Campbell left it, and, if not,
how far the responsibility of the editor extends. Jf, in the absence of any definite
statement, we may assume the former, we can only regret that Mr. Campbell did not,
in the case of the tales, give more precise details as to sources ; it would have been
advisable also to localise them and the superstitious more accurately than has been done
by the author, who remarks : " The beliefs of one district do not differ essentially from
those of another." Even were this true, the local variations of custom are always
important.
The greater part of this volume is devoted to fairies and similar beings, but the
term fairy is understood in a wider sense ; the sithchcam are of all sizes, from dwarf
to giant ; so far from being beautiful they frequently have some personal defect ; the
whirlwind, commonly regarded as the witch's chariot, is here " the people's puff of
wind " ; and like witches in other countries they are kept at bay by strong odours.
Somewhat curiously handmills are protected from them by being turned deiseal, sunwise;
elsewhere the left turn is commoner in countercharms.
Among animal superstitions we read of the king otter, who is not, however, all
white, as is usually the case ; the one white spot is the only vulnerable one. In
Sutherland the otter king is stated to be white (Folklore: I. vi, 249) and this
agrees with the belief found far outside the limits of Europe that the king of a
species is white. The white animal is the favoured victim over a wide area. Serpents
and clock beetles are mercilessly killed ; the dungbeetle, as in Scandinavia and
Germany, is spared ; in Scotland there is nothing recorded to connect it with the
cult of Thor.
Of the many other interesting facts the following are specimens : — In a boat, objects
are not to be called by the same names as on shore ; in Skye fires lighted on headlands at
the beginning of winter are believed to attract the herrings, just as the fires of November
•lib at Hastings; meeting "plain soled" people is unlucky ; we find swan-maidens and
seal-people ; the raven's nest contains a magic stone ; and menstrual Mood is a pro-
phylactic against the evil eye. The more collections of this sort we get the better will
be the verdict of all who read this interesting book ; and those who look at the que-iion
more from the scientific point of view will echo the wish. N. \V. T.
[ 1*7 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 105-106.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceeding's. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris.
Sommairc des Procits-vcrbaux dc la Seance du 20juin 1901.
La Societe accepte le principe d'utH' conference Internationale pour etablir
ane bibliographic iinthropologique a la condition quo cette bibliographic soit indepeudante
de toute autre publication.
M. Thiot presente des objets provenant d'nne station prehistorique de 1'epoque
tardenoisienne a Warluis (Oise). Discussion : MM. Atgier, Tate, Thieullen.
M. le Dr. F. Kegnault fait une communication sur le femur ; empreinte iliaque,
angle du col.
M. le Marquis de Cacqueray de Lorme presente des photographies et des pieces de
la Nouvelle Guiuee anglaine. Discussion : MM. Tate, Atgier, Thieulleu, Sanson
d'Echerac, Zaborowski, Verneau, Lejeune.
M. Paul-Boncour fait une communication sur des modifications squelettiques des
os longs du rnembre superieur dans 1'hemiplegie infantile. Discussion : MM. Manouvrier,
Regnault.
M. Fouju : Decouverte d'une sepulture neolithique a Presles (Seine et Oise) avec
gisement de silex aux alentours.
Sommairc des Proces-verbaux dc la Seance du ^juillet 1901.
Presentations. — M. A. de Mortillet : Objets tertiaires du Cantal.
M. Laville : Vase canaque et silex tallies des environs de Beauvais.
M. P. de Mortillet : Dent d'elephant et coup de poing chelleeu du Vesinet.
Discussion : M. A. de Mortillet.
M. Zaborowski : Portraits de femmes de la Vendee des Deux- Sevres et de la Vienne.
Discussion : MM. A. de Mortillet et Sebillot.
Communications. — Mme. Alexandra Myrial : Les Mantras aux Incles. Discussion :
MM. Garnault, Atgier, Zaborowski, Regnault. Mme. Myrial.
M. Yves Guyot : Sur les Vaalpens, race aborigenede 1'Afrique du Sud. Discussion :
MM. Vertical!, Zaborowski.
M. R. H. Mathews : Organisation des tribus aborigenes de 1'Australie.
M. Pommerol : La fete des brandous et le dieu Graunus.
Proceeding's. Anthropological Institute.
Summer Excursion, June 22, 1901. At the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Edge-
Partiugtoii the Institute visited Park Hall, Great Bardfield, to study Mr. Edge-
Partington's ethnographical collections. After lunch the president proposed a hearty
vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Edge-Partiugton for their hospitality, which was carried
by acclamation. The party then proceeded to inspect the collections under the guidance
of Mr. Edge-Partington, who called attention to the various points of interest.
Extraordinary Meeting, June 25, 1901. Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., president in
the chair.
Dr. W. II. R. Rivers read a paper, illustrated by lantern slides, on " The Colour
Sense of the Natives of Upper Egypt." The paper was discussed by Prof. Sully, Miss
Pengelly, and Messrs. MacDongall, Edridge Green, C. S. Myers, and W. II. Winch.
A paper by Mr. Basil Thompson on " The Natives of Savage Island " was taken
as read.
A vote of thanks was passed to Dr. Rivers for his paper.
Correction — MAN, 1901 — 90, line 11 from bottom, read "collected by Miss Owen
and presented by her . . ." Line 6, for " Yuao " read " Inao."
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.G.
MAN. 1901 PLATE I-J.
STATUETTE OF A NEGRESS.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 107-108.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Egypt. With Plate I-J. Petrie.
An Er/y/ttinti l-'.lioni/ Stuhn th' of a Negress. By W. M. Flinders Petrie, 10*7
Edwards Professor of Egyptology at Uuiversity College. IUI
The ability of the Egyptians in expressing the characteristics of a race is well
known., and it has never been better shown than in this statuette. The figure is carved
in ebony and highly polished ; it is of the size here shown. The original motive is
that the girl has before her a monkey walking upright with a tray on its head ; the
marks of the edge of the tray are seen on the breasts and sternum ; the hands of the
girl were occupied in steadying the tray. The figure of the monkey is. however, by an
inferior hand, and it is, therefore, omitted here in order to show the girl's figure better.
The race is that of the negroes of the upper Nile, who were brought into Egypt in
large numbers as slaves, especially in the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty, to which this
figure certainly belongs. The same small tufts of hair are shown on negro children in the
well-known group figured in Wilkinson's Manners and Customs, fig. 88.
The prognathism of the profile is not at all exaggerated, and the good modelling of
the jaw and lips is noticeable. The expression is admirably given ; the intent careful
air, looking down at the tray which is being carried ; the complete childish innocence,
and absence of self consciousness. The perfect treatment of the under side of the jaw,
its junction with the neck, and the pose of the head, are points which show a fine artist.
The ears are pierced in the lower lobes.
The shoulders and the hips are excellently modelled ; the rounding of the muscles
of the back, firm and full, can scarcely be appreciated in the side view. In the lower
limbs the rendering of the action is very lifelike ; the left leg is firm and supporting,
the right is being slowly raised at the heel for the gentle forward movement of guiding
the monkey in front. The balance of the whole figure leaves nothing to be desired.
In comparison with the other statuettes made by Egyptians, now at Bologna,
Florence, and elsewhere, this is by far the best ; to the present, this stands as the
finest piece of Egyptian sculpture on a small scale. It was found at Thebes about
1896, was sold by Ali Arabi at Cairo, and is now preserved at University College,
London. W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE.
Bibliography. Thomas.
Suggestions for an. International Bibliography of Anthropology. By N. W. -\f\f\
Thomas, M.A. lUO
It has often been pointed out that the second discovery of a fact is sometimes less
easy than the first. In the absence of an adequate bibliography, the specialist has to
ransack an enormous mass of literature in order to discover what facts bearing on his
subject have already been recorded. It lies in the nature of things that the anthro-
pologist suffers more from this cause than other scientific workers ; information with
regard to beliefs and customs is easily gathered, and the last thing which enters
the non-anthropological mind is the idea that such information is of value to the
anthropologist and should be put at his disposal. It is too often dumped down in the
most inaccessible places, and chance alone brings it to light again.
Many partial bibliographies exist ; most anthropological societies make the attempt
to keep their members more or less informed of new discoveries. But by a very natural
limitation the smaller articles either escape notice or are not considered worth noticing,
with the result that they seldom or never reach the anthropological world at large ; they
have at most a circulation in their country of origin. As I recently pointed out in
(Holms (LX X X, ]i. 37), even the bibliography of the Archiv fiir Anthropologi<\ which is
in many respects a model, is extraordinarily incomplete when one looks into the details.
[ 129 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 108.
lu a recent volume English folklore was represented by six items ! If this is the case
with the Archiv, which takes years in preparation, it is d fortiori true of other
bibliographies. The mass of anthropological matter in periodical and other literature
is so large that the horizon of the bibliographer does not extend much beyond the limits
of his own country, even if — which is not always the case — it includes all home
publications.
It might be possible for a single society to produce a fairly complete bibliography.
The work must, however, inevitably have its commercial side. I venture to think that
no society and no publishing firm would care to embark single-handed on an undertaking
which would involve the assistance of paid contributors in most, if not all, civilized
countries. If they did, business considerations would necessarily in the long run have
an influence on the completeness of such a bibliography.
The question is essentially one for the anthropological world at large. A far more
practical, and at the same time more logical, procedure would be for the anthropological
societies to combine to produce an annual bibliography. In each country a society or
combination of societies would make itself responsible for the publications, periodical
and otherwise, of that country. The local sub-editors would prepare slips for each book
or article ; these would contain all the usual bibliographical details, and, in addition, a
resume or list of the contents, which would be as short as possible consistently with
clearness. These slips would be sent to the editor of the bibliography from time to
time, whose business it would be to secure uniformity, and to arrange the slips on a
system to be described later. It would, of course, be possible for a society to make the
editor-in-chief responsible for the slips, either in whole or in part. No doubt the
authors themselves would in course of time undertake the preparation of slips for their
works, and in this way relieve the contributors to the bibliography. Then, too, the
short notices which appear in the American Anthropologist and other journals might
readily be adapted for the bibliography, especially if the compilers bear in mind the use
to which they will be put.
There will probably be little difference of opinion as to the ground which the
proposed bibliography should cover. The International Catalogue of Scientific Literature
provides for Somatology, Physiology, Psychology, Geology, &c., and, though it may be
necessary to include a few headings in these subjects which have no place in the
International Catalogue, it will clearly be unnecessary to cover the ground 'again ; the
mere fact that one volume would probably not suffice for the whole bibliography, if these
branches of anthropology were included, is a sufficient reason against entering into
competition at present with the International Catalogue. It is unnecessary to speculate
as to what steps may be advisable at a later period when the question of the revision of
the schedule of the International Catalogue becomes a burning one.
The subjects to be dealt with would therefore be as follows : —
1. GENERAL : Methodology, Bibliography, Biography, &c.
2. SOMATOLOGY (supplementary to the international Catalogue, if necessary).
3. ETHNOLOGY, including Sociology, Technology, Linguistics, Primitive
Religion, and Folklore
4. ETHNOGRAPHY, including Origin and Relationship of Races and People,
Migrations, Anthropo-Geography, &c.
5. PREHISTORIC ARCH. EULOGY.
This scheme, propounded by Dr. Brinton, will probably be found in practice to have
the balance of convenience on its side. Questions will, of course, arise as to sub-
divisions ; the section of Religion and Folklore presents great difficulties as soon as one
endeavours to evolve a satisfactory system of classification. Many items, too, in the
division of Prehistoric Archaeology might also l>e classified under Technology and other
headings. Questions of this sort, however, may bo left for detailed discussion at au
[ 130 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 108.
international conference ; even should a compromise between contending parties prove
unattainable, the differences lli:il will arise are unlikely to wreck the bibliography. For,
provided that the system. of classification adopted be sufficiently simple, and that changes
in l IK system are not made at too frequent intervals, it will be found that the practical
difference between widely different schemes is not large. It will be noticed that no
provision is made in the above scheme for descriptions of individual races and peoples.
Such a description will, of course, include items falling under many sections of the
schedule, of which the main heads have been given above ; it is, therefore, of a general
character, and cannot properly be included in the schedule. It will be simpler to meet
the case by adopting a primary geographical classification, with a supplementary
alphabetical list of general articles. In theory, perhaps, an ethnical classification is
better, but a geographical arrangement may without much difficulty be made on the
somewhat indefinite lines of the International Catalogue, and uniformity in this direction
should certainly be kept in view.
Each title should be distinguished by a reference number by which it would be
designated in the classificatory second part. It would probably be well, as already
suggested, to add a brief table of contents, at any rate of those works where anthropo-
logical data are only sparsely scattered. To provide against errors of classification it
would be well if the preparation of these tables of contents were made a part of the work
of the editor-in-chief ; if they were compiled by the sub-editors there would be almost
inevitably a certain lack of uniformity. To provide a basis for this table of contents it
would be the duty of the sub-editors to prepare for the use of the editor-in-chief
extremely brief notes ; these might be written either on the title slip, or better, on
separate slips which would be tied to the title slip and might afterwards become the
basis of a slip-catalogue. The editor-in-chief would classify all the slips under the
proper subheadings of the schedule, and these subheadings would alone appear in the
bibliography.
The form of the first part of the bibliography would therefore be somewhat as
follows : —
[AFRICA.]
[Bantu.]
1205. "Wiese, C., Bcitrayc zur Gcschichtc. der Zulus im Nordcn der Zambesi,
ncimcntlich der Any on i.
Ztschr. f. Ethn.. XXXII., 181-202. Witchcraft, Initiation Ceremony (girls). Maniage, Gods, Cult
of Ancestors, Future Life (in animal form), Divination, &c.
Reference to reviews and the more important notices would follow.
In the second part, the main divisions of which, cited above, would be divided and
subdivided again, these entries would reappear in the following form : —
[RELIGION.]
Cult of Ancestors.
Africa (Zulus), 1205.
This would mean that the title of a work which included information on the cult of
ancestors among the Zulus would be found on turning to No. 1205 in the first part.
The arrangement of the first part being geographical, it will be necessary to have
an index of authors and an index of tribes ; the latter should be amply cross-referenced
to obviate the difficulties which might arise from the unsettled nomenclature and make
it sometimes not too easy to identify the tribe to which a foreign author refers. To
facilitate reference to the classificatory portion, an index of headings and subheadings
will be necessary ; this index also should be freely supplied with cross-references.
It is hardly ncressary to point out the value of a bibliography such as (he one here
oul lined. At present, as 1 have pointed out, many items never come within (lie
bibliographer's net ; l>v international co-operation a far greater degree, of completeness
I 131 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 106.
would certainly be obtained. At present, even in the bibliography of the Archiv, classi-
fication is as good as non-existent ; if there is any indication of the contents (beyond the
name of the tribe), the absence of an index renders it impossible to find the required
references except by reading through the whole bibliography. The proposed scheme
would obviate any difficulty of this sort. An international scheme would probably have
another advantageous result ; at present the terminology of anthropology is in a very
unsettled state, at any rate as regards the main divisions of the subject. In Dr.
Briuton's classification ethnology has no necessary connection with questions of race, and
is concerned entirely with technology and " Volkerpsychologie." Professor Keane's
Ethnology, on the other hand, is occupied with racial questions, and concerns itself
with what Dr. Brinton terms ethnology, only in so far as it throws light on origins. An
authoritative pronouncement by an international conference would probably go far to
settle the meaning to be given in future to these and other terms.
At present the specialist is dependent partly on the efforts of his predecessors, partly
on his own efforts for a bibliography of his subject. It may easily happen that two authors
laboriously work over the same enormous mass of literature, for want of a bibliography,
in order to collect their facts ; the anthropologist is content to leave these matters to
chance ; no attempt is made by united effort to make readily available for our own and
for future generations the enormous mass of material that is being collected year by year.
We flatter ourselves that Anthropology has put off its swaddling clothes, but we act as
if collection of facts alone were all that is needed for the advancement of the Science
of Man. In our days, when the savage is disappearing before the schoolmaster, the
gin bottle, and the missionary, collection is more important than analysis, provided that
nothing be passed over ; the main value of hypotheses lies in directing attention to facts
which might be overlooked until it is too late. But with the collection of facts must
go, hand-in-hand, a classification and pigeon-holing of them which will permit them to be
found when wanted. This last is the function of a bibliography. If the anthropological
world has the real interests of anthropology at heart it will not permit the cost of such
an undertaking to deter it.
The question of ways and means is undoubtedly a serious one if the whole financial
responsibility falls upon the societies ; this is more especially the case in those countries
which, like England, are not yet sufficiently enlightened to understand that anthropology
is worthy of support from a practical, no less than a scientific point of view, and can throw
unexpected light on the problems that present themselves to the civil servant who is
brought in contact with native races.
It may be possible to come to an arrangement with a publisher ; the details of such
an arrangement cannot be profitably discussed here. If this is impracticable it will be
necessary for the societies to subscribe or guarantee a certain amount, receiving in return
free copies, or copies at a reduced rate. In either case a portion of the edition might be
put on the market in the ordinary way and the receipts would be available for reducing
the liability of the societies.
All societies expend a considerable part of their income on their publications ; if it
is impossible to meet the expense in any other way it is a matter for serious consideration
whether a certain portion of this expenditure might not more profitably be devoted to
the preparation of an annual bibliography. At present the work of collection is most
important; classification takes the second place; the building up of theories maybe
left, if necessary, for future generations.
There is another question which the anthropological world would do well to
consider. The proposed bibliography will lighten the burden of the individual student
in the future. For the past we have practically no general bibliographies which go
back more than thirty years ; those which have appeared are incomplete, and in the
absence of subject classification and indication of contents, they are little more than
[ 132 ]
1901.}
MAN.
[Nos. 108-109.
lists of works which the specialist must consult. A complete bibliography of anthro-
pology would be an euonnous undertaking, but that is no reason why a beginning should
not be made. This is hardly the place to discuss the question at length ; it would
probably be simplest for each country to undertake its own literature and deal with it
on the same lines as the annual bibliography. An alternative scheme would be the
appointment of editors for different geographical areas who would receive from the
different countries slips for those books only which contained information with regard
to their special area. In England the Folklore Society is contemplating the publication
of a general bibliography of English Folklore. If this is not to be limited to the
folklore of the British Isles, it is a matter for serious consideration whether an effort
should not be made to expajul it so as to cover linguistics and technology at least. The
Folklore Society has in its museum objects which have no connection with religion or
folklore, as folklore is defined in England ; if -bows and arrows and beadwork find a
place in their museum, it is illogical to exclude from the bibliography the heading of
technology ; what is folklore in a museum is folklore in a book. N. W. THOMAS.
By John L.
Myres.
Myres,
.
Africa : Tunis.
A Piece of Early Masonry at Chaouach in Tunis.
M.A., F.S.A.
The native village- of Chaouach lies on a bold spur of the moors which overhang
the north side of the broad valley of the Mejerda river (anc. Bagradas), about
75 km. from its mouth, and about 60 from the town of Tunis. The nearest railway
station, Medjez-el-Bab, is
about 5 km. away from the
village. Immediately below
—^5 the modern village lie the
ruins of the small Roman
town of Sua, the name of
which probably represents
the same native word as
Chaouach ; on the edge of
the moors immediately to the
north-east lie the remains
of innumerable chambered
tumuli which have been
described already by M.
Bertholou (Bull, de la Soc.
rf' Anthr. de Lyon, VII. (1 888)
p. 78. Cf. Exploration An-
thropologique de Khoumirie,
in Bulletin de Geographic historique ct descriptive, 1891, esp. figs. 16 and 17) ; and in
the cliffs which bound the valley, close below them, are a number of small rock-cut
tombs which have also been described before (Bull, de Geogr., 1891, I.e. fig. 18),
and which resemble closely both the tombe a fenestra of Sicily, and the primitive rock
tombs of the Bengemma hills in Malta (c/. MAN 1901, 71).
Both the Roman site, and the two sets of prehistoric tombs, have been sufficiently
described elsewhere ; but it is curious that no previous traveller appears to have noted
the remarkable piece of masonry which is represented in the photograph, and which,
when observed in 1897 by Mr. A. J. Evans and myself, proved to be unrecorded among
the then known monuments of Tunis. The wall stands on the north edge of the village,
nearly at the summit of the spur above-mentioned, and facing northwards on to the
[ 133 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 109-110.
neck which joins it with the moorland. The section which is exposed to view stands
some two metres above ground, and is surmounted by a modern housewall of smaller
and ruder stones. The joints along which small clinging plants appear, in the
photograph, marks the upper margin of the old masonry.
The style of the masonry is peculiar, and is in complete contrast both with the
unhewn stones of the prehistoric tumuli, and with the regular isodomous masonry of
the Roman site below the hill. If one had met with such a wall in Sicily, in South
Italy, or in Greece, one would have said without hesitation that it was Greek work of
the sixth century B.C. But how does such work come here, in the heart of Carthaginian
Africa ? A further difficulty arises from the fact that the very few fragments of
genuine Punic masonry which survive at Carthage itself, namely the sixth century
tombs excavated by Pere Delattre on the south side of the Byrea (Les Tombeaux
Puniques de Carthage, Lyou, 1890 : Necropole Punique de la Colline de St. Louis,
Extrait des Missions Catholiques, Lyon, 1896), do not by any means conform to the
style of the wall at Chaouach ; they are much more regularly isodomous, and there are
few great blocks of the kind which are so marked a feature here. The conclusion,
however, seems inevitable that this piece of wall must be assigned to the earlier half of
the Carthaginian domination ; and if so, the style of the masonry is only one piece of
evidence the more in support of the impression which is so strongly conveyed by the
contents of the Carthaginian tombs already mentioned ; namely, that in the sixth
century B.C. the material civilisation of Carthage was already in great measure
dominated by the higher art and industry of her Hellenic rivals. J. L. MYRES.
Pacific : Tonga. Thomson.
A Stone Celt from Tonga. By Basil Thomson, lately H.M. Special -I in
Commissioner to Tonga. I IU
At the close of my recent mission to Tonga, which resulted in a British Protec-
torate over the group, I received two presents : the first was a piece of red, haud-made
woollen cloth, sent by the King of Tonga as a gift to Her Majesty, the late Queen,
which had been given to his ancestor by Captain Cook in 1777, and which is now in
the royal collection at Windsor Castle ; the other was the stone celt, which I send for
the inspection of members of the Institute. This was presented to me by'Fatafehi,
the king's father and the Tongan plenipotentiary, who said that, as he knew that I prized
things of the ancient time, he wished to signalize the signing of the treaty by giving
me something that had been preserved for generations in his family — that of the sacred
STf KE CELT FROM TONGA. SIDE VIEW : HALF SCALE.
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 110-111.
STONE CELT FROM TONGA. EDGE VIEW : HALF SCALE.
line of kings (Tu'i Tonga). The celt measures 9£ inches long by 3| inches wide in its
broadest part ; it is made of an olive-green stone full of grey longitudinal veins, and
beautifully polished. One is struck at once by its departure from the usual shape of
Tongan celts (which are wedge-shaped, angular, and roughly made), as well as by the
stone itself, which is of a kind not found in Tonga. Jt was obvious that it has been
brought from another island, but all that Fatafehi could tell me about it was that it had
been handed down for many generations as an heirloom in his family. On my return to
England I showed it to Sir William Macgregor, who declared that without a shadow of
doubt it had come from Woodlark Island at the north-east end of New Guinea, where
he had himself discovered the quarry from which alone this peculiar veined stone is
procured. It has, moreover, the shape and finish of the New Guinea celt. We have,
therefore, the problem of a New Guinea implement in the possession of the Tongans.
If Fatafehi was mistaken in the time during which the stone had been in Tonga the
solution would be simple, for the whalers and sandal wooders made Tonga a port of call.
But there were neither whalers nor traders before 1790, and if the stone had been
brought to Tonga by Ttisman or Cook or d'Eutrccasteaux, I think that its origin would
be remembered. Fatafehi, at all events, was positive that it had been in his family for
more than a century. As evidence of the migration of the Polynesians from the
westward it, must be taken for what it is worth.
Totemism : South Africa. Frazer.
South African Totemism. By J. G. Frazer, M.A., Litt.D., D.C.L. + + +
In the seventh volume of his series of Records of South- Eastern Africa, III
published this year, the indefatigable historian Mr. G. McCall Theal has included a
valuable summary of information on the Bantu tribes of South Africa. As the passage
in which he describes the totemic system of the tribes not only throws new light on
that system, but appears to have an important bearing on recent discussions as to
the origin of totemism, readers of MAN may be glad to have it reprinted here. It runs
as follows : —
" The Bantu believed that the spirits of the dead visited their friends and descendants
in the form of animals. Each tribe regarded some particular animal as the one selected
by the ghosts of its kindred, and therefore looked upon it as sacred. The lion was thus
held in veneration by one tribe, the crocodile by another, the python by a third, the
bluebuck by a fourth, and so on. When a division of a tribe took place, each section
retained the same ancestral animal, and thus a simple method is afforded of ascertaining
the wide dispersion of various communities of former times. For instance, at the present
day a species of snake is held by people as far south as the mouth of the Fish River
and by others near the Zambesi to be the form in which their dead appear.
"This belief caused even such destructive animals as the lion and the crocodile to
be protected from harm in certain parts of the country. It was not believed that every
lion or every crocodile was a disguised spirit, but then any one might be, and so none
>yere molested unless under peculiar circumstances, when it was clearly apparent that
[ 135 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 111-112.
the auimal was an aggressor and therefore not related to the tribe. Even then if it
could be driven away it was not killed. A Xosa of the present time will leave his hut
if an ancestral snake enters it, permitting the reptile to keep possession, and will shudder
at the thought of any one hurting it. The auimal thus respected by one tribe was,
however, disregarded and killed without scruple by all others.
" The great majority of the people of the interior have now lost the ancient belief,
but they still hold in veneration the animal that their ancestors regarded as a possible
embodied spirit. Most of them take their tribal titles from it, thus the Bakwena are the
crocodiles, the Bataung the lions, the Baphuti the little blue antelopes. Each terms the
animal whose name it bears its siboko, and not only will not kill it or eat its flesh, but will
not touch its skin or come in contact with it in any way if that can be avoided. When
one stranger meets another and desires to know something about him, he asks, ' To what
do you dance ? ' and the name of the animal is given in reply. Dos Santos, a Portuguese
writer who had excellent opportunities of observation, states that on certain occasions,
which must have been frequent, men imitated the actions of their siboko ; but that
custom has now almost died out, at least among the southern tribes.
" The people along the south-eastern coast, though separated into distinct
communities absolutely independent of each other from a time as far back as their
tradition reaches, are of common tribal origin. They all regard the same species of
snake as the form in which their ancestral shades appear."
Thus, if Dr. Theal's account is correct (and I know no reason to doubt it), the
totemism of the Bantu tribes of South Africa resolves itself into a particular species
of the worship of the dead ; the totem animals are revered as incarnations of the souls of
dead ancestors. This entirely agrees with the general theory of totemism suggested by
the late G. A. Wilken and recently advocated by Prof. E. B. Tylor (Journ. Anthr. Inst.,
XXVIII., p. 146 et seq.\ How far that theory can be reconciled with the different
explanations of totemism suggested by the Central Australian evidence (Journ. Anthr.
Inst., XXVIII., pp. 275-286 ; Fortnightly Review, N.S. LXV., pp. 647-665, 835-852),
and confirmed, for the Papuan race, by the evidence collected by Prof. Haddon in Torres
Straits (Folk-lore, XII., p. 230 et seq.) remains to be seen. Fresh light may perhaps be
thrown on the question by the researches which Prof. Baldwin Spencer and Mr. F. J.
Gillen are at present prosecuting in Central Australia. But it is quite possible, as
Prof. Haddon has well said, " that what is described as totemism in ooe place may be
different in its origin from that which is called totemism elsewhere." J. G. FRAZER.
Africa : East. Felkin.
A Collection of objects from the district to the South-west of Lake Nyassa. HO
With notes by R. W. Felkin, M.D., and others. I \L
The objects represented in the photograph were collected by the Rev. R. Stewart
Wright, of the Manse, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland. They are now in the posses-
sion cf Dr. Felkin, and were exhibited at a meeting of the Anthropological Institute in
the latter part of 1900 (Journ. Anthr. Inst., XXX., Miscellanea, No. 120 pp.).
The information which has been collected about them is very scanty, and they are
figured now in the hope that some of the readers of Man may be able to throw some
further light upon their peculiarities.
Of No. 1 Mr. Stewart says : — " The scraper-and-dagger combined is used by the
" Shire Highlanders. It is made by the Ngoni, living to the west of Lake Nyassa,
" who do not think of putting a handkerchief to its legitimate use, when it will answer
" the purpose of a suit of clothes. The carrier, when toiling along under a heavy
" burden, with the sweat streaming down his face, scrapes it away with his iron scraper,
" while the reverse end may be useful as a defence should he be attacked at close
" quarters."
t 136 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[Nos. 112 113.
NOB. 2 !uul :$ are a combined dagger and beer ladle ; the former lurks in the
handle of the latter, which is hollowed to form its sheath. Mr. Stewart Wright says : —
" Tin- combined knife and beer ladle is unique, as I have never seen a duplicate of it.
" I should imagine that (he maker had the idea that he would have a knife always at
" hand, in case of a drunken brawl. I got it in the Shire Highlands ; it was made by
•• a Iffanftanffa."
No. 4 appears to be a small fighting axe. The blade is of iron, and of a curious
recurved form. The mode of haftiug is peculiarly simple ; the blade being simply thrust
through a hole in the haft, and secured by a wrapping of bark-cloth. The handle is
carved into a conventional representation of the head of a gazelle, or other horned
animal. There are no details as to the place or mode of manufacture.
No. 5 is a short iron spear with a flowing tuft of hair at the butt-end. Mr. Stewart
Wright says of it : — '* The spear is made, fused, by the Ngoni. It is a stabbing spear,
" and used in finishing off the wounded after a battle."
113
India. Ethnographic Survey.
Ethnographic Survey of India in connection with the Census of 1901.
Extract (Nos. 3219-3232) from the Proceedings of the Government of India
in the Home Department (Public), under date Simla, the 23rd May, 1901 ; together with
a letter from Sir Michael Foster, K.C.B., F.R.S., President of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science.
In August 1882, when the statistics of the census of 1881 were still in proee-- i.f
compilation, the Census Commissioner suggested that steps should he taken to collect full
information regarding castes and occupations throughout British India. The proposal
was commended to local governments and administrations, and the Bengal Government
undertook an ethnographic survey of the customs of all important tribes and castes in
I.engal, and an anthropometric inquiry, according to the methods prescribed by the
French anthropologists Broca and Topinard, into the distinctive physical characteristics of
selected tribes and castes in Bengal, the North-Western Provinces, Oudh, and the Punjab.
The results of these inquiries were recorded in the four volumes of the Tribes and Castes
of Bengal.
[ 137 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 113.
In December 1899, when the preliminary arrangements for the census of 1901 were
under consideration, the British Association for the Advancement of Science recommended
to the Secretary of State, in the letter appended,* that certain ethnographic investigations
should be undertaken in connection with the census operations. Their proposals may be
summarized as comprising : —
(i.) ETHNOGRAPHY, or the systematic description of the history, structure, traditions
and religious and social usages of the various races, tribes and castes in
India ;
(ii.) ANTHROPOMETRY, or measurements directed to determining the physical types
characteristic of particular groups ; and
(iii.) PHOTOGRAPHS of typical individuals and, if possible, of archaic industries.
The scientific importance of the investigations recommended by the British
Association is admitted in Sir Arthur Godley's letter, dated the 16th January 1900, to
the address of the Association, and the Government of India are in entire agreement
with this view. It has come to be recognised of late years that India is a vast store-
house of social and physical data which only need to be recorded in order to contribute
to the solution of the problems which are being approached in Europe with the aid of
material much of which is inferior in quality to the facts readily accessible in India, and
rests upon less trustworthy evidence. Mention may be made of Sir Alfred Lyall's
Asiatic Studies, of Professor Haddon's Study of Man, of M. Emile Senart's Les Castes
dans rinde, and of Dr. W. Z. Ripley's recent work on The Races of Europe, as showing
the extensive use that has been made by ethnologists of data collected in India. It is
true that various social movements, aided by the extension of railways, are beginning,
as Sir Alfred Lyall and others have pointed out, to modify primitive beliefs and usages
in India, but that is all the more reason for attempting to record them before they are
entirely destroyed or transformed.
It is unnecessary to dwell at length upon the obvious advantages to many branches
of the administration in this country of an accurate and well-arranged record of the
customs and the domestic and social relations of the various castes and tribes. The
entire framework of native life in India is made up of groups of this kind, and the status
and conduct of individuals are largely determined by the rules of the group to which
they belong. For the purposes of legislation, of judicial procedure, of famine relief, of
sanitation and dealings with epidemic disease, and of almost every form of executive
action, an ethnographic survey of India, and a record of the customs of the people is as
necessary an incident of good administration as a cadastral survey of the land and a
record of the rights of its tenants. The census provides the necessary statistics ; it
remains to bring out and interpret the facts which lie behind the statistics.
Experience has shown that in ethnology, as in archaeology, nothing can be done on
a large scale in India without the active assistance of Government. That assistance,
however, can only be given under certain conditions, the chief of which seem to the
Government of India to be the following : —
(i.) The scheme must not cost much ;
(ii.) It must produce definite results within a reasonable time ; and
(iii.) It must not impose much extra work on the district officers — Collectors or
Deputy Commissioners.
* Britixh Auo elation for flic Advancement nf Science, Hwlington House, Lmidini II"..
December 1899.
MY LORD — At the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of ScifMice at Dover,
attention was called to the special opportunity offered by the census about to be taken in India for
collecting valuable ethnographical data concerning the races of the country ; and the Council of the
Association having taken the . • matter into consideration, and being impressed by its
I I** J
1901.] MAN. [No. 113.
The scheme which has l>een prepared under the orders of the Governor-General in
Council, and which luis now received the sanction of the Secretary of State, is tin;
following : —
I. Local governments will select from among their officers some one who will
undertake to carry on the inquiries proposed, in addition to his ordinary
duties. He \vill he called Superintendent of Ethnography and will get an
allowance of Ks. 200 a month. He will also have the services of a clerk.
II. The Superintendent will correspond with district officers, but their obligations
will, as a rule, be limited to ascertaining what persons in their districts are
acquainted with the customs, traditions, &c., of particular tribes and castes,
and to putting those persons into communication with the Superintendent,
who will thereafter correspond direct with them and will trouble the Collector
or Deputy Commissioner no further.
III. Having thus secured his local correspondents, the Superintendent will furnish
them with a set of questions which will be prescribed for general use, stating
the points on which he requires information. A specimen set, which has
been extensively used in Bengal and elsewhere, is appended to this
resolution.
importance, have requested me, on their l>ehalf. to bring to the notice of Her Majesty's Government
tlic valuable scientific results which might be obtained by means of the census.
The results of the census itself constitute, of course, by their very nature, an ethnographical
document of great value ; and my Council feel that, without overburdening the officers of the census or
incurring any very large expense, that value might be increased to a very remarkable degree, if to the
enumeration were added the collection of some easily ascertained ethnographical data. They arc
encouraged to make this suggestion by the reflection that the Census Commissioner is an accomplished
ethnographist. well known by his publication on the Tribes aiul Canten of Bengal, the valuable
results of which would be supplemented by the inquiries now proposed. They feel confident that with
his aid, and under his direction, most important data may be obtained at a minimum of effort and cost.
I may add that, should the suggestion which my Council desire to make be carried out, a great step will
have been taken towards establishing a uniform method of ethnographical observation in India— a
matter of great scientific importance.
Stated briefly, what my Council desire to see carried out is as follows : —
1. While collecting the ordinary information for the census, to investigate the physical and
sociological characters of the various races and tribes of India. Such data would furnish the basis for
a true estimation of the number and distribution of the tribes in question, and thus powerfully
contribute to a sound classification of the races of India. Special attention to be directed —
(«) to the jungle races— Bhils, Gonds, and other tribes of the central mountain districts —
concerning which our information is at present very limited ;
(V) to the Nagi, Kuki. and other cognate races of the Assam and Burmese frontiers, and of the
vagrant and criminal tribes — Haburas, Beriyas, Sansias. &c. in North and Central India ;
O) to collect physical measurements, particularly of the Dravidian tribes, and of the Rajputs and
Jats of Rajputana and the Eastern Panjab. Such data will be of the greatest strvice in
throwing light on the important and difficult problem of the origin of these tribes and their
relation with the Vu-echi and other Scythian races ;
(//) to pay special attention to the question of a possible Negrito element in certain ethnic groups
in India.
2. To obtain so far as can be done, without too great labour and expense, a series of photographs
of typical individuals of the various races, and if it should be practicable, of views of archaic industries,
&c. This, which might be accomplished by placing photographers at the service of the Census Officers,
would l>e the commencement of an Ethnological Survey of India, similar to. and certainly no less
important than the Arch«3ological Survey, of which the Government of India may so justly be proud.
My Council in considering the above proposal have been assisted by a committee of gentlemen
possessing special knowledge of the subject in question, and I am to add that this committee will be
pleased to place themselves at the disposal of Her Majesty's Government to assist in the proposed
investigation. If it should seem desirable to Her Majesty's Government, the Committee are prepared
to put themselves into direct communication with the officers of the census, who. however, the Council
have reason to believe, are fully capable j)f carrying out the details of the investigations proposed. —
I have, &c., M. FOSTEB. The Sei-relur;/ of State for Ltdin
1901.] MAN. [No. 113.
IV. The Government of India has further decided to place a sum of Rs. 2,000 a
year at the disposal of the local government to be spent on honoraria to
persons who draw up for the Superintendent approved monographs on
particular castes, tribes or sects of which they happen to have special
knowledge.
V. The information thus obtained will be collated by the Superintendent, and will
be supplemented by his own inquiries from such representative men as he
can find and by researches into the considerable mass of information which
lies buried in official reports, in the journals of learned societies, and in
various books. Settlement reports, as Sir Henry Maine pointed out long
ago, are a mine of great value which no one but an Indian official can
explore. The Superintendent will work up all this material into a
systematic account of the tribes and castes of the province somewhat in
the form adopted in The Tribes and Castes of Bengal and followed by
Mr. Crooke for the North-Westeru Provinces and Oudh.
VI. By working on these lines the Government of India believe it will be
possible to get a fairly complete account of the ethnography of the larger
provinces drawn up within four or five years. The cost for each Province
will be : —
Rs.
Superintendent's allowance at Rs. 200 - 2,400
Clerk's pay at Rs. 50 (maximum) - 600
Honoraria, &c. ----- 2,000
Total - 5,000 a year
and for eight provinces* the cost would be Rs. 40,000 a year. If the work takes five
years, it will cost Rs. 2,00,000 ; but there are grounds for believing that it will not
take so long. In Burma, for example, tho population is comparatively homogeneous,
and the number of different races and castes calling for separate inquiry is much smaller
than in an Indian province. In the North-Western Provinces a considerable body
of material is already on record in Mr. Crooke's Tribes and Castes^ and although that
work is understood to stand in need of condensation in some parts and of revision and
expansion in others, this will hardly take as long as four years. In Bengal, again, the
inquiries necessary for the production of a second edition of Mr. Risley's work could
probably be completed in a year. On the whole, therefore, Rs. 1,50,000 may be taken
as a fair estimate, excluding the cost of printing the results, which cannot be calculated
at present. This sum is, in the opinion of the Government of India, not too much to
pay for an ethnographic survey of British territory in India. His Majesty's Secretary
of State for India has accorded his sanction to expenditure not exceeding this amount.
It has often been observed that anthropometry yields peculiarly good results in
India by reason of the caste system which prevails among Hindus, and of the
divisions, often closely resembling castes, which are recognised by Muhammadans.
Marriage takes place only within a limited circle ; the disturbing element of crossing
is to a great extent excluded ; and the differences of physical type, which measurement
is intended to establish, are more marked and more persistent than anywhere else in
the world. Stress was laid upon these points by Professor Topiuard in reviewing at
length the results of the measurements taken in Bengal, the North- Western Provinces,
and the Punjab, and by the late Sir William Flower in his presidential address to the
British Association in 1894. The Government of India propose to collect the physical
* Madras, Bombay, Bengal, North-West Provinces and Oudh. Punjab, Burma, Central Provinces.
and Assam.
[ 140 J
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 113-114.
iiieii-ureinents of selected castes and tribes. In Madras the work can be done l>\
Mr. E. Thurston, the Superintendent of the Central Museum, whose ethnographic
researches in the south of India are well known, and who, it is understood, is likely
to In- selected by the Provincial Government as Superintendent of Ethnography for
the Madras Presidency. For the rest of India it will probably be convenient to employ
a Civil Hospital Assistant who worked under Mr. Risley in Bengal and is stated to
have a competent knowledge of the subject. This part of the scheme will cost in all
about Rs. 6,000, which will be placed at the disposal of Mr. Risley.
The proposal of the Association to place photographers at the disposal of the Census
Officers is one which could not he carried out in practice. It would be very expensive ;
it would interfere seriously with the proper duties of the Superintendents, and it would
delay the submission of their reports. Moreover a large collection of photographs
already exists at the India Office Library. The Government of India are further
advised that, in comparison with measurements, photographs possess but little scientific
value and they are not disposed to spend a large sum on making the volumes on
ethnography more popular and attractive. This, however, will not preclude local
governments from introducing illustrations into the volumes produced under their
orders provided tfyat they can make arrangements to meet the cost otherwise than from
Imperial Revenues.
The general direction of the scheme will be entrusted to Mr. Risley, who is
willing to undertake it in addition to his own duties, whatever they may be. It will
be his business to prescribe a standard set of questions for use in all provinces ; to
determine what castes and tribes should be measured and in what way ; to settle,
in consultation with local governments, the form in which the results should be
recorded ; and generally to advise on all questions that may arise. His official title
will be for this purpose Director of Ethnography for India. The Governor-General in
Council trusts that on this as on former occasions ethnologists and scientific societies in
Europe and America will assist the Director with their advice, will refer to him points
which they may wish to be made the subject of inquiry in India, and will, if possible,
supply him with copies of publications bearing on the researches now about to be
undertaken.
G. de Mortillet. Giraux.
The Proposed Monument to Gabriel dc Mortillet. ^ ^ .
The President of the Anthropological Institute has received this communi- I I t
cation, in regard to the memorial which it is proposed to erect to the memory of ouu of
the most distinguished of French prehistoric archaeologists.
" Sur 1'iuitiative de la Societe d'Excursions Scientifiqucs, un Comite vieut de se
former pour elever uu monument a Gabriel de Mortillet, Til lustre palethnologue, createur
de la classification industrielle des temps prehistoriques
" Compost par un artiste de talent et desiuteresse, disciple et admirateur du maitre,
ce monument, dont le modele a etc offert a la Societe d'Excursions Scieutifiques, qui 1'a
accepte avec une profonde recounaisauce, sera en tout point digue de celui qu'il doit
glorifier.
" C'est done pour rendre un public hommage a la memoire du savant dont le nom
est nniversellement counu et estim6, tout en dotant Paris d'une veritable oauvre d'art,
que le Comite, pris dans le sein de la Societe d'Excursions Scientifiques, fait appel a
votre obligeant concurs.
"II espere que vous voudrez bien participer a 1'oeuvre de justice et de reconnais-
sance qu'il entrepreud. Les sonscriptious sont recues, des a present, par M. Louis
Giraux, Tresorier du ComitS, 22, rue Saint-Blaise, a Paris (xxe)."
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 114-115.
Jn a further coininiiiiicatiou M. Giraux adds: "Nous venous sollicker tout
" particulierement le coucours a cette ceuvre de 1' Anthropological Institute of Great
" Britain and Ireland, dont Gabriel de Mortillet etsiit incmbre d'honneur depuis 18-<2,
" persuades qu'il tiendra a participer a 1'hoinmage que nous voulons rendre au savant
" que vous avez compte parmi les membres les plus eminent s de votre Societe."
We have uo doubt that when the list of subscriptions is closed, it will be found
that the British admirers of the work of Gabriel de Mortillet have not been behindhand
in their tribute to his memorv.
115
REVIEWS.
Brunswick : Folklore. Andree.
Braunschweiyer Volkskundc. By R. Audree. Brunswick : Vieweg uud Sohn
1901. Second edition. 8vo, pp. xviii, 531. With 12 plates and 174 blocks
in the text. Price 7*.
Germauy is probably the country where good folklorists go wheu they die. Dr.
Andree has had the satisfaction of seeing the first edition of his Volkskunde vwe have
uo English word for it) sell out in the comparatively short period of five years. As a
result of his request for assistance, and, still more, thanks to his own indefatigable
industry, he has been able to enlarge the volume by one-third.
Among the additions is a short note of only two pages to the '' Vergodeudel "
question. It is the custom in various parts of Germany to leave the last bunch of ears
on the harvest field, and to bring them to the village at a later period with more or less
ceremony. This has been interpreted by Schwartz and others as a survival of the
cult of Wodan, the words being regarded as equivalent to " Teil fur den Herrn Wodan."
A good deal of doubt has been thrown on this view by Knoop and others, who regard
the names as equivalent to L. G. " f tir guten Teil."' Dr. Andree seems to accept the
theory of Schwartz. lu Brunswick the name is often applied to the harvest supper, but
in one instance Dr. Andree found that the last swath was not completely cut ; a small
portion was left, and this was " vergoudendel. If this was really an offering to Wodan —
and there is certainly a good deal to be said for this view — we can hardly avoid inter-
preting the German reapers' cry of " Wauw " or " Waul " as an appeal to Wodan. The
reapers of Cheshire uttered the same cry at the end of the harvest, ,and they must have
appealed to Wodan also with their cry of " Wow." We cau hardly refuse to put the same
interpretation on the Greek reapers' cry of o«&o? (AthenanM, 14, 3, p. 618 ap. Casaubon).
It has sometimes been supposed that the cult of Wodan was unknown or unimportant
in South Germany. But if the above reasoning is correct, it is clear that we shall have
to assume that he was known to the ancient Greeks. Dr. Brintou has shown that the
cry of " Ya " is common to the religious ceremonies of very widely separated nations.
Perhaps it would not be rash to explain the facts above-mentioned on similar lines
without supposing them to refer to any particular deity : the similarity of sound
would readily lead to this bein^ referred to Wodau, and might even cause Wodau's
association with agricultural ceremonies.
Within the limits of a short review it is impossible to do justice to the varied
contents of this most interesting book and to deal with the many points of interest. Not
the least interesting feature of the book are the many parallels to English customs and
beliefs (many of them noted by Dr. Andree himself) which will suggest themselves to
the reader. The chapters deal with the geography and history of the Duchy, the
physical type of the inhabitants, the language (two Low-German dialects), the names
of localities, &c., density of population, the villages and houses, the peasants, their
dress, implements, customs and superstitious, popular games and rimes, and,
finally, with the traces of the weiids. The whole of the subjects are treated with a
[ 142 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 115-117.
remarkable conciseness, and many will regret that Dr. Andree has uot allowed him>elf
more licence in the way of an occasional r.rcnrsus. In spite of the si/e of tlie book it
ni;iv sal'elv \><' said that there is slill miujh to l>e collected in the Duchy, and the same
applies still more to other districts. May they soon rind an historian as devoted and
reliable as Dr. Andree.
In the paragraph on " Blind Man's Buff," which is of the shortest, an interesting
fact seems to have been omitted : from the Braunschiveigischcs Mayazin, V. 102, it
appears that " Blinneklaus " is a dialectical variant for " Blinde Kuh," an interesting
parallel to the French name of the game. N. VV. T.
Congo : Ethnography. Schmeltz.
Album of the Ethnography of the Congo Basin. By Dr. E. Schmeltz. -\-\f\
Klcinmann, Haarlem, 1901. Publication of the Royal Ethnographical Museum, I 10
Ley den.
Every student of African ethnography and all museum keepers will be grateful
to Dr. Schmelt/ for this excellent work, of which the first half has already appeared.
The drawings are good and clear and the polyglot descriptions are in the main well
done, although it would have been better if the English portions had been submitted
to some English friend. In some respects the plan has not been carried out in a
practical manner. At the head of every plate is an inscription recording a fact that
might well have come at the beginning of the book, viz. : That it is a publication
of the Royal Muscam ; and in many instances this line of print comes so near the edge
of the plate that it will be impossible to cut the upper edge of the book if bound. A
similar mistake, perhaps more troublesome, is that if the description of the objects are
too voluminous to find a place on the outer edge of the page they are continued on the
inner edge, leaving only a margin of barely a quarter of an inch (7 mm.), obviously too
little to allow the binding except by mounting every plate upon a guard — an expensive
process. I think it only fair to mention these obvious defects because the book is evidently
a copy of the Edge-Parti ugton and Heape's Album of the Pacific Islands, and in that
useful work all these mistakes have been avoided. C. H. READ.
New Guinea. Meyer & Parkinson.
Papua- Album II. By A. B. Meyer and R. Parkinson. Dresden, Stengel &
Co., 1900. Pp. 15, with 53 plates. Price 50s.
This album is a sequel to a similar one published in 1897, which is unfortunately
now out of print, and owing to the loss of the negatives cannot be reproduced. There
are 53 plates, all of which are of extremely high merit, both from an artistic as well
a* from an ethnological point of view, and to a student they are quite indispensable. The
authors' names alone are, indeed, a guarantee of the accuracy and excellence of the work.
Native life is shown from nearly every side : village life, religions, dwellings, wearing
appurei and native ornaments, canoes, weapons, anil such industries as the manufacture
of pottery and shell armlets. The plates are full of life and vigour, No. 52 being as
perfect as it could well be. In addition to that part of the world covered by Part I.
(Iiew Guinea and the New Britain Archipelago), a few plates are devoted to Matty
Island ; the inhabitants ot wnicn are not Papuan, but Microuesians, as Dr. Meyer
explains in his introduction. The titles to the plates and the descriptive letterpress is in
German and Knglish. The translation has been revised by Mr. E. F. L. Gauss of
Chicago, an almost unnecessary precaution considering Dr. Meyer's scholarly knowledge
of the English language. It is, however, a good precedent that could be followed with
success by other authors who attempt an English translation of their works.
J. EDGE-PART1NGTOX.
[ 143 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 118-120.
North America : Folklore. Fletcher.
Indian Story and Sony from North America. By Alice C. Fletcher. Boston.
Small, Maynard & Co., 1900. Fcp. 8vo, pp. xiv, 126.
The attention of students of savage music should be directed to this little book, in
which Miss Fletcher has collected the specimens of music of the North American tribes
previously published by her, and added others not hitherto printed. Several of them
have been taken down by means of the graphophone, some of them transcribed by the
late Professor Fillmore, and most of them (though sung in unison by the Indians)
harmonized by him. They are given in their proper setting of story or description, and
Miss Fletcher has added remarks on the place of music in Indian life, derived from her
long acquaintance with»the native tribes, especially the Omahas, and on the relation of
story to song, which may be commended to the careful consideration of anthropologists.
E. S. HARTLAND.
Pacific : Nomenclature. von Luschan.
Vorschlage zur Geographischen Nomenklatur der Siidsee. By Professor F. * + f\
von Luschan. 1899. (Extract from the Proceedings of the Seventh International
Geographical Congress in Berlin.)
The subject of this address has already been noticed by the Anthropological Insti-
tute, and the resolution passed by the Council, on February llth, 1899, shows the interest
aroused by Professor von Luschan's scheme for checking abuses of geographical nomen-
clature. The author quotes in full the remarks made by Mr. C. H. Read, then President,
in anticipation of the Berlin meeting, and the resolution by which they were followed
(see Journ. Anthr. Inst., XXIX., p. 330 ff.). It is satisfactory to have to record that
Professor von Luschan's proposals were finally passed by the Congress in the form of a
resolution with four clauses, of which the gist is as follows : —
1. Native names shall be retained wherever possible, and the greatest care shall be
taken to establish their accuracy.
2. Wherever native names do not exist or cannot be established with certainty, the
names given by first discoverers shall be adopted.
3. Arbitrary alteration of long-established or historic names is a source of confusion
both to science and commerce, and should be resisted by all available means.
0. M. DALTON.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceeding's. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris.
Sommaire des Proc&s-verbaux de la Stance da Ittjuillet 1901. Hrtrt
M. Ad. de Mortiilet : Sur une pointe de fleche de Saone-et-Loire. Dis- \L.\J
cussion : M. Atgier.
M. Thieulleu presente des travaux sur les fouilles prehistoriques de 1'Ukraiue par
le Comte Alexis Bobrinskoi.
M. Volkov : Antiquites de la region du Dniepre, par M. Khanenko. Discussion i:
MM. A. de Mortiilet, Tate, Zaborowski, Deniker.
M. Manouvrier : Les ossements du dolmen de Presles. Discussion : MM. Deniker,
Fouju.
M. Papillault : L'homme moyen a Paris, variations stiivant le sexe et suivant la
taille.
M. Lucien Mayet : Nouvelles recherches sur la repartition du goitre et du
cretinisme.
M. Ad. de Mortiilet : Rapport sur 1'Exposition de M. le baron de Baye.
MM. les Docteurs Roux et Thomas sont elus membres titulaires.
Printed by EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.G.
MAN, 1901. PLATE K.
PAPUAN BOW-AND-ARROW FLEAM IN USE.
From a Photograph.
PAPUAN BOW-AND-ARROW FLEAM.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 121
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
New Guinea. With Plate K. Haddon.
A Papuan Row-and- Arrow Fleam. By A. C. Haddon, ScD., F.R.S., -1O1
President of the Anthropological Institute. •*• I
Like most primitive peoples, the Papuans resort to blood-letting and counter-
irritation to alleviate most of their aches and pains. During the recent Cambridge
Expedition to British New Guinea we came across several examples of this practice. One
of the most interesting of these was the one which is here illustrated. A small bow is
made, usually of throe midribs of coconut palm leaflets ; these are tied together at their
ends, and there is a third lashing near the centre of the bow : the bow string is a delicate
vegetable fibre some 30-48 cm. in length. The arrow is also a midrib of a palm
leaflet (about 27-34 cm. in length) ; this is passed between the elements of the composite
bow, and the butt end is fastened to the string, while the free end is armed with a thorn or
a splinter of glass. -The surgical operation consists in repeatedly shooting the arrow at
the affected part. The arrow is held between the thumb and index finger of the right
hand and the remaining fingers draw back the string of the bow. This is the "secondary
release " of Morse, which I have previously shown (Journ. A nth. Inst., xix, 1890, p. 330)
is the Papuan method. The arrow passes between the index and middle finger of the
left hand as in ordinary Papuan archery.
This method of drawing blood was mentioned by the late Rev. James Chalmers, in
his Pioneering in New Guinea (1887, p. 178), in the following words: — " Motu-
" mull/. — Bleed with flint got at Port Moresby on a small arrow with bow made from
" rib of coconut leaf." We obtained a specimen in the Mekeo district with a thorn
point and several with glass points at Bulaa in, the Hood Peninsula, Rigo district. The
operation was photographed for me by the late Anthony Wilkin at the latter village.
In his Annual Report on British New Guinea (July 1896-June 1897 ; C. A. 6-1898,
p. 6) Sir William Macgregor gives an illustration from a photograph of the use of this
fleam, but as this publication is not very accessible I do not hesitate to publish another
figure. There is a specimen of a bow-and-arrow fleam from South New Guinea in the
Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford. It was collected by Sir W. Macgregor and presented by
Dr. John Thomson in 1897. A. C. HADDON.
Asia Minor: Religion. Crowfoot.
A Yezidi Rite. By J. W. Crowfoot, M.A. "100
Travelling last June (1900) on a " Messageries Maritimes " boat between l££
Marseilles and Constantinople I met an Armenian who told me various things about the
Yezidi. Many of these seem trivial enough, as, for instance, that they are fond of eating
white mice, or that they collect the blood of slain animals and let it congeal and then fry
it as a special delicacy. Others were accurate descriptions of the costume worn by their
priests, and the tabus on various colours, &c., which are mentioned by all travellers.
But one rite he described to me is entirely new and if true, as I believe, deserves
publication. As a boy my informant lived in Armenia near Sert, where the Yezidi are
very numerous, and once, when about ten years old, he happened to be present at one of
•their festivals in a village named Takhari, between Sert and Redvan. He was playing
about at the time in the courtyard of a Yezidi's house, and, as he was a mere child, was
either unnoticed or considered unworthy of attention, so he was able to see all that wenr,
on, and its strangeness impressed itself on his memory. This is what occurred : I use
practically his own words. The head of the vill-ige came in with saddlebags hanging
over his shoulders. From the bag in front, which was over his chest, he took the bronze
of the Mi'lc-k Tuns which \v:is wrapped carefully in linen. It was put on a mat
[ 145 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 122.
and the wrappings removed. The figure was shaped like a bird with a hole in the
middle of the back covered by a lid, and a base like the stand of a candlestick. The
bird was then filled with holy water through the hole, and while this was going on all
sang songs in Kurdish. (My informant knew Kurdish as well as Arabic and Armenian,
and was positive on this point.) Next, the priest approached it, kissed the basis first
and then the other parts until he came to the beak. This was pierced, and the priest
put his lips to it and sipped a drop of the water, and all those who were present, except,
of course, the Armenian, "received the sacrament " in the same way, for so we must
describe it.
Can we accept this account as true ?
First, as to the character of this Armenian. He is well known to several English
and American travellers and others, and those to whom I have applied say that they
regard him as trustworthy on the whole. The story seems to be inherently probable
and consistent, and he had no motive whatever for inventing it. If he had studied
comparative mythology and had read accounts of a ceremonial " eating of the God " he
might have made it up, but he was not a student of this subject or of any other, but
simply a shrewd dragoman and commercial traveller. The recital of the circumstances
which enabled him to see it inspires me with much more confidence than the claims of
Layard and other travellers to have endeared themselves so deeply to the Yezidi that the
latter made them free of all their mysteries.
Secondly, it is very easy to reconcile this with what we know of the Yezidi from
other sources. Dr. Mark Lidzbarski has published an important document upon them
in the shape of a petition dated 1872-73, giving various reasons why the Yezidi should
not serve in the Turkish Army (Ein Expose der Yesiden, Zeitschrift der Morgenldn-
dischen Gesellschaft, 1897, p. 592 foil.}. The first runs thus " Every member of our
" sect, great and small, woman and maid, must three times in the year .... visit the
" figure of the Melek Taus." For this purpose several of these bronze figures, said to
number five now, are sent round to the various districts where Yezidi abound, and Sert
is mentioned as one of the regular districts on these circuits (Siouffi, Revue Asiatique,
ser. vii., torn. 20, p. 268, 1882). Now, according to M. Menaut (Les Yezidiz, Leroux,
Paris, 1892, p. 95 foil.), the Melek Taus thus circulated is simply a badge with no
ritual or religious significance attached to it, but serving as sole credentials to the
messengers employed by the heads of the sect to levy contributions from the faithful.
But there is no evidence to support this view except the word Sanjak (standard)
sometimes applied to the figure ; it absolutely .fails to account for the reverence
paid to this object, or for the choice of this object in particular. A badge of
this type should be something which is secret, especially when it has the power of
opening the purses of its beholders ; the mere sentiment of the " Flag " may appeal to a
patriotic Frenchman, but hardly in the same degree to an Oriental heretic. The
position which the Melek Taus occupies in Dr. Lidzbarski's petition shows, I think,
that some real boon, equivalent to the blessing derived from a sacrament, is obtained from
it, and no doubt duly paid for. And the Armenian's story is further confirmed by a
detail reported in Badger's account (The Nestorians and their Ritual, London, 1852)
to which I have not referred before because its authority has been called in question :
" Close by the stand [of the Taus]," writes Mrs. Badger, " was a copper jug, filled with
" water, which we understood was dealt out to be drunk as a charm by the sick and
" afflicted" (p. 124). The Yezidi refused to let the Badgers see their worship, and this
explanation of the water was only given to throw them off the scent ; the ritual described
above suggests another use.
The conclusion, then, will be that the Taus is not merely a banner, but is, as the
older writers said, itself an object of worship. The word, furthermore, no doubt, conceals
the name of some old god, and we may follow Dr. Lidzbarski in making an equation
[ 146 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 122-123.
which occurred independently to the present writer. In the Harranian Calendar, pub-
lished by Chwolsohn, occurs the name Tauz, which Chwolsohn himself identified with
Tammuz, and Professor Sayce has more recently connected with Theias or Thoas, who
is in various places the Lomnian husband of Myrina, the king of T auric Khersonese, the
king of Assyria, the father of Adonis aud Myrrha or Smyrna (Hibbert Lectures, 1887,
p. 235). It is true that the Arabic letters which form the three names Taus, Tauz,
Tammuz, differ more than the ordinary English transliterations suggest (vj-j^», jfi, jj*>)>
but this is not really a formidable objection to their identity. Tammuz becomes Tauz
by an omission of w, which is not uncommon in Kurdish names (gee Lidzbarski)
and which was well established, if Professor Sayce is right, in the classical period.
Then Tauz is identified with Taus (peacock) by a piece of vulgar etymology. The
survival of the name of so important a god as Tammuz is intrinsically likely enough,
and it is probable that more than the name has survived ; the red anemones which,
according to the Badgers, played a great part in the April celebrations, deserve more
notice than they have had. And, again, the peacock element may have some more
material foundation than the mere verbal assonance ; as Sir George Birdwood writes
(Athetiteum, 30th September 1899), "the Melek Taus may indeed be an actual relic of
Babylonian or Assyrian art."
More interesting to anthropologists than these speculations about origins will be,
perhaps, the recurrence of the same figure among the Tachtadji in Lykia, a phenomenon
to which writers on the Yezidi do not refer. Among the Tachtadji, however, the
Melek Taus, so far, at least, as the reports of Von Luschan and Bent carry us, has no
bronze embodiment ; the natural peacock with them is regarded as the incarnation of
evil. The Tachtadji speak Turkish only, the Yezidi Kurdish and a little Arabic.
They live very far apart. To what, then, are we to attribute this common element ?
Two possibilities seem to be open to us. It might conceivably be an independent
survival in each case of the Tammuz-Thoas worship which once extended over the
whole area. Or there may in more recent times have been some connection between
the two peoples, which has now been lost or else has completely eluded the observation
of travellers.
Two religious developments seem to be universal over the whole Islamic area,
the worship of Saints (Welis, Dedes, Marabouts), and the existence of Orders or
Fraternities ; both are common to .the heretics as well as the true believers, but the
former try, ineffectually indeed, to shelter themselves under the prestige of an orthodox
Saint, in the case of the Yezidi, for example, Sheikh Adi (see Siouffi, Journal Asiatique,
1885, p. 78). I have shown how closely parallel this is with the pre-Christian worship
of heroes (J. A. /., 1900), and need not say more about it here. The religious Orders
belong to another phase. The worship of heroes is something essentially local, and
belongs to the family ; the Fraternity is something which is in itself open to all, and
knows no limits of race or place One of the great Muslim Orders will include Negroes
Arabs, Berbers, Turks, and Persians ; difference of language is no bar. In the Pagan
world they correspond to the thiasoi or brotherhoods of Orphic or Pythagorean initiates.
It is, perhaps, on the lines of one of these Fraternities that subsequent research will
prove that the common elements of Yezidi aud Tachtadji may be explained.
J. W. CROWFOOT.
Egypt. Petrie.
Egyptian Cutting-out Tools. By W. M. Flinders Petrie, Edwards' Professor -lor)
of Egyptology at University College. \LO
The use of special tools for cutting out textile fabrics has not yet been recognised
in Egypt, nor perhaps elsewhere. When we notice the very elaborately made clothing
of the Eighteenth Dynasty and later, and when we handle the exquisitely fine linen,
[ 147 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 123.
it is obvious that there must have been some efficient means of cutting out such
materials. So far as we know shears or scissors are of Italic origin, and were quite
unknown in the East until Roman times ; therefore some form of knife must have been
used as we now use scissors.
A peculiar class of knife, marked here 9 to 13, has long been known in museums ;
it is common, and appears to have been a personal tool and not a trade tool, as it is
i
[. . 1st Dynasty . .] [ 12th Dynasty ] [. . 13th-14th . .] [ 18th-19th Dynasties ]
EGYPTIAN CUTTING-OUT TOOLS. SCALE, 1 : 4.
found singly in graves along with the tweezers, the mirror, and other personal objects.
The cutting edges are at A -A (called here the main edge) and B-B (called here the
butt edge) ; the remainder of the outline is smooth and rounded, suitable for holding in
the hand.
As to the use of it we may set aside leather cutting, as the tool for that is often
shown on the monuments, and was a short axe-like blade set in a rounded block of
wood ; the thinness of some of these knives, moreover, is quite unsuited for so tough a
material as leather. The form is, however, admirably adapted for cutting textiles ; the
slant of the main edge enables the hand to grasp the stem clear of the cutting board.
The narrow ends of the main edge, especially in 11 and 13, enable the user to see
clearly the position of the cut.
The butt edge is a further evidence of its use ; for in thus slicing textiles, tough
threads, or some not well cut, would drag, especially in narrow gores ; in such case a
rocking cut with the butt edge would be required to chop through them.
If we once recognise the use of these tools we may see other examples of the
cutting-out tool in earlier times.
No. 1 is a copper tool with a main edge on each side at the top ; while all the
rest of the length and the butt was smoothed for holding. This belonged to a domestic
of King Zer, of the First Dynasty, about 4700 B.C.
, No. 2 is a similar knife of copper ; bought in Egypt, locality unknown. Both
1 and 2 are clearly not for ordinary cutting, as of meat, but are suited for outline cutting
on a board.
No. 3 is the usual type of copper knife of the Twelfth Dynasty, here given to
show how the cutting-out knives 4 and 5 have been specialised by only forming the
[ 148 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 123-124.
nljrc where it <-MII cut on ;i board while held in the hand. Norn- of these have butt
edges, but were set iu woodeu handles.
Nos. 6 and 7. The butt edge, for chopping through threads, comes into use at this
point, :ind the main cutting edge is more curved and thrown back.
Nos. 8 and 9. The width of the blade seems to have been felt to be a disadvantage
in seeing the end of the cut ; so the main edge was brought forward and ended below
in a point or hook in advance of the handle. This type begins probably in the
Thirteenth or Fourteenth Dynasty.
Nos. 10, 11, and 12. The type is very common in the Eighteenth Dynasty. The
butt edge Avas widened more and more.
No. 13. Lastly, in the Nineteenth Dynasty the butt edge projects in two points
at the sides. After this date the form seems to have passed out of use. What cutting-
out tool was used between 1100 and 300 B.C. we do not yet know.
This whole class of outline cutters for use on a board should be worked out in
other countries for comparison. Perhaps some anthropologist will follow this new type
elsewhere. W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE.
Totemism. Haddon.
Totemism : Notes on Tico Letters published in the " Times " of September
3rd and 1th, 1901. By A. C. Haddon, ScD., F.R.S.
Under the titles of A Nrw Record of Totemism, describing what he believes to be
an important discovery of worked flints, and The Early Man and His Stones, the Hon.
Auberon Herbert has written letters to the Times of September 3rd and 7th respectively,
which are as sensational as they are long. It is well recognised that those who may be
termed outsiders often make fruitful suggestions or even important discoveries which
have been overlooked by the professional teachers or investigators of a particular branch
of science. Scientific men heartily recognise the labours of amateurs when they are
carried out in the true scientific spirit, and all our museums have been enriched by
collections amassed by enthusiasts from the mere "collector" to the erudite expert.
Mr. Herbert will doubtless have more than one opportunity of presenting his evidence
before anthropological or antiquarian experts, and he may rest assured that it will receive
due consideration. The lesson of the first discovery of stone implements has not been
forgotten.
Mr. Herbert claims that certain gravel beds in the valley of the Avon in South
Hampshire extending over a tract of country for some 20 miles in length and of consider-
able breadth and from three to seven feet in depth practically consist of " stones handled
" and worked by the earlier races ; and, one may add, representing the strongest and
" deepest feelings of their life . . . The grave) beds may be called, without
" exaggeration, a mass of worked stones . . . What are these stones ? Certain
" well-marked types are constantly repeated, and I do not think that one can resist the
" belief that the greater number of the stones are representations of the totems of the
" tribes. They seem to be a new volume of Totemism suddenly placed in our hands.
" Many of the stones may be holy stones, amulgts, or stones consecrated. Some may
" have been cut for purposes of decoration. There is also an interesting class of stones
" which, if I am right, were cup stones used as sacrifices. But I think all these other
" classes are subsidiary to the totem class — that is, to the stones which represent some
" animal or object which existed as the totem and had a sacred character. To make
" matters more clear I will presently return to the subject of the totem, for unless one
" understands something of the totem, one cannot understand the stones."
A description is then given of a number of forms which appear to the writer of the
letter to resemble suns, moons, pyramids, snakes, fish, seals, teeth, tusks, mountains,
peeks, mountain ranges, flames, animals, parts of the body, aud so forth. " There arQ
1901.] MAN. [No. 124.
" also a large number of stones which are, so to speak, only ear-marked. That is to
" say, the medicine man has placed his mark on them, has initialled them, made them
" magical or holy. It is only by rather close observation that you will detect these
" marks, but I think there can be little doubt about them . . . They seldom, if
" ever, treat their stones in vulgar fashion. They are careful and almost tender in
" dealing with whatever seems to them strange and mysterious. There is no childish
" hacking to see what the new thing is." We must do Mr. Herbert justice to state
that he says he puts forward his " interpretations with great reserve " ; but, on the other
hand, it is evident he is a strong believer in his assumptions, which certainly appear
incredible to scientific students.
It is most remarkable that Mr. Herbert does not once refer to his finding any
implements, all his specimens belong to a very different category. If his stones were
worked by man there would surely have been an immense number of tools and weapons
in the same deposits. It is well known that many uncritical collectors have been only
too ready to recognise natural forms in concretions and in adventitiously flaked flints, but
until those in question have been examined by competent authorities it would not be
fair to prejudice Mr. Herbert's proposition. There are. however, very strong grounds
for assuming that they are not artefacts. Mr. Herbert hopes other persons will examine
other gravel beds. There is no doubt that innumerable forms similar to those described
by him will be found in almost any gravel pit ; doubtless also many very similar
specimens could be found in situ in the majority of quarries of the upper chalk.
By a strange coincidence, in the current number of the Bulletins et Memoires de la
Societe d'Anthropo logic de Paris (Ve serie, Tome II., 1901, p. J66) there is a paper by
A. Thieullen, entitled " Deuxidme etude sur les pierres figures a retouches intentionnelles
a Vepoque du creusement des vallees quaternaires." M. Thieullen exhibited before the
Society a number of stones with rounded bosses which approximately represent a fish,
a human right foot, the head of a horse, camel, roe deer, duck, and other animals,
these are claimed to have been slightly improved, usually by the addition of eyes, by
the palaeolithic artists. He complains that when he exhibited his specimens and
delivered his arguments before the International Congress of Anthropology on Archaeology
at Paris in 1900 he was received with jests. The prehistoric archaeologists of Paris,
with few exceptions, deny human workmanship in the figures, whereas, according to
him, their confreres of the provinces labour to elucidate the problem. " Where, then,"
says he, " shall we appeal ? Must one await a future generation of prehistorians free at
length from prejudice ? " It does not follow that every collector of stones that have a
remarkable appearance is a Boucher de Perthes. The French enthusiast compares his
specimens with the fetishes of various savage peoples. Certainly it is true that primitive
folk do employ natural or slightly worked stones as fetishes or as charms for magical
purposes, but that proves nothing in the present instance.
Three questions are started by Mr. Herbert's letter : (1) the age of gravel beds ; this
can only be settled by geological evidence. (2) The natural or artificial production of
the forms of the stones ; which can only be proved by an examination of the stones and
a comparison with others that are known to be natural stones or known to be artefacts.
(3) Assuming for the moment the artificial character of any of them, what were they
fashioned for ? Mr. Herbert with marvellous temerity rushes to the conclusion that they
were " totems."
Totemism has too long been a " blessed word," and the time has arrived when
strong protest must be made against the misuse of the term. There are many animal
and plant cults in the world, totemism is one of them ; indeed, it is probable that what
is described as totemism among one people may be different from what is called totemism
elsewhere. Should this prove to be the case, the term should be restricted to practices
and beliefs which are undoubtedly similar to those of the Ojibway cult. It is entirely
r 150 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 124-126.
unwarrantable to speak of every animal cult an totem ism : the elucidation of primitive
beliefs is rendered more difficult — one might say it is made almost impossible — by such
looseness of terminology. It is not going too far to assert, whatever the stones may be,
they can never be proved to be totems or representations of totems. A. C. 1 1 AD DON.
England : Skull. Layard.
Notes on a Human Skull found in Peat in the Bed of the River Orwell,
Ipswich. By Miss Nina Layard (cf. MAN, 1901. 131).
This skull was obtained by the writer in January last from the captain of a
dredger employed on the River Orwell at Ipswich. It WHS found when deepening the
channel in May of last year. After working out the overlying mud, a bed of peat was
reached,' which was in such a dry condition that it choked the machinery. As nearly
as could be estimated the skull was found embedded in the peat at a depth of about
four feet. After being dredged up it was rescued by the captain, and for nine months
remained hoisted on a pole in the dredger, exposed to wind and weather. The skull
was very black when first found, but in course of time became bleached. Some oil
dropping upon it from the machinery above gave it its present brown appearance. One
side of the skull is much worn away by exposure to the air and moisture, while the other
side is almost perfect.
In February last the writer presented the skull to the Royal College of Surgeons,
and Dr. Stewart has kindly sent the following measurements : —
Circumference - 530 mm.
Length - - 188 mm.
Breadth - - 140 mm.
Height - - 133 mm.
Capacity - 1,570 c.c.
Basi-nasial length 101 mm.
Breadth index - 74 '5
Height index - 70*7
Orbital width - 37 mm.
„ height - 29 mm.
index - 78*4
Phys. Anthropology : Brain. Symington.
On the Temporary Fissures of the Human Cerebral Hemispheres, with Obser- -ino
rations on the Development of the Hippocampal Fissure and Hippocampal l£0
Formation. By Prof. J. Symington, M.D., Queen's College, Belfast (cf. MAN, 1901. 131).
This paper discussed the views recently published by Hochstetter, who maintains
that the so-called temporary or transitory fissures of the human cerebral hemispheres,
which have been described by so many anatomists as existing towards the end of the
third and during the fourth months of foetal life, are not present in the fresh brain, but
are the products of commencing maceration and purification. The author of the paper
admitted that the frequency of the occurrence and the depth of these fissures had been
exaggerated, but he showed a number of photographs of specimens, both macroscopic
and microscopic, in support of the views that they did occur in well-preserved material.
He admitted, however, that the arcuate fissure, even if not an artificial product, had no
morphological significance, and that its posterior part had nothing to do with the
hippocampal fissure. He also exhibited a series of sections of the brain of a human
foetus in which the hippocampal fissure and the hippocampal formation could be traced
from near the temporal pole of the hemisphere upwards and forwards towards the frontal
end of the brain, dorsal to the developing transverse commissures. Attention was
directed to the interest of these facts in connection with the position of the hippocampal
fissure and formation in the marsupialia and monotremata where they occupy a similar
position throughout life. These observations also support the opinion hitherto based
mainly on comparative anatomy, that the rudimentary grey and white matter existing on
the dorsal aspect of the adult human corpus callosum is the remains of a hippocampal
formation.
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 127.
127
Egypt. Myers.
The Bones of Hen Nekht, an Egyptian King of the Third Dynasty. By
Charles S. Myers (cf. MAN, 1901. 131).
From archaeological data, it appears that Hen Nekht ruled over Egypt in the Third
Dynasty, about 4000 B.C. His tomb, with its contents of bones and pottery, was
discovered last season near Girgeh, by Mr. John Garstang, to whom my thanks are due
for permission to publish these remarks before they are included in the official report,
which will appear later through the aid of the Egyptian Research Account.
The bones of Hen Nekht are interesting, not only because he is by far the earliest
known king whose remains have been found, but because they are the first which can
SIDE.
BACK.
FRONT.
TOP.
with any certainty be dated as belonging to the Third Dynasty. They proclaim him to
have been a man of unusual height. His stature probably exceeded 1870 millimetres,
while the average stature of later and prehistoric Egyptians was 1670 millimetres. The
proportions of his long bones to one another were such as characterise negroid skeletons,
a condition frequently observed in the prehistoric period, and commonly in the later
period of the early empire. The skull was very massive and capacious, and extraordi-
narily broad for an Egyptian, the cranial index coming almost within the bounds of
[ 152 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 127-128.
hrachyeephaly. Its features jigrecd more closely with those of dynastic than with
those of prehistoric skulls.
We turn now to history for the mention of an early Egyptian king of phenomenal
stature. To such a king both Manetho and Eratosthenes allude. According to the
former historian he was Sesochris, penultimate king of the Second (Thinite) Dynasty ;
according to the latter he was Momcheiri, first king of the Third (Memphite) Dynasty.
It is in the highest degree probable that these are two names of one and the same king.
The view I here offer seems to solve many difficulties.
Mr. Randall-Maclver's measurements make it probable that from the late prehistoric
times onward, a people distinguished by broader heads, longer noses, and other characters
gradually made their way and became absorbed into the long-headed population of This
and its neighbourhood. These broader-headed people formed the ruling class of the
earliest dynasties. According to history and tradition they founded Memphis, and
doubtless multiplied there. By the Third Dynasty, according to Manetho, they beganto
build houses of hewn stone, and probably they constructed the earliest Egyptian
pyramids. They developed at Memphis a remarkable school of sculpture, soon producing
the most life-like wooden statue of a man that has ever been made ; he, too, was broad-
headed. Up to the time of Hen Nekht, the broader-headed line of kings styled them-
selves Thinite, and continued to be buried near This, in conformity with the ancient
tradition of the people with whom they had come into contact. In the end, however,
Memphis outvied This, and kings who succeeded Hen Nekht began to forsake the
simple Thinite burials for the pyramids of Saqqarah, Gizeh, and Abousir. Thus Hen
Nekht may be considered in name and culture to be of the Third, or Memphite Dynasty ;
but, by his burial near This, came to be regarded as belonging to the previous Thinite
Dynasty.
The broader-headed race above mentioned is commonly thought to have arrived
first in the Nile Valley at Koptos (Quft) from Punt, a land sacred to the later Egyptians,
the situation of which it is conjectured was near Somaliland and the opposite coast,
There is, however, some geological evidence to show that the Red Sea extended in
historic times through the lakes near to Ismailia. Accordingly the people of Punt,
wandering northward from their home along the shores of the Red Sea, could conceivably
have made their way with ease to the Nile Valley nearer Memphis. It is, however, not
less probable that Asia rather than Punt was the home of this broader-headed race.
The earliest dynastic Egyptians used the Babylonian seals and the Babylonian cubit.
To Asia and Central Europe we are wont to lo.ok for the broader-headed people.
Moreover, according to the Greek legend,* Memphis was founded by the marriage of
Memphis, daughter of the Nile, with Epaphus, who born of the Grecian lo (Isis) was
carried off when a babe to Syria, and brought back by his mother to Egypt.
Scotland : Pig-mentation. Gray : Tocher.
The Frequency and Pigmentation Value of Surnames of School Children in
East Aberdeenshire. By J. F. Tocher, F.I.C., and J. Gray, B.Sc.
In the course of a pigmentation survey carried out by us in East Aberdeenshire in
1896 and 1897 we obtained the statistics of the surnames aud pigmentation of 14,561
(practically the whole) school children there. An analysis of the physical characteristics,
apart from the surnames, has already been published.! The present paper deals with
the distribution of the frequency of surnames aud their correlation with pigmentation.
We have found that among the 14,561 children there are 751 different surnames. The
frequency of these surnames varies between 1 and 267, Milne being the most frequent,
the next in order being Smith, Taylor, Stephen, and Bruce. If the surnames are
* Cf. Eidgcway, Early Ayr of Greece^ I. 217. t Jo urn. Antlir. ///.*/., Vol. XXX., pp. 104-125
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 128-129.
arranged in order of frequency a curve representing the frequency takes the form roughly
of a rectangular hyperbola. The distribution of surnames is very unequal : for example,
one-half of the population has to be content with 12^ per cent, of the surnames, while
one-half of the surnames is monopolised by 950 persons. Hereditary surnames were not
in common use in Scotland until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. There is a pre-
sumption, therefore, that the present possessors of surnames inherit some cf the physical
characteristics of ancestors of that date. It becomes necessary to investigate the origin
of surnames. Wo have divided them broadly into two classes : (1) Lowland, including
names of Anglo-Saxon, Norman, and Scandinavian origin ; (2) Highland, including
names derived from the names of Highland clans. Of the 751 surnames, 63 were High-
land, representing 13-14 per cent, of the population. It is interesting to note that in a
previous investigation* we came to the conclusion, from an analysis of the measure-
ments of the adult population, that the Highland element was present to the extent of
14 per cent, in East Aberdeenshire. We have calculated the pigmentation value of the
hair and eyes for the 59 most frequent surnames, and arranged them in series according
to pigmentation. We find that there is a wide variability in the pigmentation of different
surnames, pointing to the conclusion that septs or clans, as represented by surnames,
tend to retain distinct physical characteristics. Amongst the darkest in the series we
find surnames common in fishing communities. This supports the tradition that the
fishing population on the east coast of Scotland is of Belgian origin, since the Belgians
are the darkest people of Northern Europe. We find that the pigmentation of Highland
surnames corresponds closely with the pigmentation in their districts of origin. An
example of this is seen in the blonde Frasers, having their origin in the blonde Inverness
district, and dark Robertsons and Gordons in dark Perthshire and West Aberdeenshire.
The surnames of Wallace, Pirie, Grant, Park, and Birnie, we find, have strong blonde
tendencies, while the surnames of Cordiuer, Cruickshank, Stephen, Strachan, Buchan,
Paterson, and Whyte are darkest in our list. The surnames having the largest per-
centage of red hair are Reunie, Scott, Grant, and Thomson, and those having the least
percentage are Johnston, Walker, Burnett, Forbes, and Watson.
The validity of these conclusions depends on whether they are confirmed by a
complete survey of the whole of Scotland, which, we hope, may be carried out at an
early date.
Linguistics. Frazer.
Men's Language and Women 's Language. By J. G. Frazer, M.A., Litt.D. "I Of)
In The Fortnightly Review for January 1900 I collected evidence as to I£U
certain differences of speech between men and women which have been observed in
some South American tribes, arid I suggested that such differences may perhaps furnish
the clue to the origin of gender in language. Whatever may be thought of that
suggestion, it seems desirable to bring together all reported cases of divergence
of speech between the sexes, as these can hardly fail to be philologically interesting.
Hence 1 venture to submit to readers of MAN the following passages which I have
lately met with in D'Orbigriy's well-known work on the South American Indians
(L'Homme Amcricain, Paris, 1839). The writer spent about eight years with a French
scientific expedition exploring a great part of South America. The Chiquitos Indians
to whom he here specially refers are a considerable tribe, or rather nation, inhabiting
the dense forests of Eastern Bolivia. Their language, according to D'Orbigny, is one
of the most copious and complete in America. Speaking of the South American
languages in general he says : " Un autre genre d'exception a donne lieu a beaucoup de
" reflexions ; dans telle langue, les mots employes par 1'homme sont, en majeure partie,
" differens de ceux qu'emploie la femme, ovi chaque mot, en passant par la bouche de
* See Proc. Brit. Assoc., Bradford, 1900.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 129-130.
" cette derniere, proud urn- terminaison distincte. La langue des Cbiqnitps offro, un plus
** haut degre, ee caractere ; mais dans les autres il se reduit, lorsqu'il s'y trouve, aux
" titres de parente. Depuis bicn longtemps* on a explique cette anomalie, par
" 1'habitude de certains peuples conquerans (des Guaranis surtout), de tuer les homines
" et de garder les femmes, supposition qui nous parait assez probable" (ISII<nntnr
.Americain, I., p. 153). Again, in treating specially of the Chiquito nation, he says:
" Une anomalie singuliere se presente dans la langue chiqtiita, ou, pour beaucoup de
" choses, 1'homroe eraploie des mots differens de ceux dont se sert la femme, tandis que
" pour les autres, la femme emploie des mots dont 1'homme se sert, en se contentaut d'en
" changer la terminaison " (op. cit. II., p. 135). Again, speaking of the same language,
he remarks : " Une particularite de cette language, c'est la difference d'expression des
" memes objets pour les deux sexes. Non-seulement les noms des objets indiques par
" la femme out une terminaison autre que pour les hommes, mais encore il y a sou vent
" des mots tout a fait dissemblables ; ainsi 1'homme exprime pere par lyai et la femme
" par Yxupu (prononcez Ychoupou) " (op. cit. II., p. 163). J. G. FRAZER.
REVIEW.
Greece : Prehistoric. Hall.
The Oldest Civilisation of Greece: Studies of the Mycentean Age. By lOft
H. R. Hall, M.A., Assistant in the Department of Egyptian and Assyrian lOU
Antiquities, British Museum. London: David Nutt, 1901. 8vo, pp. xxxvi, 346.
Price 15s.
Two books dealing with the never-ending Mycenaean question have lately been
given to the world. With the first of the two to appear we have not to deal (it is,
in fact, incomplete) ; nor, indeed, does it proceed on the same lines as Mr. Hall's work.
The latter is an attempt to do for the controversial questions, inspired by the now
enormous mass of "Mycenaean " material, what has already been done for the material
itself by Schuchhardt, Perrot, and Tsountas. The writings of these three scholars do
not pretend to deal with other than ascertained facts, though they do not indeed always
escape the imputation of regarding as fact what should really only be treated as well-
supported hypothesis. Mr. Hall's object, on the other hand, is not so much to give a
resume of discoveries up to date, but rather with the mind of an unprejudiced critic, to
weigh the import of these discoveries and of the theories based on them. Without
laying down any definite theory of his own, he holds a middle course between the views
of those who argue for extreme limits of date ; and, while avoiding mere negations, he
has, in our opinion, gone far in the direction of " properly basing " the question.
The book is divided into eight chapters, comprising nearly 300 pages, and amply
illustrated by 75 cuts, several of which are from unpublished objects in his own
Department of the British Museum.
It is the special merit of this book that in it we have, for the first time, a careful
and judicial estimation of the evidence to be obtained from Egypt by a specialist in the
archaeology of that country. We have only to turn to the table given on page 76,
where we may see, at a glance, the chief items of evidence for Mycenajan dating and
the respective value of each item. Mr. Hall never forgets to warn his readers of the
danger of accepting Egyptian evidence without hesitation, more especially in the case
of scarabs. But, after all, even if scarabs were banned as evidence, ample material
would still remain. For instance, there are the Tell-el-Amarna deposits of 1400 B.C.,
with their wealth of Mycenaean vase- fragments, as well authenticated a criterion as
could be wished, and no archaeologist can overlook them. Mr. Hall, with praiseworthy
discernment, carefully sifts the good from the bad — or doubtful — evidence, a most
important matter.
* Pere Raymond Breton, Dlctionnaire cara'ibe, p. 229, publte en 1665.
[ 155 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 130-131,
Equal caution must be employed in treating evidence from Cyprus, and here again
we think Mr. Hall has done well. \Ve do not understand how archaeologists can shut
their eyes to the fact that Mycenaean remains in Cyprus last down to the eighth
century B.C. (possibly even later). On the other hand, it would be equally absurd
to draw the opposite conclusion that what is late in Cyprus must also be late at
Myceuiu or lalysos. The circumstances easily admit of explanation. Always ultra-
conservative, Cyprus, which probably only felt the influence of Mycenaean civilisation
towards its decline in Greece, naturally retained it for several succeeding centuries,
during which it can hardly be said to have been affected by the Dorian invasion. Surely
we may see in the legend of the colonisation of Salamis by Teucer, supported, perhaps,
by the wonderful finds at Enkomi, traces of an Achaean settlement subsequent to the
Trojan War, which was only an offshoot of the general stream of migration from
West to East.
So far we are arguing with Mr. Hall that the " working hypothesis '' of the
Mycenaean question is to be accepted, and that its " Bliitezeit " is to be regarded as
lasting from about 1600 B.C. to 1200 B.C., first in Crete, afterwards under the Achaean
hegemony at Mvceuaa ; that the Dorian migration took place about 1000 B.C., and that
the Achaeans, or Mycenaeans were then driven out of the mainland of Greece.
Further, we are entirely at one with him in his incidental treatment of the Homeric
question. Every scholar is familiar with the archaeological difficulties which this presents,
but many are too much occupied with dovetailing them into their own theories to treat
them with impartiality.
Mr. Hall aims a few gentle shafts at Professor Ridgeway and his Pelasgian theory,
and we think he is right in urging that there is no need to identify the Mycenasan
civilisation exclusively with the Pelasgians ; nor, on the other hand, to confine it
exclusively to the Achaeans or any other race.
One of the most valuable features of the book is the diagram of an approximate
chronological scheme which, by-the-bye, does not follow page 292, as indicated in the
contents, but page 324. Where all is admittedly tentative and hypothetical we refrain
from criticism of detail, but it might have been an improvement if the arrangement had
been different, the dates in the vertical columns, and the localities in the horizontal.
Space forbids us to dwell on the many subjects suitable for comment which
Mr. Hall's luminous and suggestive chapters present, but a few small points, perhaps,
call for criticism. The title of the illustration on page 24 is unfortunate ; we fear the
L.C.C. would hardly pass such an edifice as a " model " dwelling. We confess to a
personal prejudice against the copulated " ae " which is used (but not quite consistently) ;
but printers are notoriously difficult to convert to the more correct typography:
Mr. Hall writes well and clearly throughout, but he should try to avoid the vulgarism
of the " split infinitive." H.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceedings. British Association.
Anthropology at the Gldsgoiv Meeting of the British Association for the 1Q1
Advancement of Science (September llth-18th, 1901). 10 I
The Anthropological Section of the British Association met at Glasgow in the new
Anatomy Department of the University, the formal opening of which took place on
the first afternoon of the meeting. The president of the section, Professor D. J.
Cunningham, M.D., F.B.S., of Trinity College, Dublin, took as the subject of his
inaugural address, " The Human Brain, and the part which it has played in the Evolution
of Man," and discussed the relations which are found to exist during foetal life between
the brain itself and the brain case, laying particular stress upon the specifically human
[ 156 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 181.
development •»!' llic parietal lobe at the expense of tlie occipital, and on the importance
u!' tin- " insular district" as the seat of the brain centres for the arm, face, and month,
and consequently for the higher activities of speech, gesture, and technical skill. u It is
certain," he concluded, "that these structural addition to the human brain are no recent
" acquisition by the stem-form of man, but are the result of a slow evolutionary growth
" — a growth which has been stimulated by the laborious efforts of countless generations
" to arrive at the perfect co-ordination of all the muscular factors which are called into
" play in the production of articulate speech ; " and further, if this be so, " it would be
" wrong to lose sight of the fact that the first step in this upward movement must have
" been taken by the brain itself. Some cerebral variation — probably trifling and
" insignificant at the start, and yet pregnant with the most far-reaching possibilities —
" has in the stem-form of man contributed that condition which has rendered speech
" possible. This variation, strengthened and fostered by natural selection, has in the
" end led to the great double result of a large brain with wide and extensive association
" areas and articulate speech, the two results being brought about by the mutual reaction
" of the one process upon the other." The address will be found printed in full in the
Proceedings of the British Association (Glasgotv) 1901, and in a current number of
Nature. A full abstract of it appeared in the Glasgow Herald of September 13th and
in the Times of September 1 4th.
The Glasgow meeting was noteworthy for the unusual number of papers on points
of human anatomy. Some of these, it is true, were hardly of a direct anthropological
bearing, but the presidential address showed clearly enough the necessity of confronting
from time to time the current speculations about the or gins of speech and culture with
the data of brain-morphology. Scottish ethnology was but poorly represented ; there
were fewer ethnographic papers than usual ; and folklore and kindred topics were almost
absent. Archaeology, on the other hand, both local and general, was prominent, and
considerable interest was aroused by the group of good papers and reports on the
antiquities of Crete and the Syrian coast. A full list of the reports and papers
follows: those to which the words " MAN, 1901, below " are appended will be published
wholly or in abstract in subsequent numbers of MAN.
ANTHROPOGRAPHY.
PROP. CLELAND, F.R.S. — The Cartilage of the External Ear in the Monotremata,
in Relation to the Human Ear. In echidna the tube of the ear shows 16 bars united
by a continuous line of cartilage, and the tube expands into a pinna of enormous size,
which had hitherto escaped notice In ornithorhynchus the tube is not broken into bars
separated by fissures, and the pinna, hitherto undetected, is small, but of a kind not
unlike that found in echidna. Discussion : Sir Wm. Turner, F.R. 8., Prof. Macalister,
F.R.S., Prof. Sherrington, F.R.S.
J. F. GEMMILL, M.D. — On the Origin of the Cartilage of the Stapes and on its
continuity with the Hyoid Arch. The series of sections exhibited shows that in the
human subject the whole of the cartilage of the stapes is developed independently of the
periotic capsule, and that it belongs to the hyoid bar. The sections also illustrated
the fate, at different stages, of that part of the hyoid bar which lies between the stapes
and the styloid process. The incus represents the primitive suspensorial element, i.e.,
l lie hyo-mandibular. Discussion : Sir Win. Turner.
Miss NINA LAYARD. — Note on a llii/mui Skull fon/id in l'i <if in tin- Bed of the
River Orwell, Ipswich. (MAN, 1901, 125.) The skull was exhibited. Discussion :
Prof. Macalister said the skull was of the same type as those found in the feu district,
which he had always associated with the pre-Roman Britons.
PROF. A. MACALISTER, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. — Some Notes on the Morphology of
Trditsrerxc Vrrlcbral Processes. The application of this term in the descriptions of
[ 157 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 131.
the several regions of the human spine is unsatisfactory, and the author has endeavoured
to determine, by embryological evidence, the morphological relations of the several parts
of the neural arch. The factors which cause the differentiation are the juxtaposition of
the rib and the variable relations of the arch t,o the surrounding muscles.
PKOF. A. MACALISTKR, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. — A Note on the Third Occipital
Condylc. There are two structures comprised under this name, one a mesial ossification
in the sheath of the notochord, and the second a lateral, usually paired, form of process,
caused by the deficiency of the mesial part of the hypochordal element of the hindmost
occipital vertebra with thickening of the lateral portion of the arch.
PRINCIPAL MACKAY, M.D.. LL.D. — On Supra sternal Bones in the Human Subject.
Discussion : Prof. Cleland, Prof. Patersou.
PKOF. J. SYMINGTON, M.D. — On the Temporary Fissures of the Human Brain,
with Observations on the Development of the Hippocampal Fissure and Hippocampal
Formation. (MAN, 1901. 126.)
J. F. TOCHER, F.I.C., and J. GRAY, B.Sc. — The Frequency and Pigmentation
Value of Surnames of School Children in East Aberdeenshire. (MAN, 1901. 128.)
Discussion : Prof. Cunningham observed that, unfortunately, the paper was dealing
with names that extended all over Scotland, while it studied them as applied to a
limited district only, and discussion upon it could only be of value when they got
a survey on similar lines of the whole of Scotland. Mr. Tocher and Mr. Gray
proposed to make a survey of the school names of the whole of Scotland correlated with
the pigmentation of hair and eyes, and their more extensive report would be extremely
valuable for discussion. He wished to know why the Macdonalds were credited with
having inherited their fair hair from Scandinavian ancestry, whereas all the Dalriadic
Scots came from Ireland in the third century, and their ancestors in the third century,
as far as they could discover, had light brown hair and blue eyes. A committee of the
Association was appointed to assist Messrs. Tocher and Gray in their researches.
W. M. DOUGLAS. — Personal Identification : a Description of Dr. Alphonse
Bertilloji's System of Identifying Fugitive Offenders. The practicability of the system
for police purposes had been tested by the writer, and it had been demonstrated that
men of ordinary intelligence can master its apparent intricacies and apply it success-
fully. Discussion : Dr. Garson congratulated Glasgow on the energetic expert who
had charge of this important division. The colour of the hair and the eye was practi-
cally useless for identification, while the form of the nose and ear was most important.
Photographs for the purpose of identification were of no value ; but everyone carried in
his finger prints an almost absolute means of identification. The chances of two
persons having the same finger prints was something like one in 64,000,000,000.
ETHNOGRAPHY.
REPORT of the Ethnographic Survey of Canada. (MAN, 1901. 133.)
J. O. BRANT SERO. — Dekanawideh, the Law-Giver of the Caniengahakas. (In
full, MAN, 1901. 1?4.)
HESKETH PRI» /IARD. — The Tehuelche Indians of Patagonia, to be published
shortly in full.
SEYMOUR HAWTR^Y. — The Lengua Indians of the Gran Chaco, to be published
in full in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute. Discussion : Mr. Millington,
Mr. Balfour, Mr. Myres.
DR. F. P. MORENO. — Notes on Argentine Anthropo-geography. Communicated to
the geographical section : to be published shortly in full.
W. H. R. RIVERS, M.D. — On the Functions of the Maternal Uncle in Torres
Strait. (MAN, 1901. 136.) lo be published in full in the Report of the Cambridge
Expedition to Torres Strait.
[ 158 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 131.
\V. II. R. RlVEKS, M.I). — On flic r,tneli<nis O///H Son-in-l,(tir mid Itrntln r-in- Lun-
in Torres Strait. (MAN, 1901. 137.) To he published as above.
C. S. MYEUS, M.A. — Some Emotions in tin- Mm mi/ Islanders. (MAN, 1901, below.)
W. CROOK E. — Notes on the proposed Ethnographic Survey of India.
REPORT of the Skeat Expedition to the Malay Peninsula : section on Main;/
Industries. (MAN, 1901, below.) The rest of the report of the expedition will be
Found in Proc. Brit. Assoc., 1900 (Bradford) and 1901 (Glasgow).
W. W. SKEAT, M.A. — The Sakais and Sc man git : Wild Tribes of the Malay
rcninsula. To be published in full in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute.
N. ANNANDALK and H. C. ROBINSON. — Anthropological Notes on the Sai Kan,
a Siamo- Malay an Village in the State of Nawnchik (Tojan). (MAN, 1901, below.)
R. SHELFORD, M.A. — A Provisional Classification of the Swords of the Tribes oj
Sarawak, to be published.
FOLKLORE, &c.
R. A. S. MACALISTER, M.A. — Notes on some Customs of the Fellahin in Western
Palestine. (MAN, 1901, below.) Discussion : Mr. Crooke commented on the wide
range in the East of the marks on walls and lintels, described by Mr. Macalister.
D. MAcRiTCHiE. — Hints of Evolution in Tradition.
J. S. STUART GLENNIE. — Magic, Religion, and Science.
GENERAL.
REPORT of the Committee on the Registration of Anthropological Photographs.
REPORT of the Committee on the State of Anthropological Teaching in the United
Kingdom and elsewhere.
ARCHAEOLOGY.
REPORT. — On the Age of Stone Circles : Excavations at Arbor Low (MAN,
1901, below) ; details in full in Proc. Brit. Assoc., 1901 (Glasgow). Discussion : Mr.
Lewis observed that it would be a mistake to suppose that these circles are all of the
same age. Special local types are found in Aberdeenshire, Inverness-shire, and on the
west coast of Scotland ; and in England the types are different again.
W. ALLEN STURGE, M.D. — On the Chronology of the Stone Age of Man, with
especial reference to his co-existence with an Ice Age. (MAN, 1901, below.) Discus-
sion : Sir John Evans, Professor Keudal, Mr Louge, Dr. Munro, Professor Macalister.
G. COFFEY. — Naturally Chipped Flints for comparison with certain Forms of
alleged Artificial Chipping. A series of flints from the Larue gravels and North of
Ireland beaches was exhibited showing different pieces chipped by the action of the
sea ; also a number of flints, collected on Ballycastle beach, which had been chipped by
last winter's storm. These Nature-dressed chips so closely resemble the alleged artificial
chipping of the neolithic implements as to prevent any certain conclusion being reached
as to what really is artificial chipping.
EBENEZER DUNCAN, M.D., and T. H. BRYCE, M.A., M.D. — Remains of Prehistoric
Man in the Island of Arran. (MAN, 1901, below.) To be published more fully in
the Journal of the Anthropological Institute. Discussion : Sir William Turner,
Professor Macalister, Mr. Somerville, Dr. Garson.
Miss NINA LAYARD. — An Early Palaeolithic Flint Hatchet with allcgal Tltong-
nttirhs. The implement in question was found in Levington Road, Ipswich, at a d«-ptli
of about five feet. In depressions about the butt-end the natural skin of the flint nodule
remained, and it was contended that these patches showed traces of wear; and that this
wear was produced by a thong. Discussion : Sir John Evans did not consider that the
alleged thong was a thong, or that the patches were worn by friction.
Miss NINA LAYARD. — Horn and Bone //n/ilements found at Ij>sirir/t. The
specimens exhibited came from various parts of the town, and from various drpiiis.
L 159 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 131.
Some have clearly served as picks ; others, though suggestive of a pick, are too awkward
for this use, though in one case the tip of the tine has been sharpened. Ten of these horns
were found lying together at a depth of five to six feet together with one rudely fashioned
as a knife handle. Four others were found in gravel at the depth of 23 feet, of which,
however, 12 feet were made-earth. Other specimens exhibited included a bone needle,
a horn awl, and a pair of bone skates from a depth of 10 feet in College Street, Ipswich.
F. D. LONGE. — A Piece of Yew from the Forest Bed on the East Coast of
England, alleged to have been cut by Man. The piece of yew was found by the author
in the Kessinglaud " freshwater bed " belonging to the Cromer Forest-bed series, in a
section exposed after a high tide at the foot of the sea cliff. It bears two oblique cuts
made by some instrument " much sharper and thinner than the large manufactured imple-
" ments with which we are so familiar." The author believes that the circumstances
of the discovery preclude the idea that the cuts are recent, but admits that they were not
noticed by him till some days afterwards, when the piece of yew was being cleaned.
G. COFFEY. — Exhibit of Manufactured Objects from Irish Caves.
R. MUNRO. M.D. — Notes on the Excavation of an Ancient Kitchen- Midden near
Elie, in Fife. (MAN, 1901, below.) To be published more fully in Proc. Soc. Anthr.,
Scotland, 1901.
REPORT. — Excavations in the Roman City at Silchester. The excavations of
1900 were confined to the large area situated between Insula XII. (excavated in 1894)
and Insula XXII. (excavated in 1899), and extending up to the north gate and town
wall. The area in question contains four insulce, which have been numbered XXIII. to
XXVI. Taken as a whole, the results of the season's work were fully up to the
average, both in the character of the buildings uncovered and the variety and number of
objects found in and about them. The quantity of pottery and a hoard of smith's tools
are also quite exceptional. The objects in bronze, bone, &c., also include many interest-
ing things. The coins found were as numerous as usual, but not very important. A
detailed account of all the discoveries was laid before the Society of Antiquaries on
May 23, 1901, and will be published in Archceologia. It is proposed, during the
current year, to excavate a strip of ground east of Insulce XXI. and XXII., and, if
possible, to begin the systematic exploration of the grass field in the centre of the town.
J. H. CUNNINGHAM.— The Roman Camp at Ardoch. (MAN, 1901, below.)
THOMAS 'Ross. — The Roman Camp at Delvine, Inchtuthill. (MAN, 1901, below.)
R. A. S. MACALISTER, M.A. — External Evidence bearing on the Age of Ogham
Writing in Ireland. (MAN, 1901, below.) Discussion : Mr. Coffey.
REPORT of the Cretan Exploration Committee. (MAN, 1901, below.) The report
is printed in full in Proc. Brit. Assoc., 1901 (Glasgow). Discussion : Sir John Evans,
Professor Macalister.
R. C. BOSANQUET. — Excavations at Prcesos in Eastern Crete. (MAN, 1901, below.)
A. J. EVANS, M.A., F.R.S. — The Neolithic Site at Knossos in Crete. (MAN,
1901, below.) To be published separately in full. Discussion : Professor Sayce, Mr. Myres.
D. G. HOGARTH, M.A. — Explorations at Zikro in Eastern Crete. (MAN,
1901, below.)
R. A. S. MACALISTER, M.A. — Some Results of recent Excavations in Palestine.
(MAN, 1901, below.) Discussion : Sir John Evans, Professor G. A. Smith, Mr. Myres.
C. S. MYERS.— The Bones of Hen Nekht. (MAN, 1901, 127.) Discussion :
Professor Macalister.
MR. JAMES PATON, B.A., Curator of the Corporation Museums and Galleries and
Hon. Sec. of the Fine Art Section of the Glasgow Exhibition, met members of the
section in the West Court of the Art Galleries in the Glasgow Exhibition, and
conducted them through the collection of Prehistoric Antiquities.
Printed by JiYEK AND SPOTTISWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, E.G.
MAN, 1901. PLATE L.
STANDARD SCHEME OF DESCENT
T u
67 22
PARENTAL GRADES
NUMBER IN EACH
1000 COUPLES
BOTH PARENTS Of
SAME GRADE AND*
ONE ADULT MALE
CHILD TO EACH
REGRESSION OF
PARENTAL TO
FILIAL CENTRES
22 CHILDREN OF ti
5 22 50 52!
2 14 51 86 68
52 50 22
1901.] MAN. [No. 132.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Race Improvement. With Plate L. Gal ton.
The 1*ossil»le Jnifirori'inrnt of the Human Jirccd under the existing Conditions
of Law and Sentiment. By Francis Galton, D.C.L., D.Sc., F.R.S. Abstract
of the Huxley Memorial Lecture, delivered before the Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland on Tuesday, October 29th, 1901.
The aim of the lecture is to give a scientific basis to the problem of race improve-
ment under the existing conditions of civilisation and sentiment. It leads to many
subsidiary problems, each interesting to anthropologists on its own account.
Men differ as much as dogs in inborn dispositions and faculties. Some dogs are
savage, others gentle ; some endure fatigue, others are soon exhausted ; some are loyal,
others are self-regarding. They differ no less widely in specialities, as in herding sheep,
retrieving, pointing at game, and following trails by scent. So it is with men in respect
to the qualities that go towards forming civic worth, which it is not necessary at this
moment to define particularly, especially as it may be a blend of many alternative qualities.
High civic worth includes a high level of character, intellect, energy, and physique, and
this would disqualify the vast majority of persons from that distinction. We may
conceive that a committee might be entrusted to select the worthiest of the remaining
candidates, much as they select for fellowships, honours, or official posts.
Distribution in a Population. — It is a fair assumption that the different grades of
civic worth are distributed in accord with the familiar normal law of frequency. This
means nothing more than that the causes why civic worth varies in amount in different
persons are numerous and act independently, some pulling this way, some that, the
results being due to the ordinary laws of combination. As it is found that such very
different variables conform fairly to this law, as Stature, Bullet holes around the bull's-
eye, Error of judgment of astronomers, and Marks gained by candidates at examinations,
whether in simple or in grouped subjects, there is much reason to believe that civic
worth will do so also. The figures will then come out as follows : Let the average
civic worth of all the male adults of the nation be determined and its value be called M,
one-half of them having less and the other more than M. Let those who have more than
M be similarly subdivided, the lower half will then have M plus something that does not
exceed a sharply-defined amount, which will be called 1°, and is taken as the unit of
distribution. It signifies the height of each step or grade between the limits of the
successive classes about to be described: We therefore obtain by familiar methods the
result that 25 per cent, lie between M and M + 1° (call it for brevity + 1°) ; 16 per
cent, between + l°and + 2° ; 7 between + 2° and + 3°, and 2 for all beyond + 3°.
There is no outer limit ; the classification might proceed indefinitely, but this will do at
present. Similarly for the negative grades below M. It is convenient to distinguish
the classes included between these divisions by letters, so they will be called R, S, T, IT,
&c., in succession upwards, and r, ,v, /, M, &c., in succession downwards, r being th<>
counterpart of R ; s of S, and so on.
These normal classes were compared with those of Mr. Charles Booth in his great
work, Labour and Life of the People of London. His lower classes, including the
criminals and semi-criminals, correspond in numbers with " / and below " ; those higher
than small shopkeepers and subordinate professional men correspond with " T and above,"
and the large body of artisans who earn from 22*. to 30*. a week exactly occupy the
place of mediocrity ; they include the upper four fifths of r and the lower four fifths of
R. So far as ib"so may represent civic worth they confirm as far as they go its fairly
normal distribution.
The differences between the classes are exemplified by the figures relating to the
stature of many thousand adult males, measured at the Health Exhibition. Their
[ 161 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 132.
average height was nearly oft. 8 in., the unit of distribution \v;is ncirly 1| in., so the
class U exceeded 6ft. 1 in. ; consequently even U overlooks a nr>l>, while V, who exceed
fi ft. 2| in., and much more the higher grades, tower above it in an increasingly eminent
degree.
Worth of a Guild. — Dr. Farr calculated the value at its birlh of H baby born of the
wife of an Essex labourer, supposing it to be an average specimen of its class in length
of life, in cost of maintenance while a child and in old age, and in earnings during youth
and manhood. He capitalised with actuarial skill the prospective values at (lie time of
birth, of the outgoings and the incomings, and on balancing the items found the newly-
born infant to be worth 5/. A similar process would conceivably bring out tiie money
value at biiih of children destined when they grew up to fall into each of the several
classes, and by a different method of appraisement to discover their mor.il and social
worth. As regards the money value of men of the highest class, many four.d gre-it
industries, establish vast undertakings, increase the wealth of multitudes and amass
large fortunes for themselves. Others, whether rich or poor, are the guides and light of
the nation, raising its tone, enlightening its difficulties and imposing its ideals. The
more giftc;! of these men. members of our jet undefined X class, would be each worth
thousands of pounds to the nation at the moment of their birth.
Descent hi a Population. — The most economical way of producing such men may
be inferred from the Table of Descent accompanying the memoir, calculated for an ideal
population, on the supposition that, all marriages arc equally fertile, that the statistical
distribution of qualities continues unchanged and that the normal law of frequency
prevails throughout. In this particular table it was also supposed that both parents
were always alike in quality. The diagram that illustrates it shows also v< ry clearly the
contributions of each class of parent to each class of the next generation. The V class
of parentages number 35 per 10,000, which represents in the 40,000,000 of the
population an annual output of 1,300 male youths of thai, class who attain their
majority in the same year. Of the 34 or 35 V sons 6 come from the 35 V-class parents,
10 from the 180 U, 10 from the 672 T, 5 from the 1,614 S, and 3 from the 2,500 R.
Therefore V is 3 times richer than U in producing V offspring, 11^ times than T,
55 times than S, an I 145 times richer than R. Economy of cost and labour in
improving the race will therefore depend on confining attention to the best parentages.
The falling off when only one of the parents is of the V class and the other unknown
was shown to be a little more than 4^.
In dealing with large numbers the statistical constancy of the result resembles
those oi' a fixed law. The above figures might then be accepted as certainties like
those in tables of mortality, if they are founded on a correct hypothesis. It is not
claimed that the hypothesis is more than approximately correct. 1 ut in any case the
results will be constant and probably not very different from those given in the table.
They showed that 35 marriages of two persons each of cla^s V will produce five
adult son- and five adult daughters of that same V class. They will also produce ten
of each sex of the U class and 12 of the T. A discount will have to be taken off
these figures in deducting their significance, because the performance in mature life
often falls short of its promise in youth. The lecturer strongly condemned the neglect
by educational authorities to investigate the correlation between youthful promise and
subsequent performance, by the closeness of which the value of the present huge system
of examinations can alone be judged
Augmentation of Favoured Stock. — Enthusiasm to improve our race might express
itself by granting diplomas to a select class X of young men and women, by encouraging
their intermarriages and by promoting the early marriage of girls of that high cl;is<.
The means that are available consist in dowries, w here a moderate sum is important,
help in emergencies, healthy homes, pressure of public opinion, honours, ami the intro-
r 162 i
1901.] MAN. [No. 132.
dilution of religious motives, which are very effective as in causing Hindoo girls and most
.Jewesses to marry young. The span of a generation would be thereby shortened, which
is equivalent to increasing the fertility of one that was unshortened. It would also save
the early years of the child -bearing period from barrenness. Healthy homes would
diminish mortality among children, and in that way increase the output of adult offspring.
There is a tendency among girls to shrink from marriage on prudential grounds. This
feeling might be directed in the opposite way, l>y making it an imprudence in an X girl
not to gain the advantages that would reward the indulgence of a natural instinct. It
was concluded that the effect of a widely-felt enthusiasm for improving the race might
be expected to add an average; increment of one adult son and one adult daughter to the
prospective offspring of each X girl. These would be distributed among the X, W, and
V classes much as the offspring of V parentages are distributed among the V, U, and T
classes, but not in quite such high proportions, which were five of each sex to the first,
ten to the second, and so on.
Economical Problem. — The problem to be solved now appears in a clear shape.
An X child is worth so and so at birth and one of each of the inferior grades respec-
tively is worth so and so ; 100 X-favoured parentages will each produce a gain of so
many ; the total value of their produce can therefore be estimated by an actuary, con-
sequently it is a legitimate expenditure to spend up to such and such an amount on each
X parentage. The distinct statement of a problem is often more than half way towards
its solution. There seems no reason why this one should not be solved between limiting
values that arc not too wide apart to he useful.
Existing Agencies. — Leaving aside profitable expenditure from a money point of
view the existence of large and voluntary activities should be borne in mind that
have nobler aims. It appears that the annual voluntary contributions to public
charities in the British Isles amount on the lowest computation to 1 4,000,000/., and
that, as Sir H. Burdett asserts on good grounds, is by no means the maximum
attainable (Hospitals and Charities, 1898, page 85).
A custom has existed in all ages of wealthy persons befriending poor and promising
youths which might be extended to young and promising couples. It is a conspicuous
feature in the biographies of those who have risen from the ranks, that they Avere
indebted for their first start in life to this cause. Again, it is usual among large land-
owners to proceed not on the rackrent principle, but to select the worthiest all round for
tenants and others in their employ, and to give them good cottages at low rents and
other facilities. The advantage of being employed on one of those liberally-conducted
properties being thoroughly appreciated, there are usually many applicants to each
vacancy, so selection can be exercised. The result is that the tenants and servants of all
kinds to be found about them are a finer stamp of men to those in similar positions
elsewhere, It might easily become an avowed object of noble families to gaiher fine
specimens of humanity around them, as it i« to produce fine breeds of cattle and so
forth, which are costly in money but repay in satisfaction.
Finally, there are building societies that have higher ends than mere investments
and which have been endowed with princely generosity. A settlement of selected
persons might conceivably be maintained that should bear some analogy to colleges
with their fellowships, and include a grant of rooms for a term of years at low cost.
A select class would create through their own merits an attractive settlement, distin-
guished by energy, intelligence, and civic worth, just as a lirst-nite club attracts
de<irahle candidates by its own social advantages.
Prospects. — It is easy to indulge uf Utopias, including a vast system of statistical
registration, but the pressing need is to establish a firm basis of fact for ihe roads that
lead towards race improvement. The magnitude of the inquiry is great, but its object
is one of the highest that man can hope to accomplish, and there seems no reason to
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 132-133.
doubt its practicability to a greater or less degree. Tbe question of how much may
be reasonably anticipated must be delayed until the problems that have been indicated
are more or less satisfactorily solved. FRANCIS GALTON.
America : Ethnography. Hill-Tout, &c.
(1.) The Ethnographic Survey of Canada. Abstract of the report of the 1QQ
Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, presented lOO
at Glasgow, September 17th, 1901 ; to be printed in full in Proc. Brit. Assoc.
(Glasgow), 1901.
(2.) Ethnological Studies of the Mainland HalkonielKm, a Division of the Salis/i
of British Columbia. Abstract of a paper by Chas. Hill-Tout, appended 1o the above
Report.
(1.) The Committee records with regret the very sudden decease of its secretary,
Dr. G. M. Dawson, which occurred at Ottawa on March 2, 1901. Dr. Dawson had
been identified with the work of this Committee from the time of its organisation, at
first as its chairm-in and later as its secretary. His well-known ethnological studies in
connection with the Indians of the Pacific coast, and the keen practical interest which
he constantly manifested in the prosecution of such work gave special weight to his
connection with this Committee, the object of which commanded his warmest sympathy
and his deepest interest. The Committee is keenly sensible of the great loss it has
sustained in the removal of one whose broad interest in the progress of scientific research,
and whose intelligent appreciation of the many difficult problems connected with the
prosecution of ethnological work in a country where the conditions are changing so
rapidly, gave him exceptional qualifications for the guidance of the work, and imparted
to those especially engaged in collecting data a never-failing stimulus and enthusiasm.
The Committee desires to be reappointed, and recommends Mr. C. Hill-Tout, of
Abbotsford, British Columbia, to be appointed secretary, and the Rev. John Campbell,
of Montreal, to be a member of the Committee.
Renewed negotiations with certain of the provincial governments have been opened
during the year with a view to having the work of this Committee placed upon a more
permanent basis, and it is hoped that favourable results may appear before our next
annual report is made. Dr. Ganong has undertaken the organisation of systematic work
in New Brunswick, with special reference to the remnants of Indian tribes. The
authropometric work of the Committee continues. Mr. Leon Gerin has continued his
studies with reference to the Iroquois of Caughnawaga (Caniengahaka, cf. MAN, 1901.
134). Mr. A. F. Hunter has published in the Archceological Report of Ontario for
1900 his third contribution to the bibliography of Ontario archaeology ; and in Vol. III.
of the Ontario Historical Society, an article on The Ethnographical Elements of
Ontario, which has been reprinted separately and may be obtained through the
Committee.
C2.) Mr. Hill-Tout has continued his studies of the Salish tribes of British
Columbia. His report for this year, which deals t-hiefly with the HalkomSlEm tribes
of the Lower Fraser, is given in abstract below, anil will be published more fully next
year.
This report deals chiefly with the Tcil'Qcuk and Kwautlsn tribes in the lower
Fraser district. The former are not true members of the HalkomelEin division, though
they now speak its tongue. They are more communistic in their mode of life than
other tribes. The office of principal chief generally descended from father to son,
Their potlatch and other feasts have been reluctantly given up. The tribe eat together
as one family. Their permanent habitation was the communal long house ; each family
was entitled to a space 8 talz square, a talz being the length of the space between the
1901] MAN. [No. 133.
outstretched arms of a man measured across the chest from linger to finder. Thrir
baskets and other utensils were necessarily large. The author descril»es tlic functions
of the sliainan, ;tnd discusses the origin of the sulia, which he believes to be a connecting
link between fetichism and totemisin. The mortuary customs differ in detail from those
of other tribes. He did not gather much information as to the puberty custom^. The
trilio formerly possessed a largo stone statue to which they attached a supernatural
origin, lie records the myth of the " blanket beating " and other tales. He criticises
Dr. Boas' observations on the language of these tribes, but suggests the general use of
the phonetic system adopted in his reports. He lias giveu particular study to the
pronouns and demonstratives. He obtained linguistic information from three of the
Indians, which he discusses at length. He adds a glossary of the TcilVjeuk language.
The PiUitlq are a small tribe on the lower Chilliwack river, numbering now only
25. They were formerly divided into five villages or camps and had three classc- .,!
shamans. The author records several of their myths. They have given up their
ancient mortuary customs under missionary influence, and now adhere to those of their
white neighbours.
The KwautlEu were formerly one of the most powerful and extensive of the River
HalkomelEin tribes, their chief claiming to be the supreme chief of the whole. They
had a subject tribe called the KwIkwitlEm. Of their origin they give various mythical
accounts. They lived in the communal long house, but do not appear to have taken
their meals in common. The choice of a wife or husband was always made by the
parents. The author was unable to discover anything like a developed totemic system
among them. Their social organisation had not reached to the secret society stage.
The Slii'm was the tribal high priest. He addressed the "sky chief" as Cwai'EbsEn
or "father." One of their prayers is thus translated, "O supreme Father, have pity on
" me. Wherefore hast thou brought me here on this earth 'f I desire to live here on
" this earth which thou hast made for me." They have eight different kinds of
dances. The shamans practised fire-handling and other kinds of magic. All dancing
was accompanied by singing. They believed it was Qiils the Transformer who taught
them to pray. Their naming ceremonies were occasions of general festivity and presents
of blankets. Their phonology does not differ from that of the Tcil'^euk. The author
adds much linguistic information.
He appends free translations of the following stories : — 1. The Magic Water and
Salmon. 2. SmElo and SkElut'EmEs.
To the notes on the archaeology of the district already published by him in the
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada and in the Mining Record of Victoria,
British Cohunbi:i, he adds some further particulars of researches among the ancient
middens. Every variety of arrowhead was found, and stone swor.ls of several patterns,
but objects of bone predominated. The skulls found are dolichocephalic and appear to
belong to predecessors of the present races, possibly tl.e ancestors of the subject tribe
referred to. There are other more recently formed middens. Many interesting specimens
from these have been secured by the New York Museum of Natural History. There are
many burial mounds or tumuli. Few or no relics are recovered from them. The greater
number are within a rectangular boundary of stones. Different kinds of sand are found
in them spread in distinct layers or strata of varying thickness. In only one instance
was he able to discover a few bones and a portion of a skull, which had not only been
dtformed in lifetime but had suffered from pressure in the ground. He sums up as the
result of his investigations of the archaeological remains that the Lower Fniser was in
possession of a primitive people, probably not less than 2,000 years ago, which differed
from existing tribes both physically and in respect of its mortuary customs. The race
to which these ancient midden and mound builders belonged cannot yet be determined.
[ 165 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 134.
America : Iroquois. Brant-Sero.
Dckanawidch ; the Law-giver of the Caniengahakas. By (Ra-onha) John 1Q/I
Ojijatekha Hnmt-Sero (Canadian Mohawk). (Cf. MAX, 1901. 131.) lUT1
Of the North American aborigines, the Caniengahakas are the most ancient and
honourable known. Fragmentary knowledge of these people in their tribal relations
have been gathered from time to time by the early travellers and others holding positions
of political and religious importance in the New World. For many generations past
these "People of the Flint," as their name implies, have been known to the general
reader of fiction by a nick-name, the Mohawks, which it appears originated in Fleet
Street, London, England. Thoughtful European minds must have considered the name
more pronounceable than appropriate.
The " Mohawks " are the first nation in that aboriginal confederacy which was
once so powerful and extended ,its influence over a vast trackless part of the North
American continent. The confederacy has been perpetuated by various names, such as
the " Five Nations," the " Six Nations," " the People of the United Long House,"
Rodinonsh'onuib," and the "Iroquois." Like many other races of mankind, the
Mohawks considered themselves to be the "real "and most important people in the
land. They taught their children to regard themselves as the " real people." They did
not, however, proclaim themselves as the " only " people. Endowed physically and
mentally, their idea of freedom was so absolute, that we can safely accuse them of
possessing that generous hospitable spirit of rivalry and fidelity to a degree hitherto
unheard of.
Some speculation, I understand, having existed for a long time regarding the word
" Iroqnois," might I be allowed to digress from the main point and give my version ?
Rongwe, in the Mohawk tongue means "man " ; I-ih means "self," that is, "I am " ;
and I-ih rongwc, " I am the real man," obviously is the origin of the word. The
propensity of the old Iroquois to extol their superiority on the chase, coupled with an
absolute indifference to the horrors of torture at the stake, lend in some degree the
possibility of allowing my contention to be accepted as based upon reasonable
probability.
As a representative of a race who have not yet produced a chronicler, my claim to
speak rests upon the fact that we are not as a people " numbered among the' war-like
dead," neither are we inclined to be rated among the dying " backward races of the
world." My story in effect is the unwritten constitutional law and government of the
Caniengalmkas. as given to them by DC ka-na-ioi-deh.
It is an important story : the basic principles of this ancient system of government
being still in use by the Six Nations of Canada, with slight modifications in detail. It
would not be wise nor yet safe to say how many centuries the system has been in practical
use. The confederacy of the Five Nations, the people of the United Long House, has
always impressed me with the fact that it existed a very long time before the Europeans
reached the shores of America. Haiwatha (Ayonhwadha, commonly, but wrongly,
called Hiawatha*) founded the confederacy ; but the government of the confederacy is
an exact counterpart of the system formulated by Dekanawideh probably ages before
the era of Haiwatha.
How long the Mohawks existed in a deplorable condition before the Law-giver,
whose name and memory even the Indians themselves have never heard — save a few,
and those from the lips of the aged — it is beyond my province to conjecture. Lacking
a suitable form of organisation, chaos, misery, and war threatened the annihilation of a
great people. A long transitory period of " thinking" ensued, pondering how the lives
of the people might be preserved. Malice in its most deadly form became rampant.
Cf. Horatio Hale. Iroquois Bwlt <-f Kites (s.v. '• Condoling Council ") : (i Ilai, llui "» '' Woe ! Woe !
[ 166 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 134.
Warriors ceased from their war-like expeditions to stay around and defend tliuir women
and children. That did not prove effective, for the families murdered one smother with
impunity. In the confusion the people became more infuriated than the beasts of the
woods. Their minds darkened even in the glare of the hot sun ; night served to awaken
the horrors of bestial slaughter; children nlone were spared. The earth and the
beautiful world, with its abundance of fruit, foliage, streams of glistening waters,
followed their allotted pace without innrmer, summer anil winter. The " People of the
Flint,11 the m'ghtiest in the land, alone amongst humanity were troubled and anxious.
Dekanawideh, the determined man, " setting his teeth together,11 as his name would
indicate, vowing to master himself and save his people from destruction, wandered from
the crowd, and reached the side of a smooth clear-running stream, transparent and full
of fishes. He sat down, reclining on the sloping bank, gaxing intently into the waters
(<>/n>/i'fon\ watching the fishes playing about in complete hannouy : they had tlieir sports
and pastime which ha did not understand. The sun's ray reflected its warmth upon him.
He rose, dipping his hollowed hand into the water, drank freely, and sauntered quietly
towards the spreading branches of a tree which stood near — a tall pine tree. lie was
deep in thought and did not uotice, perched on the top most point of the pinery, the
Great White Eagle — a national totem ic emblem. The tree was very high ; no brave had
yet been able to make and handle a bow and arrow which wou'd send the arrow over
the lofty position of the king of birds. Under the bird's keen eyed scouting protection
Dckanawideh's " great idea " evolved itself into specific form. Drafting a plau as he
sat upon the grass, trusting merely to his memory did not prove satisfactory.
Taking an eagle feather, placing it upon the ground, " That," he said, "shall
" represent the great idea." He placed many articles side by side t > rep csei'.t the
" lesser ideas," the details of a great plan. These articles, he thonghf, would help to
command attention to his " ideas " and receive consideration from his people.
Over and over again did he rearrange the various light articles which acted in lieu
of letters. At last it was finished. His joy was great. lie felt inclined to yell with
delight. However, the Great White Eagle, perched on high, as if anticipating the result,
gave a loml, triumphant scream. The first real American statesman was startled, and
while he looked cautiously about him, a gust of wind playfully performed a whirlwind
dance and circulated his great policy in all directions. The primitive record, though
not the system, was lost.
A lively little woodpecker alighted on an old tat tore I hollow pine stump, mockingly
singing his limited song, pecking for food between the notes. In a revengeful moment
Dekanawideh grabbed his bow and arrow, ami scuta swift arrow, pinning the bird to the
stump. Leisurely he brought the bird and arrow down. Dekanawideh standing erect,
bird in hand, carefully examined his plumage. Looking up to the lofty p isition occupied
by the Great White Eagle, it drew from him a sigh of lofty admir.ilion. " The Great
Idea," said he, u will one day occupy a position in the, affairs of men as lofty as the
" Great Eagle holds among the feat here I kind." The inc ntivc awakened and urged
him on as if the " Ruler of All " had prompted Dekanawideh to finish the " task."
Once more he sat upon the grass, still examining the 1 ttle bird's feathers. Suddenly
there was a pause, a new discovery, another idea. Small white discs marked the
feathers. The little white round marks would help to diffuse knowledge. One by oue,
feathers were plucked and stuck into the ground. In this manner the whole scheme
\\a- rehearsed, and securely tied the precious feathers together. A new era opened.
Dekanawideh rose and slowly wandered back to his people, mingle. I with them awhile,
then Secretly laid his plan before the principal men and mothers of the nation. The scheme
was approved by them, and en its presentation to the people it was adopted nn:i,nimoii>l\ ,
Such is the story handed down for ages, not from father to son, but from mother to
children. I am reminded by mv people that it has never been told to Europeans
I 167 ]
1901.] MAN- [No, 134.
The " great idea" involved the principle of placing the " mothers of the nation " in
supreme authority, based on a triangular position ; with points represented by three
toternic shields, known variously as " clans or gentes."
This remarkable system has never been rigbtly understood, and I do not wonder at
it. But you will perceive, as I go on, that tbe Mohawk women are intelligible after all.
The national interest was invested in them for the good of the whole. They taught
their own children, and men supported both inotber and child. All tbe women were
divided, by the gens system, into three totems. Each totem had a separate council.
There was, however, a mutual agreement, all matters receiving the attention of the nation,
in time of peace, in mutual unity : nothing was finally settled without unanimity.
In the women's totemic council, however, it was practically an informal affair,
nominally presided over by an aged sensible woman of the gens.
The main subject and, probably, the only one which these female totemic councils
reasonably discussed was the selection of the homlitary council, composed of seven here-
ditarily-named lords or masters. Tnese " lordship " names, probably more correctly
" titles," descended by right of inheritance through the women, who have claims upon
the particular titles. But the women, although possessing such an extraordinary
advantage, had neither voice nor presence in the council itself during session.
The Lords in Council spoke for the women, made laws for them ; the women
obeyed them.
No woman could have an interest in more than one title. It was impossible. The
woman was not supposed to bear children from a father of the same totem as herself.
Some women had a prior right in choosing a successor to office. The original " lordship
titles," being seven in number, are as follow : —
(1.) The Turtle gens : S'hadekari wadeh. Although this is the most important
gens, the vested power in the individual suggests rather the kingly power
than anything else. After the confederation of the Five Nations two
names were added, in which Haiwatha's name, as an adopted Mohawk, now
appears third in the list of titled ones or Lords of the Confederacy. It is
possible that Dekarihoken may have been the original title and not
S'hadekariwadeh.
(2.) The Wolf gens : Shorenhowaneh, Deyouhehgwen. Ohrenhrekowah
(3.) The Bear gens : Dehanakarineh, Asdawenserontha, Shoskoharowaneh.
The Wolf and Bear Nihodidaroden (gentes) it will be seen possess an equal number
of titles, — three each. This meant a sub-division of each gens into three distinct
factions without any other or further addition of totemic divisions. There is no such
a thing as a sub-gens. It is ;m understood custom that the sub-division of gentes gave
to some women, heads of families, the right of ownership to one of the many titles. By
this arrangement it followed that a female totemic council relegated the sole control of
a named title exclusively to the said "owners of the said title." The owners of
Shorenhowaneh, as an example, would have no voice in the title of Deyonhehgwen.
The owners within the gens, however, could " borrow " candidates from one
another, so that virtually the warriors of the Wolf and Bear gentes were in a position
to succeed to any one of the three titles. Regency and borrowing are entirely distinct.
There does not appear to be any limit to the uuuiber of owners. It is guided by
the number of females in the family. Age takes first rank. It has always been against
custom to consider candidates from among the young men. An owner, be she mother,
grandmother, or great-grandmother by her right of inheritance would naturally choose
her own blood relation for office m preference to others. It is, however, very clear
that the candidate must possess qualifications in a superior degree to merit the attention
of the women.
[ 168 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 134.
A great deal more might be said on this point of au internal tribal organisation, but
but let me briefly direet your attention to the council itself. From the opening of a
council meeting begins the ceremonial part of the outward demeanour. The lords sit in
council by gentes on a plan having three corners. The principal position in the council
was occupied by the Turtle — the fountain of thought, goodness, and restricted authority.
The Wolf occupied u position equivalent to that of the "opposition party." The Bear
watched the interest of all the people, keeping a careful traditional record of what
transpired in these councils. It was his duty to open and close the council meeting in a
becoming manner. He took no part in the debate. It was his duty to confirm or refer
matters back to the council for reconsideration when he thought the interest of the people
would be better served- by doiug so.
The lighting of a fire, possibly the mere removal of ashes from the embers of an
undying " council-fire," set the work of a council into motion. About this council-fire,
let us draw three lines in a triangular manner ; the first line, pole to pole ; the other two
lines pointing to, and meeting at, the west side of the council-fire. The Wolf sat to the
north-east point of the triangle, also facing the fire. The Bear sat at the western point
facing the east. The Turtle Lord sat at the south-east point of the triangle facing the
fire. The presence of all the gentes formed the quorum. Then the speaker of the Hear
Lords rose in his place and delivered a set address, beginning by referring with thank-
fulness to the Maker for opportunities enjoyed by them and their people. The speaker
would urge the Lords in Council to exercise wisdom and patience in all their
deliberations.
When he had finished the Turtle Lord would announce the business requiring the
council's careful consideration. He himself would make known his own conclusions,
whereon the "opposition party," z'.e., the Wolf Lords, would immediately proceed to
discuss the matter in hand in an undertone among themselves. When the " opposition
party " reached an unanimous conclusion, the fact would be announced by their speaker.
It might be that the view taken by the Wolf Lords would be totally at variance with
the expressed conclusion of the Turtle Lord, or it might be a mere concurrence of views.
Where there was a difference of opinion between the Turtle and the Wolf, the Bear
would effect a compromise.
After the speaker of the Wolf had addressed his reply to the council, the Turtle
Lord would ask the Bear Lords to give it their careful attention. The Bears on
reaching a conclusion would announce the fact through their speaker to the council,
whereupon the Turtle Lord would make the final announcement, the unanimous decision
of the council, to the people of the nation. In this manner the whole transactions of the
council were carried on in the most dignified, orderly, and confiding way. No Lord was
allowed to address the council openly without first having obtained the sanction of his
side of the council fire and of the council in general. As the Lords were the most
easily approached class of the community, it is easy to understand the lack of antagonism
between them and the people. They were called Rodiyaner, the good mastersVaud
lords.
As the sun sets in the west, the deliberations of the council are brought to a close,
figuratively speaking, by drawing the ashes over the undying embers of the council-fire
on the part of the Hear Lords.
There was a minor officer to the lords outside of the council in the person of a
messenger, whose duties \sere directed by the lord himself. Messengers were some-
times promoted to the titular office, but owing to the practice of selecting older men to
office, such a form was never made an absolute rule.
The men who had been guilty of murder, treason, and cruelty to women or
children could never become titular lords. For the same offences, with the addition of
disobedience, a lord could be removed from office by the council itself.
'
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 134-135.
It should be mentioned that the candidates for office were chosen by the "owners "
of certain title*, who, after agreeing upon a choice, presented the candidate to the general
council for acceptance.
The council had a right to refuse or accept a candidate. Following on this power,
maintained by the council itself, they also hail the authority to make one of their own
people serve in the council without a title.
We find, in the historical annals of times past, Mohawks holding and wielding
great influence, who did not possess one of the titular names here mentioned. That is
possible in a two-fold degree : firstly, because the council possessed authority to make
a " life chief " of one who had shown great service to his peo >lc ; secondly, since the
leader, distinguished in times of war, maintained his influence over the people at the
return of peace.
One peculiar feature of this system of government is the suspension of council
authority during war. This is probably the cause why the hereditary system has not
produced a single noted man from among their numbers. Dekanawideh himself would
not allow his name to figure among the titles. There is not a class of people in America,
or indeed in the world, who are more indifferent to the perpetuation of their individual
memories, and still uphold an hereditary system, as tenaciously as do the Mohawks of the
Grand River. Indian farmers of to-day, descendants of famous men and women, are
absolutely careless whether their family tree is more important than that of the rest of
the Indians about them. This does not arise from ignorance of the facts, but the belief
and practice of extending equality to all seems to be at the root of the whole idea. No
man or woman among them expects more glory than that which arises from a
consciousness of having done a duty to the best of their individual ability.
Numerous ceremonies, observed at the present day, I have not touched ; they are
distinct from the subject in hand. I cannot, however, close without saying a word in
regard to that admirable work by the late scholar, Horatio Hale, on The Iroqiiois ]><>ol<
of Rites. That work is only a part of the material preserved among this j eople ;
about whom the world has heard a great deal, though it knows so little of them.
The system of government which I have attempted in a feeble way to explain was
also the system in vogue at the period when the Crown of England entered most
solemnly into an alliance with it on defensive lines, when the British Empire Avas not so
large as it is at the present moment. It is probably just as well to emphasize that the
Mohawks have never violated a pledge, and their fidelity to the Crown is no less real
to-day than in the days long since past by the snows of time. " The proud imperial
Mohawks" are not a dying but a living race, eagerly \vaiting the opportunities to
employ talent, which has lain dormant for some generations. May the hour be no
longer stayed ! I have said so : Ne Ne I-ih Witkiron. J. 0. BRANT-SERO.
Spiritualism. Lang-.
Anthropology and Superstition. By Andrew Lang. (Cf. MAX, 1931. 3.)
In the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Volume XXXI., or rather
in the Appendix, MAN, No. 3, occurs a remark of Mr. Hartland's to this effect :
" The question raised ... as to the validity and import of certain phenomena,
" vulgarly called ' spiritualistic,' is hardly one for the Anthropological Institute." The
reference is to certain attempts of my own to compare savage beliefs or superstitious
Avith their analogues, perhaps survivals, in contemporary European and American
society. Now the Anthropological Institute may, of course, draw the line where it
pleases ; but is it the case that such a comparison as I tried to institute, "is hardly one
for " the science of anthropology? I merely follow the lea 1 of Bastian in his t'c/x-r
psychischc Beobachttingen bei Naturvolkern (Leipzig, LS90). Bastian, I believe, is a
recognised authority in anthropology, and he deigned to glance, in the tract cited, at
[ 170 j
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 135136.
hypnotic methods ;uid hypnotic phciioinenii among the backward races. My own
sketch also dealt, among oilier (Hugs, with many phenomena of automatism among the
savage and (he civilised, whose methods and results are cnrionsly analogous. In both
ill • civilise I and savage instance-, these practices are usually involved in superstition,
"spiritualism'1 and other fallacies, or apparent fallacies. But even the Anthropological
Instilnle, in the latest number of the Journal, devotes attention to superstitions.
In certain cases, hypnotic and automatic, tiie superstitions are unscientific hypotheses
about facts in human nature. I cannot sec, I confess, why real or alleged phenomena
of human nature and " their validity and import " are (alone among the phenomena of
human nature) outside the sphere of a science which neglects HI hi I liunuiitniii. and has
given much attention to superstition, the unscientific interpretation of these phenomena.
But, though I cannot imagine any reason why anthropology should neglect anything
anthropological, I can see many reasons, I admit, for the idea that the topic "is hardly
" one for the Anthropological Institute." One reason is that the phenomena "are
" vulgarly called spiritualistic.11 Yet even this does not prevent the publications of
the Institute from treating of savage beliefs of a " spiritualistic " character. So perhaps
the reason is not so excellent as I supposed. A. LANG.
Torres Strait. Rivers.
On t/ic Functions of the Maternal Uncle in Torres Strait. By W. H. II. ^rtrt
Uivers, M.D. To be published in full in the Report of the Cambridge Anthro- |00
pological Expedition to Torres Strait.
In the western tribes of Torres Strait descent is at the present time strictly
paternal, and yet customs exist among these people which show that in some respects
the relationship between maternal uncle and nephew is regarded as nearer than that
between father and son. The system of kinship is of the kind known as "classih'eatory,"
and the customs to be described apply not only to the brothers of the mother, in the
strict sense, but to all those males of the clan of the same generation as the mother
whom the latter would call brother.
A man will cease fighting at once when told to do so by his maternal uncle. The
power of the uncle is so great that a fight between the natives of two hostile islands
(Mabuiag and Moa) might be stopped if a man on one side saw his sister's sou among
his enemies. This power of stopping a fight is not possessed to the same extent by the
father or mother, and a man may continue to fight even after the father or mother has
given certain indications of the nearness of the bond between them and the son. The
maternal uncle, on the other hand, stops a fight by a mere word. The brother-in-law
(/;///) has also the power of stopping a fight, but in this case it is the duty of the man
who has been stopped to make a present to the brother-in-law. No such present is
made to the uncle.
Another indication of the closeness of the relationship between maternal uncle and
nephew is that the latter may take, lose, spoil, or destroy anything belonging to his
uncle (even a new canoe, probably the most valuable possession a man can have)
without a word of reproach from the latter. I was told that, even if the nephew was
quite a .-mail boy, he could do what he liked in his uncle's house — could break or spoil
any of his uncle's property, and the uncle would say nothing.
As a boy grew up he went about more with his uncle than with his father, and I
was told that he cared more for his uncle. At the ceremonies connected with the
initiation of the boy into manhood it was the maternal uncles who had especial care and
complete control of the boy, and imparted to him the traditions and institutions of the
tribe. When the boy married the father provided the necessary presents ; but the
actual payment was made by the maternal uncle, to whom the presents were given by
the bo vV father.
r 171 i
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 136-137.
One point of interest in these customs is that they are found in a tribe in which
descent is now paternal, and must probably be regarded as vestiges of a previous condi-
tion in which descent was maternal, and the brothers of the mother were regarded as
uearer kin than the father.
Another point of more special interest is to be found in the similarity between one
of these customs and the " vasu " institution of Fiji. This institution whic.h has been
spoken of as the "keynote <>f Fijian despotism," may be regarded as an extreme
derelopment of the custom which in Torres Strait permits a nephew to take anything
belonging to his maternal uncle. In Fiji this custom has grown to such an extent that
the nephew of a king may be " vasu" to all his uncle's subjects, and may with impunity,
despoil his uncle's subjects of all their most valued possessions. W. H. R. RIVERS.
Torres Strait. Rivers
On the Functions of the Son-in-Law and Brother in-Law in Torres Strait. -\f\~J
By W. H. R. Rivers, M.D. To be published in full with the preceding paper. 10 1
In both the eastern and western tribes of Torres Strait, as in so many parts of the
world, a man is not allowed to utter the names of his wife's relations. He does not
speak to his father-in-law, and carries out any necessary communication through his
wife. If, for any reason, it should become necessary to speak to his father-in-law, he
talks in a low voice and mild manner.
In the western tribe this disability is associated with certain duties and privileges.
The brother-in-law has the power of stopping a fight, but apparently not to so marked
an extent as in the case of the maternal uncle.
When a man dies, the duty of looking after the body and the mourners falls largely
on the brother-in-law (MM). If the man has died away from home it is the duty of the
" imi " to announce the death to the widow and brothers of the deceased, and the " inn "
gives the signal for the crying — " keening " — to commence. He prepares the bodv and
carries it to the grave. He stops the crying, gives food to the mourners, and fills the
pipe of the brother of the dead man. If no brother-in-law is present these duties
devolve on the father in-law («Va), or, if no " ira " is present, on the sister-in-law
(ngaubat). Owing, however, to the large number of brotbers-iu law provided by the
classifioatory system of kinship, this rarely happens.
The brother-in-law has also definite duties in connection with fishing, and has a
definite place in the fore part of the canoe. It is his duty to hoist the sail, to heave the
anchor, to bale out water, to light the fire and prepare food, and to spear the dugong or
turtle. He has, in fact, to do all the hard work, while the owner or captain of the boat
has little to do beyond giving orders. In special kinds of fishing, as in that in which
the sucking fish is used — of which Dr. Haddou has given an account — certain of the
operations are carried out by the brother-in-law.
At a dance a man does not wear his own mask (kni) but that of his brother-
in-law.
It seems probable that these customs may be regarded as vestiges of a condition
which does not now exist in Torres Strait, but is found in many parts of the world,
viz., a condition in which a man lives with and serves the family of his wife.
These customs, and those connected with the maternal uncle, agree in pointing
to the existence, at some time, in Torres Strait of a stage iu the development of
the family in which the husband was a relatively unimportant appendage, and the
head of the family was the brother of the wife; a stage of development which is
still to be found in some parts of the world, as among the Seri Indiats, recently
investigated by McGee. W. H. R. RIVERS.
I 172 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 138.
Greece : Prehistoric. Evans.
" The Oldest Civilisation of Greece: Mr. Hall and '//.*" By Arthur ^QQ
J. Evans, LL.D., F.R.S. (Cf. MAX, 1901. 130.) I JO
In an article on Myceneean Cyprus as illustrated by the British Museum Finds,
published i» last year's Journal of the Institute, I ventured to hope that I had stripped
the last rags off the theory that brought down Mycenaean civilisation in Cyprus to the
eighth or even the seventh century B.C. The system by which the Bronze Age pins
of Cyprus are compared with those on the Frai^ois vase, by which typical Cypro-
Mycenaean cylinders of, say, the fourteenth century B.C. are described as " Phoenician "
imports of eight centuries later date, and Vapheio vases and lalysos cups made to
survive to the " Age of the Tyrants," might hardly seem to require refutation. In
order to satisfy the views put forward in the British Museum publication referred to,
" it would be necessary," as I pointed out, "to suppose that the Bronze Age of Cyprus
" so far from reaching its term somewhat earlier than that of Greece or Italy, came
" down five centuries later to the borders of the perioJ of fully-developed classical art,
" while the long centuries of the iron-using, geometrical period are either left out of
" account or a Mycenaean Bronze Age is interposed between them and classical
" times."
Whatever might have been thought a few years since as to the possible isolated
survivals of pure Mycenaean culture, the mass of evidence now before us precludes such
an hypothesis. The continuous course of civilisation in Cyprus and its characteristic
early Iron-Age products have now been illustrated in detail by Mr. Myres in his cata-
logue of the Cyprus Museum. Nor was it ever a question of the survival of some
changed form of civilisation in the island to which perhaps the name of " Sub-Myce-
naean " might still with more or less appropriateness be applied. It will be seen, from
a reference to the British Museum publication above cited, that its authors claimed (on
the strength of Egyptian evidence of which Professor Petrie had already made mince-
meat) to bring down the ceramic and other products of the best days of Mycenae to
the borders of the period of fully-developed classical art. The old tag about the
exceptionally conservative character of Cypriote culture is constantly appealed to.
Conservative, indeed, to render possible the continued manufacture of artistic products
for 800 years in a practically unchanged form !
But it seems that it was a vain conceit on my part to suppose that my detailed
exposure of this impossible system had reached those for whom it was most intended.
Mr. H. R. Hull in his recently published work on the Oldest Civilisation in Greece
accepts the heresies regarding the Mycenscan chronology in Cyprus en bloc, and, though
this might have been thought to be his special business, suppresses even a mention of
Professor Petrie's successful demolition of the alleged Egyptian evidence. Nay, more,
the detailed criticism of th^ Journal has not yet penetrated the pages of MAN, and a
notice of Mr. Hall's hook in the last number signed " H " not only endorses his pronounce-
ment, but goes beyond it to express astonishment that archaeologists should exist " who
" shut their eyes to the fact that Mycenaean remains in Cyprus last down to the eighth
" century (or possibly even later)."
We must, however, be thankful for small mercies, and it is satisfactory to find that
the system by which the central chronological point of the Myceurean civilisation is
referred to the fifteenth or fourteenth century B.C., which elsewhere has been accepted
for years, should at hist find an advocate in one at least of the Departments of
our National Antiquities The fact might still have been mentioned, however, that
the evidence for the early dating of Mycemi-jin culture, based on the correspondence
between its products and the offerings of the Keft chieftains to Thothines III.,
hud been pointed out by Stcindorff some ten years since. Mr. Hull, indeed, apart
from his impossible conclusions regarding Cyprus, brings down the general date of
[ 173 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 138.
Myceniwan culture far too low, and adduces on behalf of this view the fine Biigel-
kanno said to have been found in the coffin of a grandson of Piuetcbern I., who died
some time in the tenth century. As these relics are in Mr. Hall's department of the
liritish Museum we might at b-ast have expected a more cautious verdict ; for they
have been shown by Professor Petrie to form part of a bogus find of the class which
those who have to do with Arab and other dealers are very familiar. The objects, said
to have been found together, appear, in fact, to range in date from about 2600 to
300 B c. Such at least is the result of Professor Petrie's published analysis,* and it is
difficult to understand by what pontifical authority Mr. Hall can claim (as he does in his
book) to exercise ihe right of complexly ignoring such criticism.
It may a'so be pointed out that Mr. Hall's references to the early civilisation of
Crete and its connexions with Egypt are generally misleading. I had myself suggested
a relationship between certain rude pictorial figures on a class of early cylinders and a
prism seal found in Egypt and certain types on an early class of Cretan seal-stones, also
accompanied by the pri-m form. The types for the most part are not ordinary hiero-
glyphics, and include ibexes or goats with two heads and a single body, a hare-headed
man, and possibly one with horn-, and the comparisons are tabulated for what they are
worth. Mr. Hall thinks the horns of the man are the rudely-drawn feathers of the
Egyptian hieroglyph for archer, which may or may not be the case, but his conclusion
" that the supposed connexion with Crete" therefore disappears is singularly illogical.
Half the creations of barbaric art result from misunderstood copying. The other signs
on the Karnak prism he describes as " merely ordinary Egyptian hieroglyphs." It does
not require a very profound knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics to know that this is a
strange perversion of fact.
So far as direct connexion between Crete and Twelfth Dynasty Egypt is concerned
the evidence is as conclusive as it can possibly be. I have myself put together a table
of Twelfth Dynasty scarab designs and their contemporary copies on Cretan s-eal-stones
which has been generally accepted as carry ing. conviction. The argument so freely used,
that scarabs themselves prove nothing as they may be Inter importations, is here beside
the mark, for men do not imitate the past but the contemporary art of their neighbours.
The spiral system, — unknown to the earlier, neolithic population of the island, — ;K>W
appears in a fully developed form taken over, like tin stone vases with which it is asso-
ciated, from Twelfth Dynasty originals. The be intifiil pre-Mycemuan painted-pottery of
Crete finds its way at the same time to Egypt. The evidence of direct relations bi-twecn
Crete and the Nile Valley at this time is overwhelming. But in the teeth of it all,
and notwithstanding the fact that neither the seals, nor the spirals, nor the vases are
found in Cyprus, Mr. Hall still seeks to find the only intercourse betw. en Crete and
Egypt "by land cr sea along Ihe Asiatic coast v'.ii Cyprus." With rog.ird to the local
topography of Crete, Mr. Hall might improve his knowledge with advantage. In th ir
case he would certainly cease to write of " Praistos " and the '• Dicboan Cave on
Mount Ida."
Nor was it really necessary that Mr. Hall-- with less than a thousandth part of
the evidence before his eyes — should cast doubts as to the statement made in my
last report on the Knossos excavations, that the Cretan linear script reads from left
to right. I can only repeat that the statement is absolutely exact. Elsewhere I had
been at special pains to point out that the conventionalised, pictograph'c, or fully
developed "hieroglyphic" script of Crete is ihe product of the Mycen:van age, and
lasts, indeed, to quite late Myceiucan times. Mr. Hall now makes this a sugges-
tion of his own as if he were setting my conclusions right. Throughout the book,
indeed, we are continually coiifr nted by what appear to be judicial corrections < !'
* Tiic liclulif.Hx /</' /.</'//"' -iin! f'J.ir'1/ EIU\>I>I\ Trans. U.^.L.. XIX.. p. 73- 1 ( p. Hi of tlu piiper).
[ 174 1
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 138-139.
authors' statements liy Mr. Hall, hut, which arc in reality the conclusions of the
writer thai he is referring to. A reference is niven, for instance, to a hook of mine,
where mention is made of tin- non-Hellenic inscription found :it Pr:e.-o>, in such a way
as to lea.l the reader to suppose that I have advocated the Semitic origin of the Eteo-
crelans. " But," continues Mr. Hall, in his heaviest judicial style, "we may he justified
" in thinking it more probable that the Eteowetans belonged to the same stock as the other
'• IVlasgiaii tribes in their neighbourhood than that they were Semites." This was really
my own conclusion on the. pages referred to by Mr. Hali. So, again, after entering a
judicial caveat against the view put forward in my monograph on Mycenaean tree and
pillar cult, that Mycen:ean worship was predominantly aniconic, — a view which elsewhere,
both on the Continent and in this country, has received general adhesion, — Mr. Hall adds
a further corrective paragraph of his own to show that this cult need not he Semitic.
"The similar cults of Canaan," he writes, "were probably taken over by the Semites
" from the pro Semitic inhabitants, who probably belonged to the same stock as the pro-
Ar\an (1 reeks " This is simply repeating (in a crude and incorrect form, it is true) what
had been specially insisted on in the work that Mr. Hall is apparently controverting.
Mr. Hall's book contains much good material, laboriously put together, combined
with many fresh and welcome suggestions, especially as regards the barbaric invader* of
Fgvpt and the original Philistine stock. A good deal of it shows a quality of real research
which cannot be too highly commended. But it is marred by the continual effort to sit
in judgment on matters that are really beyond the author's competence. Dogmatic
pronouncements, moreover, as in the case of the alleged reference to the lonians on
the Tcll-el-Amarna tablets, of the cylinders from early Cypriote tombs, and of the clay
figures from Nippur, often stand in the place of arguments. Professor Saycc is
corrected like a schoolboy on a point upon which he has still some very conclusive
arguments to bring to bear. Professor Hilprecht's pei>onal evidence as to the circum-
stances of his discovery of the clay figures is brushed aside as " quite impossible."
Of the treatment accorded to Professor Petrie samples have already been given. It
nm<f be added that some of the most irritating features of Mr. Hall's book are due to an
inherent want of lucidity and an imperfect mastery of English composition, which makes
it almost impossible to know whether at a given point he is expressing his own opinion
or whether he is quoting that of another writer. ARTHUR J. EVANS.
Greece : Prehistoric. Myres.
Note on Mycenfcnn Chronology. By John L. Myres (Cf. MAX, 1901. 130.) 1QQ
A phrase in the recent review of Mr. Hall's Earliest CirUisatton of Greece IwU
(MAX, 1901. 130) seems to indicate that the writer is not fully aware of the state of the
case. " We do not understand," ho says, "how archaeologists can shut their eyes to the
" fact that Mycenseau remains in Cyprus last down to the eighth century B.C. (possibly
" even later)." This is not a fair statement of the case. At present the only " fact "
known is that certain officials of the Greek and Roman Antiquity Department of the
British Museum have stated this opinion in an official publication. No serious student,
however, outside the Museum, has seen his way to accept their view either before or
since; and the Museum, though repeatedly challenged to publish its evidence, still keeps
silence on the essential points of " fact."
On the iir.-t announcement of the Museum's inferences from its excavations at
Episkopi (quote I in .It-m/cmi/, January 11, lH9o) 1 pointed out (ib. February 1, 1896)
that the announcement wa> l.oth self-contradictory in form and inconclusive in substance,
and that befoiv the new view could be accepted it must be supported by a proper
statement of the evidene,'. To this note no reply h;is ever appeared.
Not long after. Professor Flinders Petrie went into this whole question of date in
detail (Tnitts. ROII. So,-. L'ri., XIX. (1897), p. 73 ff.) and corrected the misapprehension
r 175
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 139-141.
into which the officials of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities appeared to
have fallen as to the date of the Egyptian scarab on which half of their case rested.
Ao-ain no reply. In the official publication, Excavations in Cyprus, which appeared
shortly afterwards, Professor Petrie's article is ignored altogether, and the pronouncement
of an anonymous expert is accepted as final.
Still more recently Mr. Arthur Evans, in reviewing once more the Cypriote
evidence on which the Museum bases its view (Journ. Anthr. Inst., XXX. (1900),
p. 199 ff.) has pointed out that the "Phoenician cylinder " on which the other half of the
Museum's case rests is neither figured at all in the official publication, nor even described
in the text in such a way as to be identifiable. Still no answer ; and no publication, as
yet, of the cylinder in question.
Under these circumstances it cannot be said that archaeologists outside the British
Museum have " shut their eyes " to anything. On the contrary, they have their eyes
very wide open indeed in the direction of the British Museum, and whenever either
the writer of the phrase I have quoted or the officials in charge of the Cypriote
finds shall produce some " facts " for them to see, they will probably succeed in seeing
them. J. L. MYRES.
REVIEWS.
Folklore. Sebillot.
Le Folklore des Pechcurs. By Paul Sebillot. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1901. 4Af\
12mo. Pp. xii, 389. Price 5 francs. \*T\J
The forty-third volume of Les Litteratures Populaires which we owe to that
indefatigable folklorist, M. Sebillot, is a singularly interesting volume. There are
probably few modes of life more calculated to promote the survival of traditional customs
than that of the fisher-folk. In England, and still more in other parts of Europe, they
live their own lives and are untouched by civilisation. They still form, as it were, an
exclusive caste, to which we find an analogue among some of the whale-fishing peoples
of Behriug Sea.
The chapters of M. Sebillot's book deal with the life of the fisherman from his
birth to his death, with his house, his patron saints, and his religious customs. The
second book is devoted to the boats, omens, and the various observances believed to be
necessary for success ; chapters are devoted to the freshwater fishermen and to the
fishermen of Newfoundland and Iceland. The third book gives a sketch of the legends
of the fishermen of all nations.
It is a little unfortunate for those who want to use the book as well as be amused
by it that there is no index provided. Surely this concession to the serious student
would have done no one any harm. N. W. T.
Egypt. Niebuhr.
The Tell-el-Amarna Period. By Carl Niebuhr. No. II. of " The Ancient
East" Series. Price 1*.
The second volume of the series, dealing as it does with purely historical questions,
calls for no extended notice here. On the whole the epoch of the history of Egypt and
Western Asia, known as the " Tell-el-Amarna " period (c. 1450-1400 B.C.; the date
1370 given by Mr. Niebuhr for the death of Amenhetep IV. (Akhenateu) is too late) is
capably sketched by the author, who, however, of course labours under the difficulty
always present when small books of this kind are concerned — the difficulty of clearly
indicating when the evidence on which he bases his conclusions is absolutely certain and
unquestioned, and when it is not. A wrong impression is given by a mistake which
occurs throughout the book : if the ff is not used it should be replaced by Kh, never by
simple //. The names " Hani," " Vanhamu," &«•., which occur in this book are wrongly
spelt ; if H was not available they should have been spelt Khani, Vaukhamu. H. H.
Printed by BVBK AM) SPOTTJSWOODE, His Majesty's Printers, East Hurtling .-Mi-cut, E.G.
MAN, 1901. PLATE M.
FIG. I. — COTTON-MILL OR GIN (FOR EXTRACTING
THE SEEDS FROM THE COTTON).
FIG. 2. — SPOOL-LADDER OR SPOOL-RACK (WHENCE
WARP-THREADS ARE DRAWN DOWN TOWARDS
WARP-PEGS PLACED BELOW THEM).
FIG. 4. — SPINNING-WHEEL (FOR COTTON).
FIG. 5. — FRAME USED FOR "TYING" PROCESS.
FIG. 3.— PEGS FOR WARP-LAYING. FIG. 6.— MALAY LOOM (KELANTAN TYPE).
MALAY SPINNING AND WEAVING.
1901.] MAN. [No. 142.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Malay Peninsula. With Plate M. Skeat.
Note* n/i tin1 Ettu^ography of the Malay Peninsula. Abstract of part of the
Report on Mr. W. W. Skeat's Expedition presented to the British Association
at Glasgow, September 17, 1901.
The Report contained also a statement of the zoological botanical, and geological
results of the expedition, and will he printed in full in Proc. Brit. Assoc., 1901.
The Malay Peninsula, lying midway between the two most densely-populated
countries in the world (India and China), is, strangely enough, very sparsely populated.
The climate is tropical (Singapore being only about one and a half degrees from tin-
equator), the atmosphere heavily charged with moisture, the interior of the country
(except where colonized) is mountainous and covered with dense jungle, the ti •
reaching a height of nearly 200 feet in many places. The total volume of trade in 1900
was about £51,000,000; with Great Britain alone about £3,000,000. The most im-
portant industry is that of tin-mining, the Malay region producing two-thirds of the
world's tin supply. The natives are Mahommedan Malays, now often swamped by
Chinese and other aliens in the western towns, whilst in the jungle are to be found
scattered tribes of at least two aboriginal races, which are entirely distinct from the
Malay or any other of the immigrating elements.
In addition to the British colonial settlements of Singapore, Malacca, and Penang,
there is a British Protectorate over the federated states of Perak, Selaugor, Negri
Sembilan, and Pahang. At the southern end of the peninsula lies the independent
state of Johore. The remainder of the peninsula, which is under Siamese influence,
includes the area traversed by our expedition ; it consists of the states of Pataui
(now divided into seven districts), Kelantau, and Trengganu, with one or two small
districts north of Pataui — e.g., Siugora and Pataluug.
After a short stay at Bangkok, during which the chief places of interest were
visited, including the magnificent royal palace, the expedition proceeded by sea to
Singora and there started work by exploring the shores of the Inland Sea. The next
place visited was Patani, which lies on a river of that name, up which we proceeded in
the curious river-boats there used for up-stream traffic to a place called Biserat, whence
we worked our way through the southern states and finally proceeded by way of Singa-
pore to Penang and Kedah. The chief town of Kedah, which is called Alor Star, lies
a short way up the Kedah river. Starting from this town I proceeded for several days'
journey inland till the far interior of the state was reached, crossing on the way a vast
plain planted with rice, many miles in extent, and passing between the two finest
mountains of Kedah, viz., Kedah Peak (called Guuong Jerei by the Malays) and Bukit
Perak, which means the Silver Hill. ' Some of the scenery in the interior of Kedah
was very fine ; it was for the most part hilly, and travelling was effected by elephant,
frequently over the roughest jungle-tracks.
There are on the east coast two sharply-contrasted racial types, but as the con-
clusions of Messrs. Duckworth and Laidlaw (the latter of whom took the measurement
and the former is largely helping to work them out) are not yet fully published
(cf. Proc. Brit. Assoc., 1900, Bradford, p. 909) it is impossible to go into this question
now, and all that 1 will say is that the difference between the two is to be seen, uol only
in their features but in their build and stature, which in the taller race approaches that of
the Maori ; the shorter race is undoubtedly Malay, the taller most probably Indonesian.
The Patani Malays have in many cases some infusion of Siamese blood, of which
there may also be some slight traces among the coast-dwellers of the si>ter state of
Kelantan, but from this element Trengganu appears to be practically free. Onr own
men were for the most part Malays from the west coast state of Selaugor, but included
f 177 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 142.
also a couple of Patani Malays, a Malay from Sumatra, a couple of Trengganu Malays,
and a Malay from Kedah.
The central building of a Malay village is naturally the mosque, in proximity to
which the dead were usually buried. The gravestones for men and women are of
different shapes, and are easily distinguishable.
The ordinary house of a respectable Malay is raised upon posts (like the pile-
dwellings of Switzerland), is thatched with the leaf of a low-growing palm called
" Nipah " (Nipa fructicar^s) and
f*5- possesses beautifully decorative
^4» screens in place of outside walls.
JBKf which are made by weaving into
the required pattern long coloured
slips of bamboo. The patterns are
-" _ ^•^•••didM usually geometrical, but the border
of one of these screens at Kota
Bharu in Kelantan represented a
snake chasing a fish. The pat-
terns of the mats made up-country
were also frequently of most beau-
tiful workmanship. Other objects
which were frequently well deco-
rated were the indispensable Malay
coconut scraper, which was some-
times carved so as to represent some such animal as a rhinoceros, bear, or tiger, and
sometimes a man prostrating himself in prayer.
The helves of axes or hatchets were frequently carved to represent a human face ;
in some cases even the teeth being visible. This face was said to represent that of a
demon (or " Bhota ") and recalls some Polynesian types of ornament.
Moulds for small cakes (or perhaps, I should rather say, fancy biscuits) were also
frequently of most beautiful workmanship, the objects represented being elephants,
buffaloes, bullocks, horses, rams, fish, tortoises, and weapons such as daggers, axes,
and guns.
The pottery of Kedah was very finely executed, the pots being thrown on a wheel
and the patterns stamped or painted, or even (in the better class of work) drawn by hand
with a pointed stick before firing.
One of the most important industries on the east coast was that of fishing. Fish
were caught not unfrequently by hand alone, as well as by lines (occasionally with
most ingenious self-acting rods), traps, fish-fences, nets, &c. There is much that is
interesting about the Malay casting- net, the ingenious method of making the chains
for which was explained by Mr. Rosenhain at last year's British Association (Proc.
Brit. Assoc., 1900, Bradford, p. 906 ; cf. Journ. Anthr. Inst., XXXI.). The twine used
for making these nets is stretched upon an ingenious kind of rack which keeps it taut
while it is being sized and brushed down with a brush made from the fruit of the Nipah
palm.
Mr. Roseuhain at the same time explained several interesting points about other
forms of Malay metalwork, including the methods employed by the Malay ironsmith
in manufacturing the damasked kris or dagger blades so much admired by the Malays, as
well as the methods of the coppersmith, whose moulds are made by building up several
layers of fine clay and sand, &c., both inside and outside a thin core of wax, the latter
of which is an exact full size model of the required vessel. A small vent-hole being
left in the bottom of the mould, it is then deposited on two sticks over a basin of water,
and some hot embers being placed inside it the wax core of the mould soon melts and
[ 178 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 142.
runs out into the water, leaving a hollow into which the molten metal is poured. The
apparatus used by the goldsmith appears to more nearly approach Indian methods
than those of his fellow-craftsmen who work up the metals of lesser value.
.The main point of interest about the cloth making methods observed on the east
coast was that neither in the form of method of using the cotton-gin (Plate M. 1) (for
separating the seeds from the raw cotton), the scutching-bow the rolling-board and pin,
nor the spinning-wheel itself (M. 4), does any notable departure from Indian methods
take place. When once this point is reached, however, considerable differences manifest
themselves, as, for instance, in the shuttles and in the Malay method of warp-laying,
according to which the spools of variously-coloured thread are carried in a horizontal
frame or rack (M. 2,), which is suspended from the rafters at about five feet from
the ground. The thread of each separate spool is drawn down as required, and wound
in and out round a series of leng wooden pegs fixed into a wooden board (M. 3). In
an old book about Madras and Mysore, by *E. Hoole (London, 1844), there are several
good illustrations of weaving apparatus, including one of the frame with pegs, though,
unfortunately, the author is " unable to explain the precise method of using it."
The only other special point to which I would now call attention is the method of
preparing the warp-threads by stretching them on a frame (M. 5), and tying them round
at intervals to form the pattern, the parts thus tied being, of course, protected from the
dye into which the warp-threads are then dipped. This method differs, if I remember
rightly, from the method observed by Dr. Haddon in Borneo, in the fact that it is the
tcarp-threads that are tied ; in principle it is, however, of course the same. The loom
(M. 6) is a horizontal one, and is almost invariably placed under shelter just outside the
house, where the women, who are the only weavers, may frequently be seen at work.
Another widespread industry was the manufacture of jaggery or coconut-sugar.
The sap is drawn off by cutting off the tip of the fleshy axis of the blossom-shoot of
the palm, when the sap distils into a bamboo vessel (internode) arranged to intercept it.
It is then taken home and boiled continuously
in a large copper until it is sufficiently
thickened, when it is poured off into small,
shallow, circular moulds arranged on a board,
forming when solid a small round cake of a
toffee-like substance, which is largely used by
the Malays for cooking purposes.
Another and still more important in
dustry was, of course, rice growing, the rice
being (in Kedah) cut with reaping-kuives or
sickles of peculiar shape, and threshed by
striking the heads of each sheaf of rice
against the rungs of a small ladder placed
against the side of a tub, after which it
was drawn off the field on sledges drawn by
bollocks.
We saw in Put an i some notable and
striking Malay ceremonies, among them
being a royal wedding between the sister
of the Raja Muda of Patani and the young
Raja Muda of Kelautan.
An equally interesting ceremony was one which Mr. D. T. Gwyune-Vaughau and
1 witnessed at the mouth of the Pataui river, at which the candidates for circumcision
were paraded with great pomp and ceremony. Their heads being shaven, they were
mounted on the shoulders of men who were for the occasion nicknamed elephants, aud
[ 179 ]
1901.] . MAN. [No. 142.
who carried them to the threshold of the house in which the ceremony was to take place,
whence, however, they were thrice driven back before they were allowed to enter the
house until the demons were believed to have been thoroughly expelled from them by
an old magician who stood at the top of the steps and to the accompaniment of many
incantations loosed a slip-knot in front of each of the candidates' foreheads. During
the procession a curious collection of rice-cakes, orange, white and purple, which was
called " the soul rice,'' was carried in front of the candidates, a number of women
accompanying the procession and carrying long spirally-decorated tapers which were
said to be regarded as " make-believe " krisses (the man's emblem).
Civilisation is making great strides in these states, but it has not yet entirely swept
away the lingering traces of the old barbaric law which imprisoned human beings in
cages and under conditions that would have been unfit for beasts, and tortured and
mutilated them until death mercifully brought them a release. Still it is an undoubted
fact that matters are improving, and we may be permitted to hope that scenes of this
sort will before long, as in Europe, retain an antiquarian interest only, and that the last
gaol-cage in Malaya may be abolished, no less than the custom of mutilating thieves by
lopping off their hands and feet. .
To conclude with a lighter theme, some of our most exciting and diverting experi-
ences were gained in attending the performances of the local medicine men or magicians,
spiritualistic seances, such as that of the Fish- Trap dance, &c., &c. A performance
at Biserat by a local Malay conjuror, named Golek or (more familiarly) Awang the
Big, was one of the most amusing things I have seen, the conjuror being a well-known
local character and a born clown, who first made our acquaintance by bringing in zoological
specimens to our quarters. Awang the Big commenced by performing a most impres-
sive sort of juju, which enabled him (as he explained) to carry a wooden rice-mortar
weighing from 30 to 50 pounds about in his teeth for a considerable time, and then
cast it from him with a jerk of the head He then entered a charmed enclosure, which
was marked off from the spectators by a black and white cord, and there lying down
upon his back, supported the mortar upon his belly whilst four men vigorously
pounded the rice inside it, the pounding (which he probably hardly felt) producing
the most extraordinary contortions in Awang's visage. There was no great intrinsic
difficulty in this performance, but it was, nevertheless, as a burlesque of conjuring,
irresistibly comic owing to Awang the Big's grand air, which was greatly enhanced by
his solemn assertion that even royalty in the shape of the local rajas could only entreat,
but could not command, his services
It is not necessary to argue, on account of their occasional lapses into savagery,
that the Malays are an essentially barbarous people. That is very far from being the
case, and, indeed, the unanimous verdict is in the opposite sense to such a conclusion.
The Malays are essentially a soft-mannered people, and that none the less for the fact
that, like many other soft-mannered people, they are capable of doing desperate acts.
The better class of them, i.e., the forest-dwellers as distinct from the town-dwellers, are
not only often first -rate woodsmen but naturally gentlemen, and most companionable, fond
of their home and family, loyal to a fault towards their natural chiefs, honest as any of
our own peasantry, keenly alive to a sense of their own honour. Desirable, as it
undoubtedly is, that the coup de grace should be given to such ebullitions of savagedom,
as some that I have already referred to and others to which I might refer, I do not
believe it would necessarily improve the race to force it neck and crop into the straight
jacket of our own civilisation. Much might, indeed, be gained, but more would infallibly
be lost thereby through the withdrawal of the opportunity for character-training, which
is the most precious possession of a free race. W. W. SKEAT.
I 180 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 143-144.
Australia. Spencer.
The Austral hi ii Ethnnloy'u-nl E.rin'<litnm ; /xtrt of n Lvllvr rn-i irx/ from
/Vo/'/'.v.wr linldirhi Sfniircr. ( 'oiniiiiinicntcd by •). Edge-Partington.
Writing from Harrow Creek, under date .lime 17, 1901, Professor Baldwin Spencer
^ivcs the following account of l>is work : —
" On the whole we are having u very good time though travelling is rather rough
and horribly monotonous in this part of the globe, which is about the last place created,
and there were no picturesque features left. We have been riding for a week or two
through a kind of broad road cut through the mulga scrub so as to make a clearing for
the telegraph line. From the Alice to here is just about 200 miles and during the
whole time we spent on the road we only saw two solitary blacks. The whole country
has been stricken with a great drought, which has affected the natives as well as the
plants and beasts. However, here we have a good number of Kaitish natives gathered
together and are doing some work amongst them. At Alice Springs we got hold of
some good things, and the British Museum shall certainly be remembered when we
get back, but much will depend upon how mauy of our things get lost on the road.
The loot which we have got during the past few days, and which is now lying in a
heap close to where I am writing, would make your mouth water — Churinga spears,
big and little bean-tree pitchis, shields, sacred hair girdles, knives, &c. Further north
we ought to get much better things. Two hundred miles ahead the natives are already
waiting for us with plenty of stone knives and hatchets. The difficult things to get are
the sacred implements. The only way to secure these is to go and rummage about in
their camps where they keep them concealed in the bushes out of which they build their
miamias
" As far as the Alice we carried a cinematograph with us and spent some time
there recording sacred ceremonies, but I am afraid that they are not a great success as
it is not easy to fix the instrument so as to include the whole performance. However,
they will be better than nothing. We also had a phonograph and got twenty-four
good cylinders with records of corrobboree songs, initiation songs, and so on. These are
decidedly good. We shall not get much that is new in the way of implements until
we get north, but I have hopes of securing interesting things there. Near to Tennant's
Creek is the great place for making stone knives and hatchets, and I hope to secure
several good series of these in different stages of development
" When we have finished here we go north for 200 miles and intend to spend two
months among the Warramunga tribe. Then we make north again for another 200
miles, and then probably work out north-east towards the Gulf of Carpentaria, on to the
Macarthur River. We intended making out west on to the Daly River, but we shall not
have time to do this before the summer rains come on and with them heavy floods,
which if we happen to be caught in them will prevent our moving about for two or
three months. . . . •.
" This letter goes south by a stray wanderer who has just come in here. Goodness
knows when you will get it. Our next post office lies 700 miles ahead of us. There
are no such things :is papers here and we know nothing of the world "
Anthropometry. Risley.
On an Improved Method of Measuring the Vertical Proportions of the Head. "\A A
By H. H. Risley, C.S.I., Director of Ethnography for India.
It is, I believe, the experience of most observers that the measurement of the
vertical dimensions of the head, commonly called " projections," on the living subject
presents some material difficulties. After several experiments I believe that I have
discovered a simple method of overcoming these difficulties, which I venture to describe,
t 181 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 144.
in the hope that it may be of use to anthropologists. It has been tried in India on a
large scale with marked success.
The measurements are taken with the graduated T-square (Equerre cephalome-
trique) and the smaller steel sliding-scale or the wooden triangular slide. Their
accuracy depends upon the subject's head being exactly upright, and being kept in that
position while the measurements are going on. There appear to be two recognised
methods for placing the subject's head in an upright position. The first, devised by
Dr. Barclay in 1803, consists in making the subject hold with his teeth a flat plate of
metal mechanically levelled. Topinard discusses this plan, and condemns it as too
complicated. For use in India and wherever notions of ceremonial purity prevail it is
open to the serious objection that unless all the subjects operated on at the same time
belong to the same caste aud sub-caste the plate of metal would have to be continually
washed in deference to caste prejudices. It also appears to me that if a man has
got a plate of metal between his teeth the height from the top of his head to the
bottom of his chin cannot be correctly measured, and will in practice vary consider-
ably. The second method, which Topinard prefers, "consists in directing the subject
" to look steadily at the horizon, and in correcting the position of his head if by
" accident or through nervousness he does not look straight before him in the natural
" manner." " In this manner," Topinard adds, " the head will be adjusted in accord-
" ance with the plane of vision, and will necessarily assume a correct position for the
" purpose of measurement."
We must, I think, take it on Topinard's authority that the head can be correctly
placed by following these instructions. We are met, however, by the further difficulty
that after the correct position has been ascertained the subject cannot keep his head
absolutely still, and that every movement, however slight, materially affects the measure-
ments. Having got the correct position, we want to fix it, in order that there may be
no movement while the measurements are going on, and in order that the position may,
if necessary, be reproduced for the purpose of repeating and testing measurements
already taken. For this purpose I had a small clamp, with a horizontal bar attached
to it, made by the Mathematical Instrument Department, Calcutta. The clamp runs on
the height-measure which is in the box, and is used in the following manner.
Adjust the subject's head
correctly by the plane of vision
as explained above. Then
place the height-measure with
its plummet attached on either
side of the subject, and see by
observing the plummet that the
measure is upright. Run the
clamp up until the horizontal
bar attached to it touches the
central cartilage of the subject's
nose, aud renders it impossible
for him to depress his head.
Then screw the clamp tight.
The bar will rest exactly at the
junction of the upper lip with
the central cartilage — at the
point, in fact, which forms the
lower starting point for the
measurement of the height of the nose. So long as the subject rests his nose on this
bar be will be in the correct position as previously ascertained ; and if the height of the
[ 182 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 144-145.
bar on the gradations of the height measure is noted, the position can be reproduced at
any moment. In fact, the sources of error are reduced to one — the possibility of the
subject raising his head — and this can be easily guarded against by seeing that his nose
is tightly pressed against the horizontal bar.
It will be seen that the horizontal bar in no way interferes with the procesn of
measuring. It may even assist it, if the vertical arm of the T-square be steadied
against the horizontal bar in taking the dimensions from vertex to tragus.
The annexed photograph shows the horizontal bar and clamp being used by my
anthropometric assistant, Babu Kamud Behari Samanta, who is now engaged in
measuring the typical castes and tribes of the Bombay Presidency and Siud. These
measurements will complete a preliminary anthropometric survey of India, the results
of which I propose to publish next year in the report on the census of ludia taken on
the 1st of March 1901. II. H. RISLEY.
Crete : Prehistoric. Report.
Abstract of the Report of the Committee of the British Association on
Explorations in Crete. Presented at Glasgow, September 13th, 19!)1. Com-
municated by the Secretary of the Fund. Cf. MAN, 1901. 2.
The Cretan Exploration Fund was formed in 1899 with the object of assisting
British explorers and the British School at Athens to investigate the early remains of
the island, which from indications already apparent seemed likely to supply the solution
of many interesting questions regarding the beginnings of civilisation in Greece (cf.
MAN, 1901. 2). To the furtherance of this work, begun in the spring of 1900, the
grant of £145 was made last autumn by the British Association.
Already in 1894 Mr. Arthur Evans had secured a part-ownership (completed last
year) in the site of Kephala at Knossos, which evidently contained the remains of a
prehistoric building. Excavations, to which the fund has largely contributed, begun by
him in 1900 on this site and continued during the present year, have brought to light an
ancient palace of vast extent, which there is every reason to identify with the traditional
House of Minos, and at the same time with the legendary "Labyrinth."
The result of the excavations of 1900 was to unearth a considerable part of the
western side of this great building, including two large courts, the porticoes and entrance
corridors, a vast system of magazines, some of them replete with huge store jars, and a
richly adorned room, where between lower benches rose a curiously carved gypsum
throne, on which King Minos himself may have sat in council. The second season's
work has uncovered a further series of magazines, the whole northern end of the palace
including a bath-chamber and an extensive eastern quarter. It was only towards the
close of this year's excavations that what appear to have been the principal state rooms
first came into view. A triple flight of stone stairs, one flight beneath another, here
leads down from an upper corridor to a suite of halls, showing remains of colonnades
and galleries. It was at this interesting point that, owing to the advanced season.
Mr. Evans was obliged to bring this year's excavations to a close.
Apart from the architectural results already gained, the finds within the walls of
the palace have been of such a nature as to throw an entirely uew light on the art and
culture of prehistoric Greece Among the minor arts represented is that of
miniature painting on the back of crystal and intarsia work of ivory, rock-crystal,
enamel, and precious metals, of which a splendid example has been found th s season in
the remains of a royal draught-board. Other finds illustrate the connections with
ancient Egypt and the East. Part of a small diorite statue from last year's excavations
bears a hieroglyphic inscription fixing its date about the beginning of the second millen-
nium B.C., while a more recently-discovered alabaster lid bears the cartouche of the
[ 1«3 J
19oi.] MAN. [Nos, 145-146.
Hyksos King, Khyau. A fine cyliuder of lapis lazuli, mounted with gold and engraved
with mythological subjects, bears witness to the early connections with Babylonia.
The most interesting of all the discoveries is the accumulated evidence that there
existed on the soil of prehistoric Hellas a highly-developed system of writing some eight
centuries earlier than the first written Greek monuments, and going back six or seven
centuries, even before the first dated record of the Phoenician script. A whole series of
deposits of clay tablets has come to light, many of the most important of them during
last season's excavations, engraved with a linear script, often accompanied by a decimal
system of numeration. Besides these linear tablets there was discovered a separate
deposit of clay bars and labels containing inscriptions of a more hieroglyphic cla*s.
Although contemporary with the linear tablets, the script on these is apparently of quite
distinct evolution, and. in all probability in a different language.
Beneath the palace itself and the adjoining houses, and underlying the whole top of
the hill, was also a very extensive Neolithic settlement (cf. MAN, 1901. 146). The relics
found, such as the small human figures of clay and marble, supply the antecedent stages,
hitherto wanting, to the Early Metal-age Culture of the ^Egean Islands.
In addition to the assistance given to Mr. Evans in his work at Knossos, the Cretan
Exploration Fund has contributed towards various works of exploration in the island
undertaken under the auspices of the British School at Athens. In 1899 the late
Director of the School, Mr. D. Gr. Hogarth, excavated a series of prehistoric houses in
the lower town of Knossos. Mr. Hogarth further successfully explored the great cave
of Zeus on Mount Dicta, discovering remains of a prehistoric sanctuary and large
deposits of votive bronze figures and other objects, among which the double axe, the
symbol of the Cretan and Carian Zeus, was specially conspicuous. During the present
year Mr. R. C. Bosanquet, the new Director of the British School, has carried out an
exploration of the site of Praesos, in the easternmost region of Crete, in historic times the
chief civic centre of the original Eteocretan element of the island (cf. MAN, 1901. 148).
This season Mr. Hogarth has also been enabled by a grant from the fund to explore an
ancient site at Zakro in the extreme east of the island (cf. MAN, 1901. 147). He has
there uncovered a small Mycenaean town with well-preserved remains of the lower part
of the houses and magazines, and a pit containing fine examples of early pottery.
Other interesting sites, already previously secured for British excavation, remain
to be explored. The Executive Committee of the Cretan Exploration Fund," however,
are of opinion that, before devoting any sums towards breaking new ground, a sufficient
amount shall be raised to enable Mr. Evans to complete his excavation of the palace of
Knossos, a considerable part of the cost of which has already fallen on the explorer's
shoulders. The large scale of the work, on which throughout the whole of last season
200 workmen were constantly employed, makes it necessarily costly, and in this case,
in addition to many other incidental items of expenditure, a great deal has to be done
towards the conservation, and in some cases even the rooting-in, of the chambers dis-
covered. It is estimated that a sum of between one and two thousand pounds will be
necessary for the adequate completion of this important work. The unique character
of the results already obtained is, however, so widely recognised that the Committee
confidently trust that no financial obstacles will stand in the way of this consummation.
J. L. M.
Crete. Evans.
The Neolithic Settlement at Knossos and its Place in the History of Early
JEgean Culture. By Arthur J. Evans, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S.
The hill of Kephala at Knossos, which contained the remains of the Palace of
Minos and early houses going back to the pre-Mycenaean or Kamares period of Crete,
proves to have been the scene of a much earlier and very extensive Neolithic settlement.
[ 184 ]
1901.]
MAN.
[No. 146.
Tlir exploration of this by the author, in addition to the work on the later remains of
the "Miuoan " Palace, has heeu greatly aided by the grant from the Association in 1900.
The remains were contained in a stratum of light clay underlying the later prehistoric
buildings, and which seems to have been formed by the disintegration of successive
generations of wattle and daub huts and their clay platforms. This clay stratum, which
had been a good deal re-used for later foundations, showed a mean thickness on the top
of the hill of about five metres. In some places it was over seven metres thick, and
went down to a depth of about ten metres below the surface. It contained an abundance
of primitive, dark, hand-made pottery, often punctuated and incised, and with white
chalky inlaying, more rarely chrome-coloured. The ornamentation was angular and of
textile derivation. Stone implements abounded of greenstone, serpentine, diorite, hema-
tite, jadeite, and other materials. Among these were over 300 celts or axes, besides
chisels, adzes, hammers, and other implements. The most characteristic implements,
NEOLITHIC CLAY FIGURES KNOSSoS NEOLITHIC MARBLE TYPES : KNOSSOS
TTT7T*
r
EARLY METAL ACE, AMORCOS &. FIDDLE
AND MALLET TYPES(MARBLE
EARLY METAL ACE ; AAVOR.COS
DEVELOPED MARBLE TYPES
however, were the stone maces, the occurrence of which was especially important as
bringing the Cretan Stone-age into near relation with that of Anatolia — and indeed
of Western Asia in general — where, as in the early deposits of Babylonia, stone maces
formed a marked feature. This characteristic was shared by pre-dynastic and proto-
dynastic Egypt. Another interesting feature among the remains were the small human
images of clay and marble which supplied the ancestors and prototypes of the stone
images found in the early Metal-age deposits of Crete and the Cyclades. Their Anatolian
analogies were pointed out, and reasons were adduced for their ultimate derivation,
through intermediate types, from clay figures of a Babylonian Mother-Goddess, such as
those lately found in the very ancient deposits at Nippur.
The Neolithic settlement of Knossos was the first settlement of that period yet
explored in the Greek world, and in many ways threw an entirely new light on the
beginning of civilisation in that area. The contents showed a marked contrast to the
earliest Metal-age remains, such as those from the deposit of Hagios Ouuphrios in
[ 185 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos, 146-147.
Crete, the date of which was approximately fixed by their association with Egyptian
relics and the indigenous copies of them from 2800 to 2200 B.C. There were here no
later vase forms of the high-necked and spouted class, no traces of painted pottery or
metal, and no single example of the spiraliform decoration which in the early Metal-age
deposits is found fully developed. This negative phenomenon strongly weighed in
favour of the view that the ^Egean spiral system was introduced during this later period
with other decorative types from the Egypt of the Middle Kingdom, where it had already
attained a high development.
The Neolithic stratum of Knossos itself actually underlay later buildings belonging
to three distinct prehistoric classes : —
1. The " Kamares," or Early Metal-age Period of Crete, illustrated by the contents
of some of the earlier houses. The painted pottery in these was in some cases a mere
translation into colour of the incised and punctuated Neolithic designs. This period is
approximately dated from the relics found in the Hagios Onuphrios deposit and the
Cretan vase fragments found in Egypt in a Xllth Dynasty association from c. 2800 to
2200 B.C.
2. The Transitional Period, between the " Kamares " age and the Mycenaean. It
is probable that the earliest elements of the Palace itself belong to this period, including
an Egyptian monument ascribed to the close of the Xllth or to the early XHIth
Dynasty, c. 2000 B.C.
3. The Mycentean Period proper, the flourishing epoch of which is approximately
fixed by the correspondence of some of the wall paintings with those representing the
Keftiu on Egyptian tombs, c. 1550 B.C.
. Considering the distinct gap in development which still separates the latest elements
of the culture represented by the Neolithic stratum of Kuossos from the fully developed
Kamares style, it would be rash to bring down the lowest limits of the settlement later
than about 3000 B.C. On the other hand, the great depth of the deposit must carry its
higher limit back to a very much more remote date. The continued exploration of the
Neolithic remains of Kuossos is necessary for the full elucidation of many of the problems
suggested by these discoveries. A. J. EVANS.
Crete. Hogarth.
Exploration at Zakro in Eastern Crete. By D. G. Hogarth, M.A. For the
Cretan Exploration Fund.
The excavation at Zakro in East Crete has been concluded so recently that I
must confine myself to a plain statement of the raw material rendered available
for study thereby. In 'estimating the final result it will be necessary to take account
of positive and negative evidence not yet to hand from two other East Cretan sites,
lately excavated, Prassos and Goryuia. Zakro lies in the south-eastern angle of the
island, and was chosen for research because it falls in the Eteocretau country anciently
reputed to be inhabited by aborigines, and because its safe bay must always have been a
main port of call for craft sailing between the JEgeau coasts and Africa. The small
plain of Zakro, entirely hemmed in by rugged hill?, is full of early remains, beginning in
the later pre-Mycemeau period and ending with the close of the age of bronze. No
implements of iron were found in it at all, and no Hellenic pottery. The town, there-
fore, owed its existence to a commerce which ceased or passed elsewhere from the
Geometric age onward. The earliest settlement was on a rugged spur ; and although
almost all trace of its structures has disappeared, it has left abundant evidence of itself
in the contents of a pit about 18 feet deep. This was found half-full of broken vases in
stone and clay, largely of the singular "Kamares " class not previously found in Eastern
Crete. These, howeyer, are mainly of a highly-developed technique, and their com-
monest schemes of ornament reappear unchanged on vases of distinctively Mycenaean
fabric. In fact, Kamares shapes and decoration are more closely related to Mycenrean at
[ 186 ]
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 147-148.
Zakro than had l>c<-ii suspected. lint tin- ali.x .Micr of l.olli neolithic antecedents ;md the
earlier kinds of paiuted ware from this site suggests that its civilisation did not develop
on the spot, but was brought by colonists, perhaps partly Cretan, partly foreign. The
fine quality of ware in this pit and the fact that, though of various periods, it was
apparently all thrown in at one moment leads me to suspect that the pit contained the
clearings of an early shrine.
At a later period the settlement extended over a low spur nearer the sea, and there
very massive and large houses were erected and inhabited till the yerge of the Geometric
period. Their outer walls are Cyclopean, but their inner partitions are of bricks of
unusual size. Complete plans were obtained of two of the largest houses ; and parts of
several others were explored, including the lower portion of what was probably the
residence of the local chief or governor. These yielded a great deal of pottery, ranging
from the acme of the Mycensean period to its close, and the types furnish a better criterion
of date than we have possessed hitherto in Crete. Numerous bronze implements were
found, but these yield in interest to those from Gorynia. Two tablets in the linear
" Cretan " script show that this system was known, though probably little used, and not
indigenous, in East Crete. None were found couched in the pictographic system so
often represented on East Cretan gems. Finally a hoard of 500 clay impressions of
lost signet gems was brought to light. These display 150 different types and afford a
priceless record of Mycenaean glyptic art and religious symbolism. Monstrous combina-
tions of human and bestial forms occur in great variety, half a dozen, which are bull-
headed, suggesting varieties of the Minotaur type. The comparison of all this mass of
new material with the symbols of Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and other cults, which
cannot fail to be fruitful, has yet to be made. Cist burials were discovered in caves
farther inland, whose grave furniture seems to support certain negative evidence obtained
in the Upper Zakro district and at Prfesos, in showing that the aboriginal civilisation
of East Crete was independent of both the Kamares and Mycenaean civilisations. If
these last were foreign to the Eteocretan country, it seems improbable that the Eteo-
cretan language, as represented by the Praesos inscriptions, will prove to be that
expressed by the linear script on the Knossian tablets ; and the hope that these will be
deciphered becomes fainter. D. G. HOGARTH.
Crete : Excavations. Bosanquet.
Report on Excavations at Prcesos in Eastern Crete. By iR. C. Bosauquet,
Director of the British School of Archaeology in Athens.
Prsesos, the ancient capital of the aboriginal Eteocretans, lies high on the central
plateau of eastern Crete.
The excavations which were cpnducted in the spring of 1901, with the aid of
Mr. J. H. Marshall and Mr. R. D. Wells, architect, did not bear out the expectation that
the Eteocretau capital would prove to have been a centre of Mycena?an culture. It is true
that the Acropolis yielded a product of pure Mycenaean art under singular circumstances.
A large leutoid gem, with the representation of a hunter and a bull, was found
embedded in the mud-mortar of a late Greek house ; if must have been plastered in
unseen along with the earth from an adjacent rock-cut tomb which had evidently been
emptied by the Hellenistic builders.
But no other vestige of Myceiifean occupation was found upon the site of the later
city. The waterless ridge, encircled by deep ravines, offered nothing to primitive
settlers. The earliest remains lie a mile away in a lateral valley near a spring. Here
are several groups of megalithic walls, the chief of which was shown by excavation to
be a sub-Mycemean homestead. Its strictly rectangular plan, its massive thresholds,
the spiral ornamentation of large jars in its cellars, show that, whatever fate had
overtaken the cities on the coast, a certain standard ot good workmanship had been
1901.] MAN. [No. 148.
their legacy to the people of the hills. Nearer the city two tombs of the same period
were discovered : the one, a square chamber with a dromos, yielded parts of two painted
I a r /takes, thoroughly Mycenaean in design, a gold ring, a crystal sphere, parts of a silver
vase, and a quantity of iron swords. The other was a well-built bee-hive tomb,
differing from the usual type in being entered through a vestibule ; it contained an
enormous mass of geometric pottery, an openwork gold ring, a bronze fibula and other
objects in gold, ivory and Egyptian porcelain. In the same neighbourhood a number
of later tombs were opened, ranging from the Geometric period to the fourth century.
Among the numerous geometric vases there are several new types, in particular a vessel
in the form of a bird and a slender jug painted with delicate white patterns on a black
ground. The later graves yielded jewellery in gold, silver, and crystal.
Prominent among the considerations which caused Praesos to be put upon the
programme of the Cretan Fund was the fact that an inscription in an unknown tongue,
presumably the Eteocretan, had come to light there and the hope that others might be
found. It was dug up at the foot of the Altar Hill, a limestone crag precipitous on
three sides which dominates the south end of the site, and had probably fallen from the
level summit, long known to the peasants as a hunting-ground for " antikas." More
fortunate than Professor Halbherr, who made a small excavation here with the same
object before the Cretan Revolution, we obtained a second and longer inscription of
17 lines and apparently in the same non-Hellenic language, close to the entrance steps
of a temenos on the hill top. It must have been a frequented place of sacrifice, for the
rock was covered several feet deep with a deposit of ashes, burnt bones, and votive
offerings of bronze and terra-cotta. The terra-cottas, ranging from the sixth to the
fourth century, are important as giving a glimpse of a local school of artists working in
clay (for Crete has no marble of her own, and Praesos at any rate imported none) and
possessed of an independent and vigorous style. The great prize is the upper part of
an archaic statue of a young god, half the size of life ; the head and shoulders are
intact, the remainder had disappeared. An equally well-preserved head, with fragmen-
tary body, of a couchant lion is a further revelation of early Cretan sculpture. The
bulky fragments of another lion, life-sized, later and feebler in style, prove the
persistence of the local method. Among the bronzes there is a noteworthy series of
votive models of armour, especially helmets, cuirasses, and shields. The pottery shows
that the Altar Hill was frequented from the eighth century onwards.
By this time Praasos had probably become the religious and political centre of the
district, a primacy for which it is admirably fitted by its position at a meeting place of
valleys midway between the two seas. The Acropolis was fortified, the water of the
distant spring brought to its foot in earthenware pipes, and a small temple built on its
summit. The upper slopes of the Acropolis, though much denuded, yielded two archaic
bronzes. Trial pits in the deeper terraces below revealed only Hellenic things, plainly
built houses of limestone, roadways and cisterns, and a rubbish pit full of terra-cottas.
A building larger and more massive than the rest was completely excavated ; it contains
eight rooms and has a front 75 feet long. Outside the town two minor sanctuaries were
investigated ; one adjoining the spring already mentioned contained large terra-cotta
figures of a goddess of quite new type. A survey of the whole site was made by
Mr. Wells, and a systematic exploration of the surrounding country by Mr. Marshall.
Although Prsesos was barren of Mycenaaan remains they are evident enough at
Petras on the modern harbour of Sitia seven miles to the north. I made some trials
here in June. Nine-tenths of the site had been ruthlessly terraced by its Moslem owner
and would not repay a large excavation. The remaining tenth is occupied by cottages,
and here under the roadway it was possible to uncover one side of a large building
containing pithoi and " Kamares " vases. On the hill-top there remain a few foundations
of a large mansion, and outside the walls — for Petras is unique among early Cretan sites
[ 188 ]
1901,] MAN. [Nos. 148-149.
in |n»sc->siiiir remains of fortifications — was found a rubbish heap of the now familiar
type, yielding whole cups and lamps and sherds of earthenware and steatite. Ten miles
east of Petras, across the Itauos peninsula, is smother early site, Pahiiokastro, which has
Keen sadly mauled of late years by clandestine excavation. In the course of one of his
exploring journeys Mr. Marshall made a remarkable discovery here. Heavy rains — the
same that flooded Mr. Hogarth out of his quarters on the beach at Zakro — had exposed
the corner of a very fine larnax ; the native diggers had not noticed it, and he lost no
time in securing it and some vases for the Candia Museum. One of its four picture
panels represents a double axe planted upright upon a column, an important illustration
of the axe and pillar cults discussed by Mr. Evans in the Journal of Hellenic St>/</ii \,
XXI., 99 if. R. C. BOSANQUET.
REVIEWS.
Philippines. Koetze.
Crania Ethnica Philippinica. Von G. A. Koetze ; mil 25 Tafeln. Haarlem : 1/jQ
H. Kleinmanti & Co. 1901. IT'S
This is the first part, with six plates, of a work to he completed in five parts on the
anthropology of the Philippine Islands. It is based on the examination of aliout
270 skulls, 60 of which are Negritos, collected by Dr. A. Scbadenberg and sent by him
to the Museum of Leyden. Mr. Koetze, formerly prosector of anatomy in that
I ' n i versify, has been entrusted with the examination and description of the crania. The
author describes the craniological methods which he has followed, and, before stating
the characters of the individual skulls, he writes a short chapter on the diversity of
races inhabiting the Philippine Islands. From their position they have a considerable
Malay population, and their proximity to China and Japan has led to the introduction
of Mongolian people. The occupation of these islands for some centuries by the
Spaniards has also been the means of introducing an European element. Prior,
however, to the entrance of these races the islands were occupied by Negritos, who
are aupareutly the aboriginal inhabitants. It would appear that two great Malay
invasions took place. In the first they mixed with the Negritos and from this admixture
proceeded the Igorrots, Giuaanese, and some smaller tribes, but the Negritos who lived
in the mountainous districts did not cohabit so freely with the Malays as those living
near the coast.
Many years later a second invasion occurred and the Igorrots with their companion
tribes were driven more into the interior. The Tagals, Visayas, Ilocanos, who at the
time of the conquest by Spain lived on the seaboard, represent the second invasion, and
they also cohabited with the people who were in possession on their arrival, and the
Negritos became confined to a limited area in the north of Luzon.
The Chinese and Japanese colonists also mixed with the races then present in the
islands, and the Igorrots show in their faces Mongolian characters. Although the
Spaniards exercised great influence over the earlier inhabitants, by the introduction of
their religion and customs, it seems doubtful if they produced much effect on their
physical characters. The Malay inhabitants are divided into three large groups, the
Ilocanos in the north of Luzon, the Tagals in the middle, and the Visayas in the south
on the Visaya islands and Mindanao.
In the first part of his work the author describes the Visayas and the Igorrot-.
The Visayas (Bisayas) proper are the purest Malay people in the Philippines.
They occupy Samar, Leyte, Negros, Bohol, Cebu, and to some extent the north coast
of Mindanao. They have smooth, straight, long hair, and the skin is not very dark.
The Calamians have a darker skin than the proper Visayas and the hair is curly,
perhaps from a mixture of Negrito blood. Twenty-two skulls of these people are
[ i«y J
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 149-150.
described and their geueral characters were as follows : lu the men the cranial capacity
ranged from 1,315 to 1,720 cc., the mean being 1,475 cc. ; in the women from 1,310 to
1,395 cc., the mean being 1,345. The cephalic index varied from 75 • 7 to 87 * 3 ; 57 • 1
percent, were mesocephalic, 42 • 9 per cent, brachycephalic : the mean of the whole series
was 80' 4. The length-height index ranged from 71 '9 to 83 *8 ; with four exceptions
the index was hypsicephalic. The breadth-height index with a mean 97 exceeded the
cephalic. The face in general was leptoprosopic. Tbe nasal index was as a rule
platyrhine, only two were leptorhine. Koetze considers that the skulls are of two
types, the one mesohypsicephalic with index 77 • 72, the other brachyhypsicephalic
with index 83 • 84. Both a Malay and an Indonesian type are found, the latter the
more abundant. He regards the Visayas as not a distinct race, for whilst the Malay
and Indonesian elements preponderate there are traces both of Chinese and Negrito
intermixtures.
Twelve Igorrot crania were examined, but the present part contains an account of
only six, the remaining six and the general summary of characters being obviously
deferred till part two appears. They occupy north Luzon. The skin is coloured a
not very dark olive brown or yellowish copper colour and the muscular system is
powerful. W. TURNER.
Upper. Burma. Scott and Hardiman.
Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. By J. G. Scott, assisted 4P f\
by J. P. Hardiman. In five volumes. Rangoon, 1900. 8vo. Vols. I., JL, lUU
parts 1 and 2 ; Vol. III., part 2 ; pp. 727 + x, xi + 549 ; 560 + xi + viii, xvi + 802 ;
xii + 437 + viii.
Five bulky volumes represent our present official knowledge of Upper Burma.
Binding, printing, quality of paper and of illustrations (all equally inferior) proclaim
them to be of Calcutta official production — fitted to the financial conditions which at
present rule the Indian treasury. Two of these volumes are devoted to the physical
geography, history, ethnology, geology, &c., of the wild districts with which the
gazetteer deals, and the other three comprise the familiar Indian gazetteer lists of place
names (with short descriptive articles attached) and the very necessary index thereto.
Probably no writer on Burma and the Burmese who has ever illustrated the story
of the eastern frontiers with a lively and entertaining pen could have been found more
capable of dealing with such a subject than Mr. J. G. Scott ; but there are indications
that the dead weight of statistical details with which he was confronted have proved
a little too much for him. He is certainly less entertaining than usual. It is unfor-
tunate for those writers who in future will have to place before the public any such
comprehensive review of the physiography of the East and the conditions of life
therein prevailing, that such a literary giant in the field of gazetteering as Sir W. W.
Hunter should have preceded them. If Hunter had never written about India no one
would have looked in the pages of a gazetteer for entertainment.
In the geographical section of the work the most interesting feature is Scott's
examination into the evidence already existing as to the sources of the Irrawadi. He
unhesitatingly assigns to the N'mai river (which is the easternmost of the two great
branches of the Upper Irrawadi) that geographical precedence which entitles it to be
considered as the true source, on account of its superior volume, although it has not yet
been traced throughout its course and is unsuited to navigation. The very fact that
there should still exist the shadow of a doubt on such a point is sufficient indication of
the nebulous condition of present geographical information about the hinterland of
Upper Burma ; and the same haze of uncertainty may be said to rest on every subject
which is related to the physical attributes of the country and its people. Many points
of interest still remain to be determined as regards the ethnographical affinities of the
[ 190 ]
1901.] MAN. [No. 150-152.
great mass of Indo-Chinese, or Tibeto-Burman, tribes, who have apparently occupied
from time immemorial the wild hills and valleys which they now hold. They present
few, if any, of those problems of race movement (the geographical shifting of nations)
which distinguish all such enquiries on the north-west frontier of India. The wide
extension of the Shan tribes is pointed out, and their general adaptability to European
influences seems to open up possibilities of a consolidated and well-regulated " buffer "
on the eastern Burmese frontier between ourselves and France. The history of Burma
practically commences in 1852 with the Mindon Miu. The earlier records are (as Scott
puts it) " parochial and uninteresting," full of names and fables. The interest of it com-
mences with our annexation, and then, of course, it is as modern as the contributions
of any special correspondent.
Of the general value of the gazetteer as a work of reference it is unnecessary to say
anything. It is an integral and necessary part of the administrative machinery of the
Government of India, and that Government is fortunate in finding officers to compile
it who combine such wide experience and such literary skill as Messrs. Scott and
Hardiman. T. H. HOLDICH.
Great Britain : Ethnology. Macnamara.
Origin and Character of the British People. By N. C. Macnamara. 8vo.
London : Smith, Elder, 1900.
This little book aims at explaining the underlying causes of differences in character
between the inhabitants of the South and West of Ireland, of Wales, and of England
and Scotland. It is clearly written, well printed, and has an index. Beginning, as it
does, with palaeolithic man, and ending with the effects of city life on the modern
Londoner, it can only pretend to be a sketch of so vast a subject, but within the limits
the author has laid down for himself, it is well done. The author, from his profession
as a surgeon, naturally relies greatly on the physical characters as the basis of his
theories. It is, therefore, the more surprising that he should support Professor Boyd
Dawkins in his belief that the Eskimos are the actual descendants of glacial man in
Europe. The physical characters of a people are no doubt slow to change, and in this
respect are more to be relied on than language, but where other material exists it is rash
to dogmatize from the physical side alone. A true judgment can only be obtained by
taking into consideration all the complex conditions which go to differentiate one race
from another. This is, however, only a small matter in Mr. Macuamara's book, which will
be read by all who feel an interest in the origin of the people of these islands. C. II. li.
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
Proceeding's. Anthropological Institute.
Huxley Memorial Lecture, October 29, 1901. — The Huxley Memorial
Lecture was delivered in the hall of the Society of Arts, the Right Hon. Lord
Avebury, F.R.S., ex-President of the Institute, in the chair.
The lecture was delivered by Mr. Francis Gallon, D.C.L., D.Sc., F.R.S., on the
possibility of improving the human race .under the present conditions of law and
sentiment. The lecture is published in abstract in MAN, 1901. 132, and in full in
Nature, November 1, 1901.
The Huxley Memorial Medal was presented by Lord Avebury to the lecturer.
On the motion of Mr..E. W. Brabrook, C.B., seconded by Professor G. B. Howes,
F.R.S., the thanks of the meeting were given to Mr. Galton for his lecture.
A vote of thanks to Lord Avebury for presiding at the lecture was also passed.
Ordinary Meeting, November 12, 1901. — Mr. W. Gowlanvl, l-'.S. V., Vice- President,
in the chair.
1901.] MAN. [Nos. 152-153.
The election was announced of Messrs. G. J. Henderson, F. T. Elworthy, J. O.
Brant-Sero, M. Lendou- Bennett, and EL R. Tate as Fellows of the Institute.
Mr. Shelford exhibited and described a series of lantern slides made by Dr. Garsou
from photographs of the natives of Sarawak taken for Her Highness the Ranee of
Sarawak.
A collection of gold jewellery, found in Borneo but apparently of Hindu origin,
was exhibited on behalf of His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak and described by
Mr. Shelford ; the jewellery was discussed by Messrs. Balfour, Dalton, and Gowland.
Mr. Shelford read his paper on A Provisional Classification of the Swords of tin-
Sariwak Tribes. The paper was discussed by Messrs. Balfour and Gowlaud.
Mr. J. Gray exhibited a craniometer for measuring the auricular height of the
head. It was discussed by Messrs. Garsou and Shrubsall.
Proceeding's. Soc. d'Anthr. de Paris.
Sommaire des Proofs-verbal dc la Seance du 3 oclobrc 1 90 1 . 1 P O
Le President rend compte de la mission quo la societe lui avait confiee lUO
de la representer aux fetes du Prof. Virchow.
M. Sanson presente sa photographic pour les collections de la societe ; il serait a
desirer que tons nos collogues en fassent autant.
M. Zaborowski : Photographies de types du Congo.
M. Cauderlier : Les causes de la depopulation de la France. Discussion : MM.
Mac-quart, Robin, Herve.
Stance du 17 octobre 1901.
Le President anuonce la rnort de MM. Ascoli, Pommerol, et Serrurier, membres
titulaires, et M. Chil y Naranjo, membre associe etranger. Au uoni de la Societe, il
s'associe a la douleur des families de ces tres regrettes collegues.
M. A. de Mortillet preseute des objets des Dolmens d'Aveyrou ; M. Paul de
Mortillet, la Liste des publications de Gabriel de Mortillet ; M. Zaborowski, des
photographies du Caucase.
M. Lejeune : Rapport de la Commission des Conferences.
M. Macquart : Diminution de la Natalite. Discussion;,': MM. Papillault, Worms,
Atgier, Zaborowski, Robin, Letourneau, Rahou, Regnault, Sanson, Lejeuue, Ad de
Mortillet, Tate. Chervin.
M. Lejeuue : La representation sexuelle en religion, en art et en pedagogic.
Discussion : MM. Chervin, A. de Mortillet, Zaborowski.
Seance du 7 npvembre 1901.
M. Herve presente des photographies des fouilles de Chamblandes (Lac Leman),
crane macrocephale helveto-burgonde trouve par M. Scheuk.
M. Verneau : Reproduction d'un manuscrit mexicain precolombien publie par
M. le due de Lou bat.
M. Volkov : Influence de 1'age sur les caracteres anthropologiques, par M. Pfitzner.
M. Regnault : Anomalies osseuses pathologiques.
M. Georges Raynaud : Dechiffrement des ecritures de 1'Amerique centrale.
M. Marcel Baudouin : Photographies stereoscopiques des megalithes. Discussion :
M. Nicole.
M. Thieulleu : Silex-bijou du Diluvium. Discussion : MM. Letourneau, Vauville,
Tate, Giraux.
M. Laville : Sur le caractere de certaines populations canaiques. Disque et lame
en forme de grattoir magdalenien.
Printed by EYEE AND SPOTTISWOODB, His Majesty's Printers, East Harding Street, B.C.
INDEX.
NOTE. — The numbers in ordinary type refer to the papers ; the numbers in Clarendon
type are the reference numbers of MAN, 1901. For collected references, see especially
Africa, America, Archceology, Art, Asia, Europe, Folklore, Oceania, Physical Anthro-
pology, Religion, Sociology, Technology.
A.
Abydos (Egypt), 248.
,/Egean Script in Kos, 52.
AFRICA: — Algeria, Libyan Notes (rev.),
62 ; On the Libyan Notes, 69 ;
Ashanti (rev.), 101; Bishari, 74;
Congo, Ethnography, 116 ; Lake
Nyassa, 111 ; Libya, 252 ; Morocco,
Shluh Language (rev.), 45 ; Nile
Welle watershed, 256; Tunis, 109.
Uganda, Notes on Baganda (Roscoe),
117ff; Problems of Early Religion,
21; Rhodesia, 82, 83; Totemism,
117ff. Africa East, 112 ; Stool, gong,
etc., 39. Africa, North, 83. Africa,
South : Bushman Skull, 58 ; Dhlo-
Dhlo, Ruins of, 21ff ; Mambo,
Ruins of, 21ff ; Natal, Native pipes,
10 ; Natives of South Africa (rev.),
111. Africa, West. Carved Door-
posts, 57; (rev.) 100. Egypt, 61,
109, 127, 141 ; Copper Ore, 268 ; Early
Egypt, 248; Physical type, 127;
Grabfunde des Mittleren Reichs (rev.),
91 ; El Amrah, 230, 235 ; El Amrah
Cemetery, 40; El Khargeh, 91;
Egypt, Upper, 229 sqq.
Akka Skulls, 259.
Alphabet, Philippines, 217.
Alveolar Index, Egypt, 251.
AMERICA (NORTH) — California, Basket-
work, 17; Ethnography, 133; Folk-
lore (rev.), 118; Troquois, 131; "North
Americans of Yesterday " (rev.), 97 ;
Ontario, Archaeological Report (rev.),
33 ; Red Indian Agricultural Cus-
toms, 155 ; Totemism, 134. AMERICA
(SOUTH) : — Lengua Indians, 281 sqq. ;
Divergence of Sexes in Language,
Chiquitos, 129.
Amorites, 250.
Ancestor Worship, Manipur, 304.
Andree, R., " B raunschweiger Volks-
kunde" (rev.), 115.
Animals, Lengua Indians, 288 ; Cult of,
Sarawak : Crocodile, 196 ; Deer, 200 ;
Gibbon, 200 ; Hawk, 175-9, 194, 206 ;
Porcupine, 200; Python, 200; River
Turtle, 201 ; Swift, 218.
Animals, forms of, assumed by Deities,
198 ; in tatuing, 202 ; training of,
295.
Annual Meeting of the Institute, 1.
Anthropology, Teaching of, 15.
Anthropometry, 144; India, 113.
Anthropomorphism, 174, 197.
Apologies, to pig before slaughter, 180.
ARCHEOLOGY : — Africa : Cemetery, El
Amrah, 40; Khami Ruins, 82;
Monuments of Persian Dynasty,
Egypt, 91; Ruins of Dlilo-Dhlo
Index.
21 sqq. ; Tel el Amarna Period (rev.),
141. America : Lengua Indians, 294 ;
Middens, Canada, 133. Asia : Tombs,
Chinese, 54. Europe: Bronze Age,
85 ; Cretan Exploration Fund, Report,
2; Crete, 145, 146; Excavations,
Crete, 148 ; Greece, 138 ; Greece
(rev.), 136 ; Megalithic Tombs, 88 ;
Mycenean Cyprus, 130, 138, 139;
Prehistoric Pottery, Maltese, 71 >
Pre-Mycenean Athens, 70; Stone
Figures, Crete, 148 ; Stone Age,
Crete, 146 ; Stonehenge, 18. Oceania :
Stone Figures, Easter Island, 7.
Arctogale Leucotis as omen, 196.
Arithmetic. Lengua Indians, 296.
Arrow, Lengua Indians, 294.
Arrowheads, Stone, Khami Ruins, 82.
ART : — Africa : Carved Doorposts, 57 ;
Egyptian Statuette, 107; North
Africa, 83 ; Ornaments, Architectural,
Ashanti, 101 ; Ornamentation, Khami
Ruins, 82 ; Ornamentation, Dhlo-
Dhlo, 24 sqq. ; Painting, El Khargeh,
91 ; Patterns, 82 ; Sculpture, Kumasi,
101 ; Tatuing, Ashanti, 101. America •
Drawing, Lengua Indians, 294 ;
Ornaments, Lengua Indians, 287 ;
Patterns, Lengua Indians, 284;
Savage Music (rev.*), 118 ; Tatuing,
Lengua Indians, 282. Asia : Orna-
ments, Animal Derivatives, 191 ;
Patterns, Tatuing, 29 ; Patterns,
Women's, Sarawak, 224 ; Patterns,
Malay House, 142 ; Wheel of Life,
1. Europe : Guilloche Pattern, 4 ;
Ornaments, Crete, 146 ; Pottery,
Crete, 82, 146, 147; Sculpture,
Crete, 148. Oceania : Maori Motives,
57 ; Maori Scroll Pattern, 55 ; New
Guinea, 64 ; Solomon Isles, 81 ;
Tatuing, Maori, 98 ; Tatu Pat-
terns, 31 ; Tatuing Patterns (ill.),
50, 54, etc.
Aryan Race (rev.), 88.
Ashanti, 101.
ASIA : — Ainu Inao, 131 ; Asia Minor,
Religion, 122 ; Assam. Dana Lan-
guage (rev.), 46 ; Burma, 77; Upper,
150 ; Chinese Tombs, Relics from, 15,
54 ; India. Among the Himalayas
(rev.), 49 ; Ethnographical Survey,
11, 113 ; Madras, Dombs of Jeypur,
29. Japan. Wheel of Life, 1 ;
Japanese Gohei and Ainu Inao, 131.
Malay Peninsula, 192 ; Metalwork,
161 ; Manipur, 300 sqq. ; Papuan
Skulls, 261 ; Philippines, 149 ; Lan-
guage, 214 sqq. ; Sarawak, Swords of,
219 sqq. ; Siam, 99 ; Celadon Ware,
41 ; Yakuts, 65ff.
Aston, W. G. Gohei and Inao, 131.
Auspicia (footnotes), 175, 176, 179, 193.
Australia, 143 ; Strangling Cords, 94.
Authority, Chief, 174 ; Dependent on
Sacerdotal Functions, 309 ; Ghenna-
bura, Manipur, 307 ; King, Manipur,
300.
Axe. Lake Nyassa, 112 ; Stone, Lengua
Indians, 294.
B.
Balfour, H., M.A., 228, 278, 315;
Barnbu Trumpets, 28 ; Guilloche
Pattern, 4 ; Memorial Heads, 51 ;
Native smoking Pipes from Natal,
10; On a Spear Head and Socketed
Celt of Bronze from the Shan States,
77 ; Strangling Cords from the
Murray River, 94 ; Swan-neck
Boomerang, 27.
Balli, Use of the word, to denote
spiritual aspect, 175.
Bantu Tribes, Totemism among, 111.
Baram District, 173.
Basket Work, Lengua Indians, 284.
Bastian, Dr. A., 135.
Beard, Early Egyptian, 250 sqq. ;
Depilation, 34.
Beddoe, Dr. J. Bushman Skull, 58 ;
Crania Suecica, Review of, 59.
Bell, A. M., 314.
Bent, T. " Southern Arabia " (rev.), 23.
Bevan, Prof. A., 231.
Bibliography, International, 108 ;
India, 35.
Bicol Language, 215.
Blackmore Museum, 313.
2)
1'ndex.
Blandford Museum, Sknll of New
Zealander, 172.
Blood-Brotherhood, 185, 190, 209; to
Animals, 210.
Blue (colour-sense) in Egypt, com-
parison with Murray Islanders, 239.
Boas, Dr. F., 133.
Booth, C., 132.
Bosse, K. K., and W. A. Holden. " The
Order and Development of Colour
Perception and Colour Preference in
a Child " (rev.), 87.
Borneo. Kalamantans, 192 sqq.; Kayans,
188 sqq. ; Kenyahs, 174 sqq. ; Nyarong,
173 sqq.; Punans, 195-6, 204; Rela-
tions between Men and Animals in
Sarawak, 173 ; Sarawak, Swords,
219-228 ; Sea Dyaks, 173, 196.
Bosanquet, R. C., Excavations at Praesos,
145, 148.
Bow and Pellet-bow, Lengua Indians,
294.
Brain, 126.
Brant-Sero (Ra-onha) J. 0., " Dekana-
wideh ; the Law-Giver of the Canien-
gahakas," 134.
Bronze Age, Schlcswig-Holstein (rev.),
85.
Bronze Celts, Ireland, 265.
Brigham, W., Index to Islands of
Pacific (rev.), 103.
Brighton Museum, 310, 311.
Brooke, Mr., of Marlborough, 310.
Brunswick, Folklore (rev.), 115.
Buddhism in Siam, 99.
Burials, Manipur, 295, 305.
Burial of living infants, 306.
Burkitt, F. C., 231.
Burma, 77; Upper (rev.), 180.
C.
Cagayan or Ibaneg Language, 216.
Cannibalism, Lengua Indians, 288.
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition
to Torres Strait, 87 ; to British New
Guinea, 121.
Campbell, Rev. J., 133.
Campbell, J. G., " Superstitions of the
Highlands and Islands of Scotland'*
(rev.), 104.
Campbell, Index Catalogue of Indian
official publications in the British
Museum (rev.), 35.
Canada, Ethnography, 133.
Capart, J. On " Libyan Notes," 69, cf.
62.
Carved Slates, Egypt, 249, 252.
Cats' Cradles, Lengua Indians, 285.
Cattle, Sarawak, 193, 197 ; as Omens,
199.
Celamiano Language, 216.
Celt, Burma, socketed, 77 ; Tonga,
110; Bronze, 265; Copper, Distribution
of, in Ireland, 265 ; Copper, finds of,
276 ; Gen. Pitt-Rivers on, 279 ; Analy-
sis of, 266 ; Stone, Types of, 273.
Cephalic Index, Egypt, 251 ; Libya, 251 ;
Mid-Italy, 251 ; England, 252.
Cephalographs, 113.
Cephalometric Instruments, 111.
Cera Perduta process, 165.
Ceremonies, Malay, 142 ; to secure rain-
fall, 302.
Chaco, the Lengua Indians of the, Para-
guayan, by Seymour H. C. Hawtrey,
281.
Chains, making of, by casting, 165.
Chalmers, Rev. J., 121.
Chantre, E., " Les Bicharieh " (rev.), 74.
Chants, Lengua Indians, 293.
Charms, Tusks of Wild Boar as, 200.
Chief, Authority of, 174.
Chiefs and tatuing, 49.
Chin Hills and Shan States Reports,
1899 (rev.), 13.
Chronology, Cretan, 146.
Circumcision, 140.
Clans, tendency to maintain Physical
Characteristics, Scotland, 128.
Cloth-making, Malay Peninsula, 142.
Clothing, Sarawak, 174.
Club, New Britain, 167.
Coffey, G., Irish Copper Celts, 265ff.
Collections, Ethnographical, 16.
Colour Blindness, 87, 236; Nomen-
clature, Upper Egypt, 230 ; Sense,
Animals, 87 ; Thresholds, 239 ; Vision
(rev.), 87.
Index.
Colour Vision, of the Natives of Upper
Egypt. by w- H- B- Rivers, M.D.,
229.
Conservatism, Lengua Indians, 286.
Congo, Ethnography (ret;.). 116.
Contact with Civilized Races, Lengua
Indians, 298.
Conventionalized Derivatives, 187.
Copper and White Metal, 165 ; Bohemia,
271 ; Saxony, 271 ; Celts, Irish, 265 ;
analysis of, 266 ; tin, admixture of,
with copper, Egypt, 268 ; Ores,
European, 268 ; Spanish, Parazuelos,
analysis, 269.
Cornwall, Tin in Copper, 270, 271.
Coronation Ceremony, Manipur, 301.
Council, Report of, 2.
Crania, cf. Skull.
Crania from the Nile- Welle watershed,
Notes on, by F. C. Shrubsall, M.A.,
M.B., 256.
Craniometry, 251-2, 256-260, 261-264.
Cretan Exploration Fund, 2, 146.
Crete, 147 ; Excavations, 148 ; My-
cenaean, 148; Prehistoric, 145, 146;
Prehistoric relations with Egypt,
138.
Crocodile, 186, 190, 196; Carving of,
as a charm, 196 ; connection of, with
rice culture, 198 ; Sacrifice before,
Image of, 198.
Crossbeams, 191.
Crowfoot, J. W., " A Yezidi Rite," 122.
Crump, Rev. J. A., " Trephining in the
South Seas," 167.
Cumont, F., "Acts of St. Dasius," 53.
Cup Markings on Stones, 97.
Cutting Tools, Egypt, 123.
Cyprus, Mycenean, 130, 138.
D.
Dagger and Beer Ladle, Lake Nyassa,
112.
Dal ton, 0. M., Carved Doorposts, West
Africa, 57; California Basket-work,
17.
Damascening, Malay, 163.
Dances, 180, 297.
Davies, Dr. C. Consanguinity (rev.), 8
Dawkins, Prof. Boyd, 310.
Dawson, Dr. G. M., 133.
Day, R., 276.
Dayaks, Sea, 173 ; or Ibans, 196.
Death, hastening of, 295 ; Mutilations
at, 295; Origin of, myth, 151.
Deer, 187, 193, 197; as Omens, 187,
199.
Deities, distinct for men and for women,
Sarawak, 175.
Dellenbaugh, F. S., " The North Ameri-
cans of Yesterday " (rev.), 97.
Depilation, 29.
Diseases, Niue, 140.
Dixon, J. B., 310.
Dog, 174, 187, 193, 195, 306; Buried
with dead, Manipur, 306.
Domestic Animals, Cattle, 187, 193,
197 ; Dog, 174 sqq. ; Fowl, 174, 182-6,
195, 209, 307 ; Goat, 301 ; Pig, 174,
180-2, 195, 307, 308 ; Sacrifice of, 205.
Dok (Macacus Nemestrinns), 191 ; Dance,
191.
D'Orbigny, 129.
Drawing, Lengua Indians, 280.
Dreams, 290, 301, 307.
Dress, Early Egypt, 253, 254; Sarawak,
174.
Du Bois, "The Philadelphia Negro"
(rev.), 14.
Dyeing, Lengua Indians, 286.
Dynastic Race, Early Egypt, 252.
E.
Edge-Partington, J., An Object of Un-
known Use and Locality, 80, 92
(rev.), 1 17 (rev.), 143; Easter Island
Tablets, 7 ; Feathered Arrows, 32 ;
Forged Ethnographical Specimens,
56; Matuatonga, Note on, 30; Orna-
ments from the Solomon Islannds, 89.
Edridge- Green, Dr., 246.
Eggs, 307 ; As Offerings, 185.
Egypt, 107 (rev.), 141 ; Admixtures
of Tin and Coppei*, 268 ; Egypt and
Ancient Libya, connection between,
252; Bones of Hen Neklit, 127;
( 4 )
Index.
Cutting Tools, 123; El Khai^L, 91:
The Early Races of, by W. M. Flinders
Petrie, D.C.L.,248.
Egyptians, Colour Sense, 87, 229 ff. ;
Physical Type of Early, 127.
Egyptian Research Account, 127.
El Amrah, 230, 23"..
English Cephalic Index, 252.
Eolith?, 313.
Eponymus as Scapegoat, 302.
Eponymous Ancestor Worship, 303 ;
Tribal Deities, 303.
Ethnographical Survey of India, 11,
113.
Ethnography, Congo (rev.), 116.
Etiquette, Lengua Indians, 291.
Evans, A. J., 138, 145 ; " The Neolithic
Settlement at Knossos," 146; Cretan
Exploration, 2.
Evans, Sir John, 77, 310.
Exogamy, Manipur, 303; Sarawak, 204.
Extispicia, 181, 185, 198, 199.
F.
Farnell, L. R. (rev.), 87.
Fawcett, F., " Dombs of Jeypur," 29.
Feathers as offerings, 185.
Felkin, Dr. R. W., "A collection of
objects from Lake Nyassa," 112.
Fellahin, 230.
Festivals, reaping, Manipur, 307 ; sowing,
Manipur, 307.
Fetish, 210.
Fiji, " vasu," institution, 136.
Finds, of Copper Celts, 276.
Fire, by Friction, Lengua Indian, 206,
208.
Firniss-Malerei, 78.
Fishing, Lengua Indians, 287, '289.
Fleam, Bow and Arrow, New Guinea,
121.
Fletcher, Alice C., " Indian Story and
Song" (ret;.), 118.
Flints, Glazed, 313, 314; Distinction
in Age of, 310; Paloeolithic, 310;
Polished by Sand Blast, 313, 315;
Chemical Explanation of, 315.
FOLKLORK :—
America : — Dreams, Lengua Indians,
290 ; Iroquois, 134 ; Magic, Lengua
Indians, 290; North America, 118 ;
Witchcraft, Lengua Indians, 290 ;
Witch doctor, 288.
Asia : — -Annexation of Unnamed Child
by Spirit, 304; Blood Brotherhood,
185, 190, 209; to Animals, 210;
Ceremonies to Secure Rainfall, 302 ;
Connection of Crocodile with Rice
Culture, 198 ; Crocodile, Carving of
as Charm, 196 ; Divination with
Twigs, Manipur, 308 ; Eponymus
as Scapegoat, 302 ; Forms of
Animals assumed by Deities, 198 ;
Land Tortoise and Mouse-Deer in
fable, 199 ; Magic, Manipur, 301 ;
Omens, 162 sqq., 302 ; Snake God,
302 ; Snake King, 301 ; Snake
Personification, 304 ; Soothsaying,
304; Soul-Catching, 185; Tusks
of Wild Boar as Charms, 200;
Use of Fire to procure Rain, 308 ;
Vampires, 304.
Europe : — Animal Superstitions, 5 ;
Brunswick, 115 ; France (rev.), 140 ;
Norway, 79 ; Scotland (rev.), 104 ;
Singing Games (rev.), 48; Vergo-
dendel, 115 ; Wells, Irish, 11, 19.
Oceania : — Stories from S. New
Hebrides, 147.
Food, Lengua Indians, 287.
Forgeries, Fijian, 56 ; New Zealand, 92 ;
Pacific, 93.
Fowl, 177, 195, 182-186; Blood of,
Sprinkled on Altar, 209, 307.
Foy, W., Tanz-objekte (rev.), 47.
Fraternities or Orders resembling
Thiasoi, Asia Minor, 122.
Fraser River, Lower, Early Inhabitants
of, 133.
Frazer, Dr. J. G., 177, 211, 111; Golden
Bough (rev.), 43 ; Men's language
and Women's language, 129.
Freeman, R. Austin. " Travels and Life
in Ashauti and Jaman " (rev.), 101.
Funeral Ceremonies, 305.
Fntterer, " Durch Asien" (rev.), 34.
Future World, Belief in, Manipnr, 307.
Index.
G.
Galton, F. " The possible improvement
of the Human Breed under existing
conditions of Law and Sentiment,"
132.
Games, Lengua Indians, 297.
Garstang, J., 127, 315.
Geiger's views on Colour- vision, 87.
Geographical Congress, Seventh Inter-
national, at Berlin, 119.
Gerin, Leon, 133.
Gerrit Demp Island, 168.
Ghosts, Belief in, 100.
Gibbon as Omen, 188.
Giraux, M. The proposed Monument to
G. de Mortillet, 114.
Girod, P., " L'age du Renne " (rev.), 37.
Gladstone, Dr. J. H., 279.
Gladstone, W. E., Views on Colour-
vision, 87.
Glaze (pottery), 78 ; Flint, 313.
Goat, Manipur, 301.
Goldsmith's Tools, Malay, 165.
Gomme, G. L., 308.
Gomme, Mrs., " Singing Games " (rev.),
48.
Good Luck, see Omens.
Government, Lengua Indians, 291.
Gowland, W., 266.
Grand Chaco, the, Physical Characters
of, 281, 282.
Gray, J. Cephalometric Instruments
(ill.), Ill ; Measurement of Papuan
Skulls, 261, 128.
Great Britain, Ethnology (rev.), 151.
Greece, Prehistoric (rev.), 130, 138,
139 ; Religion (rev.), 86.
Grey, Sir G., 210.
H.
Habitations, Early Egypt, 253 ; Lengua
Indians, 283; Sarawak, 174.
Haddon, A. C., 95, 124; A Papuan
. bow-and-arrow Fleam, 121, 124 ;
Notes on two letters published in the
Times, 1901, The origin of the Maori
Scroll Pattern, 55.
Hair. Early Egyptians, 252, 253, 254 ;
Lengua Indians, 282.
Hall, H. R., " The Oldest Civilization of
Greece" (rev.), 130, 139.
Handle, Parang, 220.
Hardy, 94.
Hartland, E. S,, "On certain Wells in
Ireland," 19 ; 118, cf. (rev.), 135 ;
" On Some Problems of Early Religion
in the Light of South African Folk-
lore," 21.
Hawk, Cult of, 175, 194, 206.
Hawtrey, Seymour H. C., " The Lengua
Indians of the Parguayan Chaco,"
280.
Headache, Cure of, 168.
Head-dress, Manipur, 202.
Head-hunting, 203.
Hen Nekht, bones of, 127.
Heraldry, Tatoo and, 47.
Herbert, Hon. Auberon, 124.
Herzog, R., " ./Egean Script in Kos,"
52.
Hieroglyphic, Oldest Known Egyptian,
40.
Hill-Tout, Chas., "The Ethnographic
Survey of Canada," 133.
Hinde, Mrs., "The Masai Language"
(rev,), 73.
History, Lengua Indians, 294.
Hochstetter, views on 'the Cerebral
Hemispheres, 126.
Hodson, T. C., The Native Tribes of
Manipur, 300.
Hogarth, D. G., 145, 147; "Explora-
tions at Zakro in Eastern Crete," 148.
Holden, W. A., and K. K. Bosse, " The
Order cf Development of Colour Per-
ception and of Colour Preference in
the Child " (rev.), 87.
Holdich, Sir T. H., 150.
Holmgren's Method of Testing Colour
Vision, 229 sqq.
Horse, among Yakuts, 71.
Horsley, Dr. V., 169.
Hose, C., and W. McDougall, " Relations
Between Men and Animals in Sara-
wak," 173.
Houses, Demolition of, Lengna Indians,
284.
Index.
Hunting, Lengua Indians, 294.
Huxley Lecture, 3, 132.
I.
Igorotte Language, 216.
Ilocano Language, 216.
Implementiferous Beds, Classes of, 314.
Index Catalogue of Indian Official
Publications in the Library of the
British Museum (rev.), 35.
India, Bibliography of Official Papers,
35; Ethnographic Survey, 113;
Among the Himalayas (rev.), 49 ;
Madras, The Dombs of Jeypnr, 29.
Infanticide, 295, 301.
Intermixture with Dwarf Races, Affect-
ing Size of Skull, 259.
International Catalogue of Scientific
Literature, 5, 11.
Irish Copper Celts, by George Coffey,
265.
Iron, 161.
Irrigation, 309.
Italy, Mid., Cephalic Index, 251.
J.
Jaggery, or Coconut Sugar, Making of,
142.
Jardin, 0. S., 266.
Jevons, F. B., 177, 203.
Joloano language, 216.
K.
Kabyle, 250.
Kajaman sword, 221.
Kalamantans, 192-195, 204, 207.
Kayans, 188-192, 203, 207, 208, 210,
212.
Keith, Dr. A., Palmistry, 20.
Kenyahs, 174-188, 203 sgq.
Khami Ruins, 82.
King, Position of, Manipur, 300.
Kingsley, Miss Mary H., " West African
Studies" (rev.), 100.
Knife, Egypt, 123.
Knossos, 145, 146.
Knowle Farm, flints from, 310.
Koetze, G. A. " Crania Ethnica Philip-
pinica " (rev.), 149.
Konow, Dr. Sten, 79.
Kris, Malay, 161 ; manufacture of, 16.1.
L.
Lang, Andrew, 135 ; " Making of
Religion " (rev.), 3 ; " Martyrdom of
St. Dasius," 68.
Language, Divergence of the Sexes,
South America (rev.), 129; Lengua
Indians, 293 ; Manipur, 300.
Languages, Malay family of, 214.
Languages of the Philippines, Memo-
randum on the, by W. E. W. MacKin-
lay, 214.
Layard, Miss Nina, " Notes on a Human
Skull found in the bed of the River
Orwell," 125,
Leather, Lengua Indians, 285.
Lefthandedness (rev.), 84.
Legitimacy, Test of, 119.
Lengua Indians of the Paraguayan
Chaco, The. By Seymour H. C.
Hawtrey, 280 ; Physical type, 281 ;
Meaning of Name, 281.
Leptis Magna (Lebda or Khoms), 83.
Lewis, A. L. Stonehenge, 18.
Libyans, 250.
Libyan title " Battos," 252.
Linguistics, Bicol Language, 215 ;
Cagayan Language, 216 ; Celamiano
Language, 216 ; Dafla Language, 46 ;
Divergence in Language between
Sexes S. America (rev.), 129;
History of Language (rev.), 50 ;
Ilocano Language, 216 ; Language of
Philippines, 214 ; Lengua Indians,
293; Joloano Language, 216; Malay
Family of Languages, 214; Manipur,
300; Masai Langaage (rev.), 73;
Pampango Language, 216; Pau-
gasinan Language, 216 ; S. America
(rev.). 129; Schluh Language (rev.).
45 ; Tagalo Language, 214, 215 ;
Visaya Language, 215.
Lizard, 188 ; as Omen, 196.
Loom, Lengua Indians, 284.
(7)
Index.
Lovibond's Tintometer, 230 sqq.
Lueddeckens, Dr. Fritz. " Rechts- and
Linkshandigkeit " (rev.), 84.
Luschan, Professor F. von. " VorschlUge
zur Geographisclien Nomenklafcur der
Siidsee" (rev.), H9.
Lustre, 78.
Luzon, 216.
Lyle, T. H. " Celadon Ware," 41.
M.
Mace, A., 238.
Macdonell, Prof. A., "The late Prof.
Max Miiller," 16.
MacKinlay, W. B. W., Memorandum
on the Language of the Philippines,
214.
Macnamara, N. C. " Origin and
Character of the British People"
(rev.), 151.
Madangs, 212.
Magic, Sarawak, 178; Lengua Indians,
290.
Malay, Damascening, 163; Family of
Languages, 214; Goldsmith's Tools,
165 ; Goldsmith's Moulds, 165 ; Kris,
161 ; Metalwork, Notes on, by
Walter Bosenhain, B.A., 161 sqq.
Mallet, J. W., 265.
Man, Preliminary Announcement of, 4.
Manipur, The Native Tribes of, by T. C.
Hodson, 300.
Manguian, 217.
Maories, 98.
Marriages, by Capture, Manipur, 305 ;
of Elder Brother's Widow, 305; by
Purchase, Manipur, 305.
Masonry, Tunis, 109.
Matt-Malerei, 78.
Maui, 148.
McCarthy, J., " Surveying in Siam "
(rev.), 12.
McDougall, W., and C. Hose. " Rela-
tions between Men and Animals in
Sarawak," 173.
Measurement of Papuan Skulls, by
J. Gray, 261.
Medicine Man, Malay Peninsula, 143 ;
New Britain, 167 ; Sarawak, 202.
Meitheis, Manipur, 300.
Melek Taus, 122.
Metal work, Notes on Malay, by W.
Rosenhain, 161.
Metallurgy, Copper Celts, 265 ; Copper
Celts, analysis of, 266 ; Cornish
Copper Ore, 270, 271 ; European
Copper Ores, 268 ; Irish Copper, 265 ;
Spanish and Parasuelos Copper Ore,
269 ; Tin in Irish Copper Ore, 272 ;
Tin in Egyptian Copper Ore, 268.
Meyer, A.B., and Parkinson, R., " Papua,
Album ii" (rev.), 117.
Middens, Canada, 133.
Migration, Polynesian, 110.
Milanos, swords of, 225.
Mitchell, P. C., Life of Huxley (rev.),
63.
Moko, Amoco, 29.
Moukey, Long-nosed, 191.
Montelius, Dr. 0., 88.
Monuments of Persian dynasty in
Egypt, El Khargeh, 91.
Mortillet, G. de, 114.
Moulds, Malay, 165.
Miiller, Dr. Sophus, 88.
Murray Island, Colour Sense, 87.
Murray Islanders, Taste, 246.
Murray River, Strangling Cords from,
94.
Miiruts, Parang of, 225.
Museums. Additions to British Museum,
17, 39, 57 ; Blackmore, 313 ; Dublin,
265 gqq. ; Pitt-Rivers, 315.
Music, Savage (rev.), 118 ; Lengua
Indians, 293.
Musical Instruments, Lengua Indians,
293.
Mutilations at death, 295.
Mycenaean Age, 139 ; Athens, 70 ; Crete,
148; Cyprus, 130, 138.
Myers, Dr. C. S., " On Four Photographs
from the Oasis of El Khargeh," 91 ;
"The Bones of Hen-Nekht," 127,
246.
Myres, J. L., 139 ; Contemporary Sur-
vival of successive styles of Art, N.
Africa, 83 ; Early Masonry, Tunis,
109 ; Glaze or Varnish, 78 ; Maltese
Pottery, 71 ; Notes on Mycenaean
)
Index.
Chronology, 139 ; Pre-Mycensean
Athens, 70.
Mythology, Troquois, 134 ; Lengua
Indians, 288; Sarawak, 191, 193, 197.
Mytlis. \c\v Hdirides, 148.
N.
Nagas, 300.
Nagel's test for colour blindness, 230
tqq.
Names, Ashanti, 101 ; Manipur, 304 ;
Sarawak, 195 ; Boas, Dr., 212.
Nasal Index, Egypt, 251.
Native Tribes of Manipur, The, by T. C.
Hodson, 300.
Nature Deities, 212 ; Manipur, 303.
Necropolis, El Khargeh, 91.
Neolithic Trephining, 171.
New Britain (Neu Pornmern), 167 ;
Medicine Man, 167.
New Guinea, Bow-and-arrow Fleam,
121; German, 261; 117.
New Ireland (Neu Mecklenberg), 168.
New Zealand (rev.), 98 ; Forgeries, 92.
Newton, W. M., Flint Implements, 66.
Niabor, Sea Dyak Parang, 222.
Nicknames, 304.
Niebuhr, C., "The Tel-el- Amarna
Period" (rev.), 141.
Nile Welle Watershed, Notes on Crania
from, by F. C. Shrubsall, M.A , M.B.,
256.
Nomenclature, Glaze or Varnish, 78 ;
of peoples of Manipur, 300.
Norway, Folklore, 79.
Numerals, 296.
Nyarong or Spirit Helper, 173, 199-202,
210.
Nyassa, Lake, 112.
O.
Obituaries, 18ff.
Obituary, Max Miiller, 16 ; Sir C. Peek,
96.
OCEANIA —
Australia, 143 ; Strangling Cords,
94; Swan-neck boomerang, 27;
Ktlmological Expedition, 67, 143;
Bismarck Archipelago, Tanz-objccfc
(rev.), 47 ; Bow and Arrow Fleam,
121 ; Bugi tribe, 36 ; Despatches
(rev.), 36; Easter Island Tablets,
7,7; Ffathered arrows, 32 ; Fijian
furgcrii-s. 56; Fiji, "vasu," 136; Fri-
gate bird as art motive, 64 ; Kiriwina
group, 36 ; Lord Howe's Island,
Tatu patterns, 31 ; Maori Tatu,
Moko (ill.), 29ff ; Measurements of
Papuan skulls, 261 ; Morehead K.
tribes, 36 ; Murray Islands, 239,
246, 87; New Guinea, 117; 121;
New Hebrides, Memorial Heads,
51 ; New Zealand, vegetation spirit,
157 ; Niue, natives, 137 ; Papuan
element in New Zealand, 51 ;
Polynesian Migration, 111; Savage
Island, natives of, 137 ; Solomon
Isles, 81 ; S., Bambu Mimpels, 28 ;
S., Stories from, 147; Tonga, 110;
Torres Straits, 136, 137.
Odour, Racial, 29.
Omens, 162, 177, 178, 192, 200, 302.
304, 307.
Omen Birds, 179, 195, 197, 198;
Arachnothera chrysogenys, 179 ; A.
Modesta, 179; H. Duvancelii, 180;
H. Kasumba, 180; Hawk, 175-9;
killing of, 198 ; Hornbill (Auorrhinus
.comatus), 180, 198; Spider-hunter,
179 ; Woodpecker (Lapocestes por-
phyro Melas), 180.
Orang-utang as omen, 188.
Ornament, animal derivatives as, on
crossbeams, 191; Kumasi, architec-
tural, 101 ; Lengua Indians, 287 ; Pat-
terns, Lengua Indians, 284 ; Malav
House, 142 ; on Pottery, Khami
ruins, 82; Women's, Sarawak, 224;
Solomon Isles, 81.
On amentation, Sarawak, 191 ; celts,
2V6; swords, Land Dyaks, 226;
sword blades, Sarawak, 219-228 ;
Crete, 146 ; of Walls, Khami ruins,
Ehodesia, 82.
P.
Pacific, 80 ; Forgvi ii-s, 93 ; Nomen-
clature (rev.), 119; Ocean, Islands
of (mO, 103.
Ind&c.
Painting, Lengua Indians, 283 ; El
Khargeh, 91.
Palaeolithic Implements from Savernake,
a collection of, 310.
Pampango, Language, 216.
Pangasinan Language, 216.
Papua, Gulf of, 261.
Papuan Skulls, Measurement of, 261.
Parang, 219-228.
Parkinson, R.. and Meyer, A. B. " Papua,
Album, ii" (rev.), 117.
Peek, Sir C. E., 96.
Pelandok (Mouse-deer), and Tekora
(Land tortoise), Character of, in
Fable (Sarawak), 199.
Penka, Dr., " Die Ethnologisch-Ethno-
graphische Bedentung der Mega-
lithischen Grabbalen " (rev.), 88.
Perham, Archdeacon, 196, 197, 212.
Personal Ornaments, Lengua Indians,
282 ; Sarawak, 188.
Pests, prevention of, by Clay Image of
Crocodile, Sarawak, 199.
Petara, 196.
Petras, site in E. Crete, 148.
Petrie, W. M. F., 123, 138, 139, 238;
An Egyptian Ebony Statuette of a
Negress, 107 ; Egyptian Cutting
Tools, 120; The Races of Early
Egypt, 248.
Philippines (rev.), 149.
Philippines, Memorandum on the
Language of, by William E. W.
MacKinlay, 214-217.
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY : — Algeria,
Libyan Notes, 62 ; Anthropometrical
Observations of Dombs, 29 ; Birth
Rate, Yakut, 79 ; Bones of Hen Nekt,
127; Brain, 126; Bushman Skull,
58; Cephalographs, 113; Childbirth,
80 ; Crania, cf. Skull, Craniometry ;
Crania Ethnica Philippinica (rev.),
149 ; Dombs of Jeypur, 29 ;
Egypt, Physical Type, 248-255;
Fertility of Dombs, 29 ; Instruments,
Cephalometric, 111 ; Lefthandedness
(rev.), 84 ; Lengua Indians, Physical
Characteristics, 281 ; Measurement of
Inhabitants of El Khargeh, 91 ; Nile
Welle Watershed, Crania from, 256-
260; Palmistry, 20; Papuan Skulls,
Measurement of, 261-264; Physical
Type, Manipur, 300; Early Egypt,
127; Pigmentation of Dombs, 29;
Scotland, 128; Race Improvement,
132 ; Racial Types, Malay Peninsula,
142; Retzius, G., Crania Suecica(rev.),
59; Savoy (rev.), 38; Skulls, from
Azandeh, 256; Akka, 259; of Bam-
bute Pigmy, 260 ; of Bari Tribe, 256 ;
English, 125; Niam-Niam, 256;
Monbottu, 256; Intermixture with
Dwarf Races affecting size of, 259;
Stone Age, etc., 59 ; Sweden, Crania
Suecica, 59; Tendency of clans to
retain physical characteristics, Scot-
land, 128; Trepanning, 65.
Pig, 174, 180-2, 195, 307, 308; Wild,
207 ; jaw of, as charms, 182, 210.
Pilcomayo River, 289.
Pigmentation, 128 ; for Tatoo, 42.
Pigmy Tribes, traditions of, Lengua
Indians, 289; Central Africa, 259-
60.
Pitt-Rivers, Gen., on Celts, 279;
Museum, 315.
Pittard, Trepanation Prehistorique, 65 ;
Ethnologie de la Savoie (rev.), 38.
Pollok, J. H., 266.
Poltergeist, 101.
Portraiture, ancient, 248.
Post-mortem Moko, 44.
Pottery, Arab, 83 ; Arabized Berber,
made by hand, 83 ; Crete, 146, 147;
Khami Ruins, 82 ; Late Graeco-
Roman Type, North Africa, 83 ;
Lengua Indians, 285 ; Malay Penin-
sula, 142 ; Painted, 78 , Process of
Decorating; Torres Straits, 95.
Praesos, 146.
Presents, exchange of, 68.
Primogeniture, Manipur, 300.
Proceedings of the Anthropological
Institute, 1, 76, 89, 90, 106, 152,
British Association, '131; Societe
d'Anthropologie de Paris, 75, 89, 90,
105, 120.
Prohibitions, Manipur, 306, 308.
Pulang Gana, Deity of rice culture, 198.
Punans, 195-6, 204.
Index.
Puran Delta, 261.
Purification, Spiritual, 303.
Pyrrhi JSthiopes of Ptolemy, 256.
Q.
Quibell, J. E, 231.
B.
Race Improvement, 132.
Races of Early Egypt, The, by W. M.
Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., 248.
Rainfall, Ceremonies to Procure, 302;
Use of Fire to Procure, 308.
Randall-Mad ver, D., 127, 229, 230,
231, 238; El Amrah Cemetery, 40;
Libyan Notes (rev.), 62.
Ray, S. H., Stories from. Southern New
Hebrides, 147.
Read, C. H., Relics from Chinese Tombs,
15 ; Presidential Address, 9 (rev.),
116.
Rechts und Linkshandigheit (rev.), 84.
Reeves, W. P., The Long White Cloud
(rev.), 98.
Reincarnation, 308.
Religious Beliefs, Lengua Indians, 288.
RELIGION. —
Africa : — Baptism, Baganda, 119 ;
Burial, 127 ; Burial Customs,
Egyptian, 40 ; Customs, Baganda,
117 ; Disease, Ideas of, 124 ; Fear of
Dead, 126; King, skull of, dried,
129; King, Death of, 129; Leech-
craft, 126 ; Sacrifice, human, 129 ;
Soul, Animal form of, 139 ; South
Africa, 21 ; Spirits, evil, 125 ; Spirit
of King, 130 ; Tabu, 134 ; of tatuing,
121 ; as to Women, 121 ; between
Relatives, 124 ; Tabus, mourning,
127; Tabus of pregnancy, 119;
Totems, Baganda, 117 ; Bantu a,
111 ; Wedding Customs, Baganda,
122 ; Witchcraft, 125 ; Women,
superstitions as to, 121.
America : — Animal Cults, Lengua
Indians, 288 ; Ancestors and Agri-
culture, 158; Corn spirit, 155;
Lergua Indians, 288; Sacrifice,
Human, and Agriculture, 158 ;
Totems in America, 134 ; White
Dog sacrifice, 33.
Asia : — Animal Cults, Sarawak, 175-9,
194, 196, 198, 200, 201, 206, 208 ;
Anthropomorphism, Sarawak, 175 ;
Ancestor Worship, 303, 304; Asia
Minor, 122 ; Astronomical Super-
stitions, 107 ; Auspicia, 175 sqq. ;
Balli, 175 ; Beating, Magical Prac-
tice, 134 ; Buddhism, Siam, 99 ;
Buddhist Wheel of Life, 1 ; Buffalo,
Sacrifice of, at a father's Burial,
307 ; Burial Customs of D6mbs, 29 ;
Burial Customs, Yakut, 98 ; Mani-
pur, 305 ; Lengua Indians, 295 ;
Childhood, Superstitions as to, 80;
Deities, Yakut, 106 ; Dead, Fear of,
100; Distinction between Deities
for Men and Women, 175 ; Divi-
nation, 107 ; Dombs of Jeypnr, 29 ;
Eggs as Offerings, 185 ; Eponymous
Tribal Deities, 303 ; Exogamy, 87,
204, 303 ; Extispicia, 185, 181-198 ;
Exorcism, 105 ; Familiar Spirits,
102 ; Feathers as offerings, 185 ;
Fire, Beliefs as to, 106 ; use of,
to procure rain, 308 ; First Fruits,
29 ; Forms of Animals assumed by
Deities, 198 ; Fraternities Re-
sembling Thiasoi, 122; Future Life,
Ideas of, Yak at, 97 ; Belief in
Future World, Manipur, 307 ; God
evolved from Offering, 133; God of
War, 212; Gohei and Inao, 131;
Harai, Purification, 132 ; Hastening
of Death, 295 ; Horse Worship, 84 ;
Leechcraft, 104 ; Love in Marriage,
97 ; Magic, Georgian, 42 ; Manipur,
302 ; Medicine Man, Malay Penin-
sula, 142 ; Metal and Dead, 99 ;
Mutilations at Death, 295 ; Nature
Deities, Manipur, 212 ; Nusa, 131 ;
Sacerdotal Office, Manipur, 301 ;
Sacrifice before Clay Image, of
crocodile, 198 ; Sacrifice, Burial,
98 ; Sacrifice — Domestic Animals,
Sarawak, Fowl, 176 sqq. ; Fowl, as
substitute for human, 208 ; Pig,
(11 )
Index.
177, 190 sqq.; Pig, in place of
Slave, 208, 209; Pig, blood of,
sprinkled on altar, 209 ; Sacrifice,
Human, 207, 208 ; Sacrifice, Sara-
wak, 176 sgq. ; Shadows, beliefs as
to, 107; Shamanism, 99, 102;
Shintoism, 131 ; Smiths as
Shamans, 104; Snake-god, Mani-
pnr, 302; Soul, bath of the, 99;
Soul catching, 185 ; Soul, future
life of, 100; Souls of inanimate
objects, 107; Spirits, Manipur,
306; Spiritual purification, 303;
Spirits, Sarawak, 177; Supreme
Being, Sarawak, 174, 189, 196, 208,
211, 213; Symbolism to procure
rain, 308; Tabu, 134; Tabus, food,
29 ; Totem worship, Sarawak, 202
-213 ; Totem worship, origin of,
210; Tombs, Chinese, 15; Tree,
burial under, 100; Violent Death,
fate of those who die, 101 ; Wed-
ding Ceremonies, Yakut, 81; Dombs,
29 ; Women as Shamanesses, 103.
Europe : — Acts of St. Dasius, 53, 68 ;
Greece, 86 ; Totemism in, 86,
Knievogue, 11 ; Saturnalia, 53,
68 ; Sun worship, 79 ; Totemism,
South Hants, 124.
Oceania : — Bullroarer, Maori, 59 ;
Burial Customs, 142; Circum-
cision, 140; Future Life, Niue,
Ideas of, 139 ; Initiation, 140 ;
Matuatonga, note on, 30 ;
Memorial Heads, 51; Nine, Myth
of Origin, 139 ; Niue, Religion of,
139; Priesthood, 139; Tabn after
tatuing, 43 ; Totemism, 139 ;
Tutelary Deities, 139; Witchcra't,
140. V. also Frazer, Spirit of
Vegetation, etc.
Rhodesia, 82.
Rhys, J. Celtic Folklore (rev.), 44 ;
Wells in Ireland, 11.
Rice, Cultivation introduced into
Borneo, 203.
Ridgeway, Prof. W., 130.
Risley, H. H., " On an Improved Method
of measuring the Vertical Proportions
of the Head," 144.
Rivers, Dr. W. H. R., Colour Vision of
the Eskimo (rev.), 87; of the Natives
of Upper Egypt, 229, 136, 137 ; On
the Functions of the Maternal Uncle
in Torres Straits, 136 ; On the Func-
tion of the Son-in-law and Brother-in-
law in Torres Straits, 137.
Roberts, Dr., of Cambridge, 313.
Robinson, Rev. Canon, Nigeria (rev.), 6.
Roscoe, Rev. J., Notes on the Baganda,
117.
Rosenhain, W., 142 ; Notes on Malay
Metal- Work, 161.
Roth, H. Ling, 93 ; Pacific Forgeries,
56 ; Maori Tatu and Moko, 29ff.
Rymers or Borers, Stone, 312.
S.
Sacerdotal Office, Hereditary, 301.
Sacrifice, Human, 207-208; Domestic
Animals: Fowl, 176, 177, 178, 190,
192, 199, 200, 208 ; Fowl, as Substitute
for Human Sacrifice, 208 ; Pig, 177,
190-192, 199, 207, 208; Pig, in place
of Slave, 208, 209; Pig, Blood of,
sprinkled on Altar, 209.
Salt, Lengua Indians, 287.
Sarawak, Relations between Men and
Animals in, by C. Hose ' and W.
McDougall, 173.
Sarawak Tribes, a Provisional Classifi-
cation of the Swords of, by R. Shel-
ford, 219.
Savage Island Natives, Origin of, 138.
Savernake, On a Collection of Palaeo-
lithic Implements from, 310.
Sayce, Prof. A. H., 122 ; " Babylonians
and Assyrians " (rev.), 25.
Scalping, Traditions of, 289.
Schleswig-Holstein, Bronze Age (rev.),
83.
Schmeltz, Dr. E., "Album of the
Ethnography of the Congo Basin "
(rev.), 116.
Schurtz, Dr. H., " Urgeschichte der
Kultur " (rev.), 102.
Scotland, Pigmentation, 128; Surnames,
128.
llllll-.l-.
Scott, J. G., and Hardiman, J. P.,
Gazetteer of Upper Burma (rev.),
150.
Scraper and Dagger, Lake Nyassa. 112.
Sculpture, Crete, 148 ; Kumasi, 101.
Sebillot, Paul, " Le Folklore des
Pecheurs " (rev.\ 140.
Seclusion, Manipur, 306 ; After Child-
birth, 304 ; After Death of Domestic
Animal, 306.
Sequence, Dates, 249 ; Numbers, junc-
tion of, with History, 249.
Sethe, Dr. K., " Sesostris " (ret).), 24.
Sharpe, A., Carved Stool, etc., 39.
Sheath, Parang, Sarawak, 219-228.
Shelford, R., " A Provisional Classifica-
tion of the Swords of the Sarawak
tribes," 219.
Shrubsall, F. C., " Notes on Crania from
the Nile Welle Watershed," 256.
Siam (rev.), 99.
Sieroshevski, Prof. M., The Yakuts, 65ff .
Signs, Lengua Indians, 206.
Skeat, W. W., 79 ; "A Modern trace
of Sun-worship in Norway," " Ethno-
graphy of the Malay Peninsula," 142,
161 sqq.
Skull, Akka, 259; Azandeh, 256; Bari
Tribe, 256; Bambute Pigmy, 260;
Human, England, 125 ; Monbottu,
256 ; of New Zealander at Blandford
Museum, Salisbury, 172 ; Niam-Niam,
256 ; Papuan, Measurement of, 261 ;
Papuan, carved, 261 ; Peruvian, tre-
phined by boring, 171 ; Size of,
affected by Intermixture, 259 ; Sojitb
Seas, 167-172; from Worthing, 171 ;
from Zereiba country, 256.
Slaves, as a fine for firing a house,
207 ; Sacrifice of, 208 ; treatment of,
Sarawak, 208.
Sling, New Britain, 167.
Slip, definition of, in Pottery, 78.
Smear, definition of, 78.
Smelting, Primitive, Spain, 271.
Smith, Robertson, 177.
Smith, Tools of Malay, 161 sqq.
Smith, W. W, 92.
Snake-god, Manipur, 302.
Snake Personification, Manipur, 304.
Snakes as Omens, 192.
Socialistic Ideas, Lengua Indians, 287.
SOCIOLOGY. —
Africa: — Adoption, 119; Descent,
119 ; Exogamy, 121 ; King, death
of, 128 ; Marriage, Baganda, 122 ;
Princesses, position of, 122; Rela-
tives, tabus between, 124 ; Royal
women not tatued, 121 ; Tribes,
Baganda, 118; Widowhood, 124.
America: — Government, Lengua In-
dians, 29]'; Socialistic Ideas, Lengua
Indians, 287.
Asia: — Authority of Chief, 174;
Betrothal, 87 ; Birth Rate, etc., 79 ;
Blood Feud, 72; Bride Price, 84;
Communism, Yakut, 70; Economic
Unit, Yakut, 65 ; Endogamy, 88 ;
Exogamy, 87, 204, 303; Exogamy
of D&mbs, 29 ; Family, Ancient
Type of Yakut, 75: Family, Head
of, 78 ; Group Marriage, 91 ; Infan-
ticide, 301 ; Incest, 90 ; King,
Position of, Mauipur, 300 ; Labour
and Capital among Yaknts, 66 ;
Land System, Yakut, 74 ; Marriage
by Capture, 85, 304; Marriage by
Purchase, 304 ; Marriage Dombs,
29; Marriage, Yakut, 81 ; Matri-
archy, 75 ; Old people killed, 100 ;
Old, treatment of, among Yakuts,
76 ; Parents, children, Yakut, 76 ;
Pastoral stage, 70; Paupers, Yakut,
69 ; Primogeniture, Manipur, 300 ;
Property, ideas of, 70; Property,
descent of, 78 ; Relatives by mar-
riage, 93 ; Relationship, Terms of,
109 ; Rule of succession, Manipur,
300; Sexes, Relations of, 96;
Shamans, Blood Relationship of,
102; Sib, protection extended by
woman's, 95 ; Sib, Yakut Social
Unit, 68; Tribes, D&mbs, 29;
War, 72; Wife, Position of, in
Husband's Sib, 95 ; Women, Status,
85 ; Yakut organization, 65 sqq.
Oceania : — Abortion, 140 ; Brother-
in-law, 137 ; Infanticide, 141 ;
Law and Justice, Niue, 143 ; Mater-
nal Uncle, 136 ; Nine, institutions
13 )
Index.
of, 138 ; Property, Nine, 143 ; Son-
in-law, 137 ; Tatiiing as a mark of
rank, 48 ; Warfare, Niue, 142.
Solomon Isles, Ornaments from, 81.
Soothsaying, Manipur, 304.
Soul-catching, Sarawak, 185.
Spear, Lake Nyassa, 112.
Spear-head, Burma, 77.
Spencer, Professor Baldwin, 143.
Spirits, Annexation of Unnamed Child
by, 304 ; Malignant, Manipur, 304 ;
Offerings to, Manipur, 303 ; Sarawak,
174.
Spiritualism, 135.
Splieth, Dr. W., " luventur der Bronze-
alter Funde aus Sohlerwig-Holstein "
(rev.), 85.
Stain, 78.
Statuette, an Egyptian Ebony, 107.
Steindorff, Grabfunde der Mittleren
Reichs (rev.), 61.
Stick, Frayed, 176 ; Keeping of Diary
by, Lengua Indians, 286.
Stone Age, Cretan, 146.
Stones, Hammer, 312 ; Throwing, 312 ;
Wedge-shaped, 312.
Strangling Cords from the Murray
River, 94.
String, Lengua Indians, 285.
Stumme, Dr. H., Handbuch der Schilhis-
chen (rev.), 45.
Succession, Rule of, Manipur, 300.
Suhin, 281.
Sully, Professor, 245.
Sumner, W. G. The Yakuts, 65ff.
Sun-worship, 79.
Superstitions, Lengua Indians, 290.
Supreme Being, Sarawak, 174, 189, 196,
208, 211, 212, 213.
Surnames, Scotland, 128.
Sweet, Dr. H., History of Language
(rev.), 50.
Swords of the Sarawak Tribes, a Pro-
visional Classification of, by R.
Shelford, 219.
Swords, Sarawak, peculiar cuts of, 228.
Symbolism to procure rain, Manipur, 308.
Symington, Professor J., " On the
Temporary Fissure of the Human
Cerebral Hemisphere," 126.
T.
Tabu, Manipur, 303.
Tagalo, Language, 214.
Tahennu, 250.
Tama Bulan, 175.
Tammuz, 122.
Taste, Murray Islanders, 246.
Tatu, 29ff; Ashanti, 101; Dombs, 29;
Maori, 98.
Taus, 122.
TECHNOLOGY : —
Africa : — Arrow-heads, Stone, 82 ;
Axe, 112 ; Basketry, Egyptian, 40 ;
Copper Dagger, Egyptian, 40; Cut-
ting Tools, Egypt, 123 ; Dagger
and Beer Ladle, 112 ; Dolls, Egyp-
tian, 40 ; Doorpost, carved, 57;
Dress, Early Egypt, 253, 254;
Habitations, Early Egypt, 253 ;
Keloids, 120 ; Masonry, Tunis, 109 ;
Pottery, Arab, 83 ; Scraper and
Dagger, 112 ; Smoking Pipes from
Natal, 10; Spear, 112; Stone
Implements, 40 ; Stool, Gong, etc.,
E. African, 39 ; Textile Fabrics,
123; Textile Fabrics, Cutting
Tools for, 123 ; Tombs, Egyptian,
40 ; Tobacco Pipes, Natal, 10 ;
Trumpets, Bambu, 28.
America : — Arithmetic, Lengua In-
dians, 296 ; Axes, Stone, Lengua
Indians, 294 ; Basket-work, Cali-
fornia, 17; Lengua Indians, 284;
Bow, Lengua Indians, 294 ; Dyeing,
Lengua Indians, 285 ; Habitations,
Lengua Indians, 283 ; Leather,
Lengua Indians, 285 ; Loom, Lengua
Indians, 284 ; Musical Instruments,
Lengua Indians, 293 ; Pellet Bow,
Lengua Indians, 294; Pottery,
Lengua Indians, 285 ; Tatuing,
Lengua Indians, 283 ; Tobacco
Pipes, Lengua Indians, 286 ; Weav-
ing, Lengua Indians, 284.
Asia: — Celadon Ware, 41; Celt.
Socketed, Burma, 77 ; Cera Perduta
process, 165 ; Chains, Making of,
by casting, 185 ; Clothing, Sarawak,
174; Cloth making, 142; Cross-
Index.
beams, 191 ; Damascening, 163 ;
Habitations, Sarawak, 174; Jaggery,
142 ; Keloids, 62 ; Kris, Making
of Malay, 161 ; Leechcraft, 104 ;
Malay Goldsmith's Tools, 165;
Metal- Work, Malay, 161 ; Pottery,
Chinese, 54 ; Swords, Sarawak,
219-228 ; Tatuing, Animals, 202 ;
Tatuing, D6mbs, 29.
Europe: — Celts, Bronze, Irish, 266;
Copper, Irish, 265 ; Stone, 273 ;
Flint Implements, Kentish, 66 ;
Guilloche Pattern, 4 ; Pottery,
Maltese, 71.
Oceania : — Arrows, feathered, 32 ;
Boomerang, swan-neck, 27 ; Bow
and Arrow-heads, 121; Celt,
Tonga, 110; Dress, Nine, 145;
Instruments, tatuing, 36ff; Leech-
craft, 141 ; Memorial Heads, 51 ;
Midwifery, 141 ; Moko, Maori, 29ff ;
Moko, Post-mortem, 44 ; Stone,
Matuatonga, 30 ; Strangling Cords,
94; Tatu, Maori (ill.), 29ff ; Lord
Howe's Island, 31. V. also Orna-
mentation, Pottery, etc.
Tekora (land tortoise) and Pelaudok
(mouse deer), Character of, in Fable
(Sarawak), 199.
Tel el Amarua (rev.), 141.
Textile Fabrics, Cutting Tools for, 123,
125.
Theall, Dr. G. McCall, 111.
Thienllen, A., 124.
Thoas-worship in Asia Minor, 122.
Thomas, N. W., Suggestions for an
International Bibliography, 108 ;
American Parallels to European
Agricultural Customs, 155; The
Spencer - Gillen Expedition, 67 ;
Animal Folklore in Georgia, 42 ;
Buddhist Wheel of Life from Japan
(PI. A), 1.
Thompson, R. C., Animal Folklore in
Georgia, 42 ; Reports of Babylonian
Magicians (rev.), 9.
Thomson, Basil, A Stone Celt from
Tonga, 110; Natives of Savage
Island, 137.
Tiger Cat, 199.
Tin, in Irish Copper Ore, 272; in
Copper Ore, Egypt, 268.
Tobacco, Lengua Indians, 287 ; Tobacco
Pipes, Lengna Indians, 286, 287 ; from
Natal, 10.
Tocher, J. F., F.I.C., 128.
Tombs, Megalithic, 88 ; Rock-cut, Tunis,
109.
Tonga, Celt from, 110.
T<56thli, 281.
Torres Straits, Brother-in-law, 137;
Son-in-law, 137; Maternal Uncle,
136 ; Pottery, 95.
Totem, Clan, 211 ; Individual, 210, 211 ;
Worship, origin of, 210; Worship,
Sarawak, 202.
Totemism, America, 134 ; Greek, 86 ;
South Africa, 111 ; South Hamp-
shire, 124.
Tradition, Manipnr, 300 ; Scalping, 289.
Traditions of Cannibalism, 288.
Traps, 294.
Treasurer, Report of, 6.
Tregear, E., Spirit of Vegetation, 159.
Trengganu, 161.
Trepanning, Bronze Age, 68.
Trephining, Neolithic, 171; in the South
Seas, by the Rev. J. A. Crump, 167.
Tribal Marks, African, 57.
Tribe, Definition, 309.
Tripoli, 83.
Twigs, Divination by, Manipur, 308.
U.
Urgeschichte der Kultur (rev.), 102.
V.
Vampires, Manipur. 304.
Varnish, 78.
Verschnur, G., "At the Antipodes"
(rev.), 60.
Verg6dendel, 115.
Virchow, Prof., 257.
Visaya language, 215.
Visick, Dr. Hedley, 310.
Visser, M. W. de, " De Gracorum Diis
non refereutibus speciein humanain "
(rev.), 86.
( 15 )
Itidex.
W.
Waddeli, ''Among the Himalayas"
(rev.), 49.
War, God of, 212.
Weapons, buried with dead, 306 ; Early
Egypt, 253; Kenyahs, 174.
Weaving, Lengua Indians, 284.
Webster, W. D., 261.
White, Franklin, Ruins of Khami, 82 ;
Ruins of Dhlo-Dhlo, 21ff.
White Metal, 165.
Wilde, Sir William, 264.
Wilkin, A., 230; "Libyan Notes"
(rev.), 62.
Willett, Edgar, On a Collection of
Palaeolithic Implements -from Saver-
nake, 310.
Winch, W. H., ''46.
Witchcraft, Lengua Indians, 290.
Witch Doctor, Lengua Indians, 288.
Women, Tatuing of, 32.
Woodford, C. M., 81; Tatu Patterns,
31.
Wood-Hill, H.
Worship of Eponymous Ancestor, 303.
Worthing, Skull from, 171.
Wright, Rev. R. Stewart, 112.
Writing, ^Egean Script, 52 ; Lengua
Indians, 286 ; Prehistoric, Systems of,
145.
Y.
Yezidi, Rite of, 122.
Young, E., " The Kingdom of the Yellow
Robe " (rev.), 99.
Z.
Zereiba Country, Skulls from, 256.
HABKI60N AND SONS, 1'HINTEKS IN OBD1NAHY TO HIS MAJESTY, ST. MAimn'g LANE, LONDON.
Royal Anthropological Ins-
2 titute of Great Britain and
Ho3 Ireland
v. 30-31 Journal
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